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Kevin Josephson of New Britain and Farmington Country Club, Peter Ballo of Stamford and Woodway Country Club, and David Pastore of Greenwich and Oak Hills Park Golf Club will represent Connecticut in the USGA Men’s State Team Championship, which kicks off September 30th through October 2nd.
The 2014 Championship will be contested over 54 holes of stroke play at the French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana. Team scores are recorded each round using the best two of three scores from each team. All 50 U.S. States plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico are entered in the 11th playing of the biennial event.
Josephson, Ballo and Pastore all have impressive resumes. Josephson has twice been medalist in the Connecticut Amateur Championship, most recently in 2013. He reached the finals of match play at the 2014 Connecticut Amateur finishing as runner-up, and finished tied for 16th in the 2014 New England Amateur. In 2013 he finished 4th in the Russell C. Palmer Cup and qualified for both the USGA Amateur Championship and the USGA Public Links where he reached the round of 32 in match play.
“It’s really an honor to be part of this team,” said Josephson. “It’s something that a lot of players strive for, to play well enough to earn a spot in this championship, to represent Connecticut and the CSGA in a USGA championship.”
Ballo was runner-up in the 2013 Connecticut Amateur, and has recorded a number of top-5 and top-10 finishes in stroke play tournaments. In 2014 he was 5th in the Palmer Cup, tied for 5th in the Connecticut Open, and tied for 9th in the New England Amateur. In his final season at Sacred Heart University Ballo won the 2014 New England Division I Championship, the Northeast Conference individual title, and was named the NEC Player of the Year.
Pastore, a 2014 graduate of the University of Virginia had an extraordinary summer following an outstanding senior season. He won the 2014 Jim West Intercollegiate with a record setting 54-hole score of 13 under par, and was named to the Division I PING All-East Region team. In June he captured the Met Golf Association’s “Ike” Stroke Play Championship and finished tied for 12th in the Northeast Amateur. In July he won the Westchester GA Open, qualified for the USGA Public Links and was low amateur and tied for third overall in the Connecticut Open. In August he completed a “Met Double” by winning the MGA Amateur in dramatic fashion, making a hole-in-one on the 35th hole of the final match to capture the title.
“We have a strong threesome in Kevin, Peter and David,” said CSGA Executive Director, Mike Moraghan who will serve as Team Captain for the Connecticut squad. “These are three outstanding competitors who have proven themselves at a very high level. I expect we’ll be confident and well prepared going into the Championship.”
The CSGA selects the team based upon points earned in tournament competition accumulated over a two-year period. Ben Day of New Haven Country Club has been named first alternate to the team and Phil Perry of Black Hall Club is the second alternate.
New York captured the 2012 Championship. Connecticut tied Illinois and Nebraska for 27th place with Matt Smith, Brian Ahern and Jeff Hatten representing the state. Smith and Hatten have since turned professional, and Ahern, winner of the CSGA Mid-Amateur in both 2010 and 2012 has played a limited schedule since 2013 due to injuries.
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Kevin JosephsonNew Britain, Conn. – Country Club of Farmington 2013-14 Accomplishments: Finalist in the 2014 Connecticut Amateur Championship |
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Peter BalloStamford, Conn. – Woodway Country Club 2013-14 Accomplishments: Tied for 5th in the 2014 Connecticut Open Championship |
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David PastoreGreenwich, Conn. – Oak Hills Park Golf Club 2013-14 Accomplishments: 3rd Place/Low Amateur in the 2014 Connecticut Open Championship |
