Tommy McDonagh from Shorehaven Golf Club erased a three-down deficit through twenty-five holes to claim his second Connecticut Amateur Championship at Rolling Hills Country Club in Wilton, CT.
McDonagh, who won the 2006 Connecticut Amateur at Torrington Country Club, defeated Matt Smith from Quinnatissett Country Club three and two. McDonagh has also padded his golf resume with two Metropolitan Amateur Championships (2006 & 2008).
The final match had been rescheduled to Saturday morning (the first Saturday finish since 2002) due to severe rain and lightning which forced play to be suspended on Thursday afternoon.
McDonagh began the final match with an eagle on the first hole but quickly found himself one down following a birdie by Smith on the third hole and a bogey on the fourth hole. Throughout the first eighteen holes, the match was back and forth with both players trading birdies. Smith, who will be a senior at the University of Hartford this fall, made a birdie on thesixteenth hole to go one-up and that’s where the morning eighteen holes would end.
Matt Smith would extend his lead to three-up through twenty-five holes but McDonagh quickly erased that deficit. McDonagh, a senior at Penn State University, would go on to win four consecutive holes to grab a one-up lead with seven holes to go. He would never relinquish that lead and went on to win the thirty-first and thirty-fourth hole to secure the victory three and two.
“The golf course was the real winner this week,” said CSGA Director of Rules and Competitions, Malcolm McLachlan. “Everyone here at Rolling Hills Country Club from the membership, to the golf shop staff, to the banquet staff, to the greens crew were incredible all week.” Following the Championship match, the CSGA also announced that Rolling Hills Country Club, who is celebrating their fiftieth anniversary this year, will be honored at this year’s annual meeting with the Distinguished Club of the Year award.
