Bloomfield, Connecticut (June 4, 2026) – Yvette O’Brien. What more is there to say?
- Connecticut Girls’ Junior champion. Check. Check.
- Connecticut Women’s Amateur champion. Check.
- Connecticut Women’s Open champion. Check.
- Connecticut Golf History maker. Check.
Across two spectacular days at Tumble Brook Country Club, Yvette O’Brien put on an impressive display of golf that not only left the field of the 27th Connecticut Women’s Open behind but also made some Connecticut golf history.
By finishing 3-under-par and winning the Connecticut Women’s Open, O’Brien became the first player in Connecticut golf history to win the Connecticut Girls’ Junior, Connecticut Women’s Amateur, and the Connecticut Women’s Open.
“I mean, it’s so cool,” Yvette O’Brien said of her historical victory. “Coming (into the week), I knew that I could accomplish that. Just to be able to say that is such an honor.”
Although the final tally ended up being three strokes over low professional Maisie Filler (Hartford GC), O’Brien needed to dig deep late in the final round to secure the title. O’Brien began the day at even par and tied for the lead with Dixon Hill (Waite Hill, OH) and was still tied with the rising Harvard sophomore with just three holes remaining.
However, it was the par-4 16th where everything swung. Both players stepped to the tee tied at 1-under. 20 minutes later, as the two walked off the green, the difference was two strokes. Hill found trouble and ended up with a bogey that dropped her to even-par, while O’Brien jarred a 25-footer for birdie that pushed her to 2-under.
Following matching pars on No. 17, the difference was still two shots as the final group arrived at the 425-yard par-4 closing hole.
With O’Brien firmly in control, she pushed her drive right into the rough but, “I had a nice little gap between the trees,” O’Brien explained of her 6-iron from 174 yards out. “I knew if I just committed to that line (it would work out). The ball bounced up twice and finished almost pin high.”
Once the ball came to rest, O’Brien (Greenwich CC) high-fived her caddie, 2024 Connecticut Amateur winner Austin Perkins, and then set off for the green knowing a historical victory was at hand.
Moments later, O’Brien put the “bow” on her performance as she rolled in the seven-foot birdie putt on the last to cap her day. When all was said and done, O’Brien had fired a 3-under 69 that included seven birdies and three bogeys.
After her round, O’Brien spoke about the part of her game that improved the most during her first year at TCU.
“Mentality. Just doing my best to stay positive. I knew this was a big tournament, but it’s also only two days of golf, and I’ve played hundreds of 18-hole rounds. So I try to approach each round like it is just another 18-hole round and just do exactly what I do any other day.”
Mission accomplished.
With the win, O’Brien also became the first amateur to win the Connecticut Women’s Open since Alexsandra Lapple accomplished the feat in 2022.
Behind Filler (E) in second place were defending champion Yvonne Cox-Holmes (Williamsburg, Virginia) and Hill in a tie for third at 1-over, while Alise Knudson (Dallas, Texas) and Hailey Katona (Rutland, Vermont) shared fifth at 2-over.
In the Connecticut Senior Women’s Open, Tracy Hanson (Holland, Michigan) finished even-par to capture the title by two shots over
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Connecticut Women’s Open is one of 20 championships conducted by the Connecticut State Golf Association. The CSGA functions as an extension of the USGA and provides stewardship for amateur golf in Connecticut. Founded in 1899, it is the country’s oldest state golf association and conducts over 60 Championships, Qualifiers, and One Day Tournaments throughout the year.
