73 RD CONNECTICUT JUNIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Watertown Golf Club Watertown, Conn. July 7 - 10
THE REAL DEAL
Last year’s Runner-Up, Evan Grenus had made headlines before. By winning the
Connecticut Junior Amateur Championship, the rising superstar confirmed he’s the
next big thing.
W
HEN EVAN GRENUS of TPC
River Highlands, stepped on the
first tee at Watertown Golf Club
for the 73rd Connecticut Junior Amateur, a bit
of nostalgia overtook him. A recent graduate
of Glastonbury High School, Grenus began
the championship knowing it would be his last
shot to etch his name on the trophy. That’s not
to say his junior career was devoid of success;
far from it, in fact. At just seventeen years of
age, Evan Grenus had already compiled quite
an impressive resume which included a win at
the 2013 Northern Junior Championship and
a pair of top-15 finishes in AJGA events.
But the Junior Amateur was the
one that slipped away in 2013. After claiming
medalist honors, he advanced with ease to the
final only to lose on the 18th hole to Connor
O’Brien of Oak Hills Park Golf Club.
This time would be different for
Grenus, who made just one bogey in the final
match and was able to overcome an early deficit
to defeat Max Theodorakis of Ridgewood
Country Club and capture the title he had
been waiting for.
Grenus, who fired a four underpar round of 67 earlier in the week to claim
medalist honors, was hoping to add his name
to the record books. Only five players in the
event’s extensive history had claimed medalist
honors in qualifying and then went on to
capture the match play championship.
Theodorakis jumped out to an early
lead in the match, taking a 1-up lead after
winning the second hole with a birdie. The two
traded blows on the front nine- Grenus won the
5th and 6th holes with pars and Theodorakis
won the 7th with a birdie to even the match.
However, the turning point in the
match came at the par-4 13th. Trailing Grenus
1-down, both players hit the green in two
shots. First to play, Theodorakis aggressively
knocked his birdie attempt six feet past the
hole, and after failing to convert the par save,
fell to 2-down with just five holes to play.
Grenus would go on to play holes 14-16 one
under-par, and with a birdie on the 16th, sealed
the 3 and 2 victory and his first CSGA Major
Championship.
“The match today was definitely my
www.csgalinks.org
closest match of the week,” said Grenus. “I felt
like the difference for me today was that I was
really consistent out there and made a lot of
pars. Out here, I feel like pars win holes, and
that was my main focus.”
A dominating performance indeed,
as Grenus never reached the 18th hole in any
of his five matches, defeating his opponents by
seven, six, four, two and three-up, respectively.
And a storybook ending to a tremendous
junior career.
Clockwise from Top-Left: Evan Grenus (Left) and Max
Theodorakis (Right) both began the finals in search of their
first CSGA title; Evan Grenus had plenty to watch as his
precise iron play helped carry him to victory; At just sixteen
years of age, Max Theodorakis showed plenty of potential;
Evan Grenus blasts out of the sand with current CSGA
President John Marion looking on.
Connecticut State Golf Associatio