To be consistent means virtual
perfection - hardly a bad round or tournament
- and 2014 was a perfect example of that for
Szewczul. Coming into the season, Szewczul
set personal goals for himself that he intended
to accomplish through the year. However,
unlike most players, his goals are never based
around winning a particular tournament or
event. Instead, Szewczul focuses on the things
that he can control, which is his own game.
“I do want to win every tournament
that I enter, I think everybody does, but my
main goal is just to play the best that I can and
whatever happens from that will put me in my
place. I don’t set out saying I want to be the
best; that is just the result of good play,” said
Szewczul.
He began his season with an
eleventh place finish at the Russell C. Palmer
Cup, shooting a final round score of 70 to
move up the leaderboard and claim low senior
player honors. The following week, Szewczul
began his title defense at the 8th Senior Match
Play Championship, a tournament he had
won three times before (2010, 12 and 13).
After claiming medalist honors by two strokes
with a round of 71, he went on to knock off
Gary Mattesen, Craig Dubois and three-time
Connecticut Amateur Champion William Lee
on his way to the finals. While the final match
against Jon Groveman of Connecticut Golf
Club proved to be his toughest test, Szewczul
made the putts when it mattered most,
including an eagle putt on the par-5 12th that
all but sealed the deal. Another Senior Match
Play was in the books, and Szewczul was once
again the Champion.
Being competitive at the state and
regional level is impressive in and of itself, but
to consistently compete on the national level
is a whole different animal. In 2013, Szewczul
made national headlines by advancing to the
quarterfinals at the U.S. Senior Amateur. By
virtue of that tremendous finish, he was exempt
“I feel like I can compete with anybody, and over the years my game has
gotten to that point where I am steady and consistent, and mentally I
can compete with them. It is a great feeling to be able to do that.
~ Dave Szewczul, Tunxis Plantation CC
for 2014, and made the trek to Newport Beach,
California to compete in his twenty-fifth
USGA national championship.
After shooting rounds of 72-72-144 to claim the #17 seed, he went on to
knock off Don Marsh of Alpharetta, Georgia
and Don Reycroft of Norfolk, Massachusetts
to advance to his second consecutive “Sweet
16”. Although he eventually fell to to Rick
Cloninger of Fort Mill, South Carolina, who
went on to the semifinals before losing to the
eventual champion, Patrick Tallet of Vienna,
Virginia, it was yet another amazing display for
Szewczul.
“It is a great feeling knowing you can
compete with the best players in the country;
it just takes your game to another level,” said
Szewczul. “To know you have the game and
mental capacity to compete on such a high level
is a really great feeling. Now, any tournament
that I enter, I know that I belong there.”
Top: Szewczul made nary a mistake en-route to his fourth Senior Match Play title; Bottom-left: It was only fitting that Szewczul
met William Lee in the semi-finals of the Senior Match Play - Lee was the last person to win the Senior player of the Year title
in 2008 before Szewczul began his run of six consecutive titles; Bottom-right: Szewczul lines up a putt during the Connecticut
Amateur championship.
64
Connecticut State Golf Association 2014
Szewczul competed in virtually
every CSGA major championship in 2014,
teeing it up against players both young and
old, and accumulated points at every single
event he played in. He finished runner-up at
the Connecticut Senior Amateur and Public
Links, finished 19th at the Connecticut Open,
and 10th at the Connecticut Mid-Amateur.
And of course, a host of other great finishes,
like 2nd at the Tournament of Champions
and 4th at the Connecticut Senior Open. But
for Szewczul, the highlight of the year wasn’t
winning a championship, it was the unique
opportunity to compete with his son, David
Leigh, who qualified for both the Connecticut
Amateur and Connecticut Open.
“No doubt, the best moment of the
year for me was being able to compete with
David,” said Szewczul. “I can’t tell you how
much love I have for my son and how proud I
am of him and to see him out there competing.
And I don’t even see it as competing against
him, we are competing together, and to me
that is the greatest thing. To be able to warm
up together, then after the rounds have lunch
and talk about how things went, those were the
best moments for me.”
The 2014 Senior Player of Year title
marked Szewczul’s biggest margin of victory
in any of his previous six victories, but for
Szewczul, it’s all about being, you guessed it,
consistent.
“Each year, I just try to play
consistently as best I can, and if I happen to play
well, the points will reflect that,” said Szewczul.
“Every year it gets tougher - the competition
gets younger and I get older - so every year I
am able to be near the top of the points list is a
little more gratifying than the previous one.”
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