CHAMPIONSHIPS Player Facts & Storylines
A total of 150 players will begin their quest for the 81st Connecticut Open Championship , of which 84 are professionals and 66 are amateurs . 92 players earned their way to Ellington Ridge Country Club by qualifying at one of six sites across the state , and 58 players were exempt based on previous accomplishments .
Last Year ’ s Championship : In the 2016 Connecticut Open Championship at Woodway Country Club , three-time Connecticut Section PGA Player of the Year Adam Rainaud was able to overcome a six shot deficit to capture the title . Rainaud played his final 27 holes of the tournament in eleven under par , and his final round 65 tied the course record at Woodway Country Club . Rainaud recently qualified for his second PGA Championship , finishing tied for fifth at the PGA Professional Championship to earn his spot at Quail Hollow .
A total of nine past Connecticut Open Champions are in the 2017 field . They are :
Adam Rainaud ( 2016 ), Cody Paladino ( 2015 ), Frank Bensel ( 2009 , 2011 and 2014 ), Jeff Curl ( 2007 and 2013 ), Kyle Gallo ( 1998 , 2000 , 2004 and 2010 ), Steve Sokol ( 2003 ), Mike Gilmore ( 1997 ), Kevin Giancola ( 1987 , 1988 and 1994 ), and Jack McConachie ( 1984 )
At age fourteen , Ben James ( a ) of Great River Golf Club is the youngest player in the field and is competing in his second Connecticut Open Championship . James is currently the highest ranked junior golfer in Connecticut and is coming off consecutive top-5 finishes in AJGA events at Killington and Windham Mountain .
Kyle Gallo of Tallwood CC will begin the Connecticut Open Championship hoping to become the first player in the eighty-three year history of the tournament to win five titles , and he is returning to a course that has plenty of good memories . Gallo won the first of his four Connecticut Open Championships at Ellington Ridge in 1998 , shooting a total of 214 ( -2 ) to capture the title .
2014 and 2016 CSGA Player of the Year Zach Zaback of TPC River Highlands , who seeking to win his first Connecticut Open title , has fond memories of Ellington Ridge Country Club . Just a few weeks ago , Zaback qualified for his first PGA Tour event at Ellington Ridge , shooting 67 to grab one of the four available spots in the Travelers Championship Open Qualifier .
Richard Dowling ( a ) of Shelton , Connecticut made a historic run at the 115th Connecticut Amateur earlier this summer , defeating Evan Grenus of TPC River Highlands on the 36th hole to win his first CSGA major championship . Only one player in CSGA history has ever won both the Connecticut Open and Connecticut Amateur Championships in the same year ( 1940 - H . H . Mandly , Jr .), and the last amateur to win the Connecticut Open was Jeff Hedden in 2008 at Round Hill Club .
Will Wilson ( a ) of Wee Burn Country Club will begin the Connecticut Open Championship hoping to become the ninth player in CSGA history to win both the Junior Amateur and the Open Championship . Wilson won the 76th Connecticut Junior Amateur at Watertown Golf Club , defeating 2016 champion Andrew Franz 5 and 3 .
John Flaherty of TPC River Highlands captured low amateur honors in both 2015 and 2016 , and the 2015 CSGA Player of the Year hopes this will be the year he can break through to capture the Connecticut Open . Flaherty turned professional over the winter and he will be one of 84 professionals looking to
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