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Bruce Berlet has covered golf in CT for over 30 years.

July 2011 Archives

Tough finish costs Sheary

By Bruce Berlet on July 31, 2011 7:20 PM | 1 Comment

Natalie Sheary bogeyed two of her last three holes for a 1-over-par 72 that dropped her into a tie for 15th in the LPGA Futures Tour's Alliance Bank Golf Classic at Drumlins Country Club in Syracuse, NY.

The late bogeys gave the West Hartford resident a 54-hole total of 1-over 214 and prevented her from tying her third best finish in eight pro starts. Sheary, who has twice tied for eighth, earned $1,092 when pars at the 16th and 18th holes would have given her a share of 11th.

Sheary finished nine strokes behind winner Kathleen Ekey of Sharon Township, OH, who closed with 69 for 205 and a three-stroke victory over rookie Jenny Suh of Fairfax, VA. Suh shot 69 to finish one ahead of Stephanie Connelly (67) of Pasadena, Md., Dawn Shockley (69) of Estes Park, CO, Allison Hanna (70) of Portland, OR, and Lisa Ferrero (72) of Lodi, CA.

It was the second win of the year for Ekey, who also finished second to former high school teammate Brittany Johnston in the ING New England Golf Classic at Wintonbury Hills GC in Bloomfield two weeks ago. The $14,000 first prize increased Ekey's tour-leading money total to $63,225, which is $10,920 more than runner-up Ferrero, and assured she will finish in the top 10 for the year and earn her LPGA Tour card for 2012.

Sheary rallies to T14

By Bruce Berlet on July 30, 2011 6:49 PM | Comments (0)

Natalie Sheary rallied for a second straight even-par 71 on Saturday that moved her into a tie for 14th after two rounds of the LPGA Futures Tour's Alliance Bank Golf Classic at Drumlins Country Club in Syracuse, NY.

Starting at the 10th hole, the West Hartford resident was 3-over after a double-bogey 6 at the 15th but birdied the 1st, 2nd and 8th holes in an inward nine 33 to improve from a tie for 25th after the first round.

Sheary is six strokes behind the leading money winner Kathleen Ekey of Sharon Township, OH, who shot a second 68 for 136, one less than first-round leader Lisa Ferrero of Lodi, CA, who had 71. The final round is Sunday.

A 'family win' for Bensel

By Bruce Berlet on July 27, 2011 10:41 PM | Comments (0)

Two years ago, Alynn Bensel couldn't watch her husband Frank win his first CT Open title because she was less than a week from giving birth to the couple's first child. Instead, Alynn had to sit in the clubhouse and settle for periodic updates from her father, Tony Amaral, the former pro at Woodbridge CC.

So it seemed appropriate that the first people who Frank hugged and kissed after notching his second CT Open victory Wednesday at Brooklawn CC in Fairfield were Alynn and son Hagen, a week from celebrating his second birthday. "I'm glad he (Hagen) wasn't screaming before the hug," a smiling, proud papa said as Hagen did just that while we talked on Brooklawn's patio.

Bensel, who began the final round with a two-shot lead, became a multiple winner thanks largely to birdies at the 1st (8-foot putt) and 4th (40-foot chip-in) holes and crucial saves at the 12th and 13th that led to a 2-under-par 69 and a 54-hole total of 8-under 205. That was two fewer than amateur Tom McCarthy of Tolland, who bogeyed the 18th after his drive landed like a classic fried egg in the right fairway bunker, and Daniel Balin, the assistant pro at Burning Tree CC in Greenwich making his tournament debut.

"I knew if I shot even (par) that it probably wouldn't do it, and as it turned out, it would have been a playoff," said Bensel, who lives in Danbury and is the assistant pro at Century CC in Purchase, NY. "I haven't been playing that great of late, but I hit the ball better today than the other days. I actually didn't make a ton of putts, but I kept it in play all the time and did not really get in any trouble, so that's what really made it a solid round. It was tougher today, and you have to make some good par saves along the way because hitting every green is not going to happen, so 12 and 13 were huge for me."

Course management is paramount on the tree-lined Brooklawn course known for its sloping, undulating fairways and greens. One of Bensel's few faux pass was a three-putt for par-5 at the 11th, where he missed a 21/2-footer after a brilliant lag putt from 60 feet. But he rebounded with a par at the 12th after hooking his drive in the trees and then saved par at the 13th after coming up short on the uphill par-4. Three pars, a birdie two at the 15th and a three-putt bogey at the 16th down the stretch enabled Bensel to win the $10,000 first prize and successfully defend -- kind of.

An opening 63 led to a one-stroke victory over former Nationwide Tour player Bobby Gage in 2009, but Bensel didn't play last year when Kyle Gallo of Berlin earned a record-tying fourth title. That's because he opted for the Metropolitan (N.Y.) Section PGA Championship in which he could have qualified for one of the major club pro tournaments. Bensel, who lost a seven-hole playoff to Jim St. Pierre in 2002 at New Haven CC, is hopeful the 2012 CT Open is not opposite the major again, especially since it's at Wee Burn CC in Darien, not far from where he works and he, Alynn and Hagen reside.

"This is definitely one tournament that I don't want to miss," Bensel said, though he acknowledged the Met Section PGA Championship would take precedent again. "I was disappointed that I couldn't play last year because of the scheduling problem, but it's definitely one of my favorite events."

Balin, playing for the first time because Burning Tree finally paid dues to the Connecticut State Golf Association this year, and McCarthy, who graduated from Yale in May, each got to 7-under but couldn't catch Bensel. Balin, 29, an assistant at Burning Tree who was the 2010 Met Section PGA Player of the Year, got within a shot when he birdied No. 14 but chunked a wedge at the 15th and made bogey four. He could do no better than three closing pars for 68.

"I knew I had to keep making birdies and didn't putt it that great coming down the stretch," said Balin, who played in the penultimate group with Dave Szewczul. "Leaving the last putt short kind of spoiled the day a little bit, but I played good for the week. It was a good warm-up for the PGA Championship in two weeks, but I have to work on that putting again." The $5,000 that Balin won as second low pro also will help when he plays in his second straight PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club, a spot he earned after finishing fourth in the National PGA Professional Championship in June for a second year in a row.

"I kind of know what to expect and kind of the things that go on with all the media and all the people and players," Balin said of his appearance in the PGA Tour's final major of the year. "I'm going to be able to manage my time a little better, and this year it's at a more traditional course, and I think that suits my game a little better. The course is a lot more narrow, so you have to drive it straight like the courses here in the Northeast. That will benefit me this year."

Yes, the Atlantic Athletic Club is much more traditional than Whistling Straits in Kohler, WI, that's about as links-like as an inland course can get. "He's playing in (the PGA) to pad his wallet," Bensel said with a chuckle. "He's a great player, and I hope he does well."

McCarthy, a former winner of the CSGA Junior Championship and Palmer Cup, started five back but had a staggering 13 one-putt greens and 23 putts total in shooting 66, the day's low score. He had seven birdies, including three in a row starting at the 11th, and two bogeys in the first 16 holes to get to 7-under. But he lipped out a birdie try to tie at the 17th and then bogeyed the 18th after the bad break off the tee. "I made the shots I had to make, and when I didn't, I recovered well," said McCarthy, who saved par from the trees on the 14th and from greenside bunkers on the 15th and 16th holes. "Eight under was the score I want to get to, which was a lot to ask. I changed from a cross-handed to a right-handed grip on my putter recently, and it has helped."

McCarthy, of Twin Hills CC in Coventry, will try to qualify for the US Amateur on Monday at New Haven CC and said he will decide at the end of August whether to turn professional or remain an amateur. McCarthy won $750 in merchandise credit as low amateur when Szewczul, of Tunxis Plantation CC in Farmington, hit his approach in a bunker and bogeyed the 18th.

Szewczul, the two-time CSGA Senior Player of the Year who was trying to win a record fifth different state title after being inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in December, rallied from two early bogeys with four birdies in a 10-hole stretch to get to 6 under. But with 16-year-old son Dave caddying for him and playing at the site of his first state title, the 1978 CSGA Amateur, Szewczul missed four makeable birdie putts and a 10-footer for par at No. 18 in the final seven holes to shoot 70 and finish fourth at 208. That was one less than 1984 champion Jack McConachie, head professional at Pine Valley GC in Southington, who shot 72 to finish as third low pro, worth $3,000.

"I started a little shaky but towards the middle of the round I got things in order and had a good rhythm going," Szewczul said. "I played solid all the way but missed some putts coming in and then came out of my second shot at 18, where the green was the slowest all day. But I can't complain. I'm really pleased. Seven years ago (doctors) said I'd never play again (because of a severe wrist injury), but every round I play is a bonus. I couldn't be happier where I am today. I didn't get ahead of myself. I just played every hole as it came, stayed within the moment and really played well. I just up a few shots short. I'm close and hopefully I'll get over the hump."

Gallo, who defends in the Manchester Open at Manchester CC on Monday, shot 72 to tie for 15th at 215. The former Nationwide Tour player will play several other regional events before trying to qualify for the PGA Tour again. "That's why I'm still out here competing as hard as I am," said Gallo, who once missed qualifying for golf's highest level by a shot.

First-round leader David Pastore of Greenwich closed with 77 for a tie for 29th after he elected not to play in the U.S. Amateur qualifier at Glen Arden CC in Bedford Hills, NY. "I wanted to finish this tournament," he said. "The US Amateur qualifier was bad scheduling on my part."

But Brooklawn CC, which opened in 1895 and was designed by legendary architect A.W. Tillinghast, was anything but bad for Bensel. "I worked at Winged Foot Country Club (in Mamaroneck, NY) for a few years," Bensel said of the famed course that has hosted numerous US Golf Association championships. "This course reminds me of that because you really have to position your ball. You have to drive it in the fairway and then position it on the green. The approach shots have really excellent shot values. Brooklawn has always been one of my favorite courses. I really love it now."

Almost as much as Alynn and Hagen.

Emotional win for Fern-Boros

By Bruce Berlet on July 25, 2011 6:06 PM | Comments (0)

There's rarely been a more emotional - or well received - victory than the one that Lisa Fern-Boros scored Monday in the Connecticut Women's Tournament of Champions at Simsbury Farms Golf Course.

Fern-Boros, of D.F. Wheeler Golf Club in Bridgeport and the Highland Club in Shelton, shot a course-record 4-under-par 68 to beat Danielle Lamy by five strokes and notch her first win since her beloved husband Lance died suddenly of a heart attack on Feb. 24 at 53.

Lance often played with or caddied for Lisa, and the two always enjoyed their annual visit to the Julius Boros Challenge Cup Matches between the top players from the Connecticut Section PGA and Connecticut State Golf Association. Lisa was alone at New Haven Country Club for the first time in May with a mixed bag of feelings. She enjoyed playing nine holes and sharing some smiles and good times with the players and officials who think so much of the 1982 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee from Fairfield who lent his name to one of the state's best golf events, but not having Lance around was heartbreaking.

Bet Lance was smiling Monday as he looked down and watched Lisa appropriately win the tournament for the first time.

"It was a very comfortable day, very calming, in what has been a very difficult year," Lisa said in a phone interview. "I felt like Lance was with me. I hadn't been feeling the happy memories, but today I did. In another year I might have been more elated, but it was kind of bittersweet. But I was calm and felt like he was with me. I'm sure he would have enjoyed me winning.

"My uncle Ernie, who was a golf pro, told me a few weeks ago that I have to keep the Boros name out there, and that's what I tried to do."

Fern-Boros accomplished her goal by making five birdies while playing with multiple winners Donna Harris and defending champion Jen Holland, who tied for third at 75.

"I had a good day," said Fern-Boros, who started and ended her triumphant round with a birdie. "I had a new driver, but I went back to my old putter and had some nice sand saves and made about every putt I looked at."

And Lance undoubtedly looked it.

Lamy, of Race Brook Country Club in Orange, finished two strokes ahead of Holland (Lyman Orchards GC-Middlefield) and Harris (Farmington Woods CC). Nicole Coffey (Pequabuck GC-Bristol) and Linda Lyons (Timberlin GC-Berlin) tied for fifth at 77, one ahead of Myra MacMillan (Sterling Farms GC-Stamford/Oronoque Village CC-Southbury). Carol Galbraith (Hartford GC/Simsbury Farms) and Pam Dimock (Stanley GC-New Britain) tied for eighth at 80.

Jane Renninger of Farmington Woods CC shot 85 to tie for 18^th overall and win the Marcia Dolan Flight named for the Connecticut Golf Hall of Famer who won dozens of state, regional and national titles.

Sheary finishes strong

By Bruce Berlet on July 24, 2011 12:50 PM | Comments (0)

Natalie Sheary finally had a really enjoyable round in New England as a pro on Sunday.

The West Hartford resident birdied the 18^th hole for a 2-under-par 70 that enabled her to jump 21 spots and finish in a tie for 37^th in the LPGA Futures Tour's The International at Concord at Beaver Meadows Golf Course in Concord, N.H.

Sheary's 54-hole total of 1-over 217 earned her $669 as she made the cut for the sixth time in seven pro starts. Her only miss was last week at the ING New England Golf Classic at Wintonbury Golf Course in Bloomfield.

Canadian Jessica Shepley of Oakville, Ontario, made a 10-foot putt at No. 18 for her sixth birdie of the day, a bogey-free 66 for 203 and a one-stroke victory over Lauren Doughtie of Suffolk, Va. Shepley's first Futures Tour victory in her seventh season was worth $14,000, while Doughtie, who also had a bogey-free 66, earned $10,000.

Saehee Son of Seoul, South Korea, who led the first two rounds, slumped to 75 and finished in a tie for eighth at 211. Brittany Johnston of Akron, Ohio, who won her first Futures Tour title at Wintonbury Hills last Sunday, shot 74 to tie for 66^th at 221.

Sheary cashes in again

By Bruce Berlet on July 4, 2011 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

West Hartford's Natalie Sheary rallied for a 1-under-par 71 Saturday that enabled her to cash her fifth consecutive check as a pro on the LPGA Futures Tour.

Sheary birdied two of the last seven holes to finish the rain-shortened South Shore Championship with a 36-hole total of 2-over 147 and a 10-way tie for 45th worth $669. In her five pro starts, she has tied for eighth, 11th, 52nd, eighth and 42nd.

The second round was washed out Friday at White Hawk Country Club in Crown Point, Ind., reducing the $100,000 event to 36 holes. Sheary had opened with a 76 on Thursday and was in danger failing to finish in the money until her good finish, making for a more pleasure ride home with her father/caddie, Mike, for the tour's next stop July 15-17 at Wintonbury Hills Golf Course in Bloomfield.

Still, Sheary finished nine strokes behind Tiffany Joh of San Diego, Calif., whose other Futures Tour title came in last year's ING New England Classic at Wintonbury Hills. She will start defending for the first time in less than two weeks.

Joh closed with a 2-under 70 for 138 and a two-stroke victory over Jane Ran (69) of Torrance, Calif., Mallory Blackwelder (72) of Versaillers, Ky., and Tiffany Tavee (69) of Tempe, Ariz. Joh earned $14,000, and three runners-up each won $7,413.

Jacobson in British Open

By Bruce Berlet on July 4, 2011 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

Two players who had made a combined 541 PGA Tour starts before winning for the first time within two weeks of each other in June won spots in the British Open on Sunday.

Travelers Championship winner Fredrik Jacobson and FedEx St. Jude Classic champion Harrison Frazar didn't play in the AT&T National that Nick Watney won on Sunday, but they finished 1-2 on a six-tournament cumulative money list of players not previously eligible for the year's third major July 14-17 at Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England.

Jacobson earned $1,260,274 in The Players Championship, The Memorial, FedEx St. Jude Classic, U.S. Open, Travelers Championship and AT&T National. The included $1,080,000 for a one-stroke victory over Ryan Moore and John Rollins in his 188th tour start at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell. Jacobson won 14 days after Frazar, who also earned $1,080,000 in his 355th tour start on the way to a $1,058,436 total.

In addition to the mini-money list, Charles Howell III, who tied for third Sunday, earned a spot in the British Open as a result of being the leading player among the top five in the AT&T National who was not previously eligible. Ironically, Howell is a close friend of tournament host Tiger Woods, who isn't expected to play at Royal St. George's because of injuries to his left knee and Achilles' tendon.

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