WALLINGFORD, Aug. 20 – Farmington’s Kelly Whaley easily won her third Connecticut Women’s Amateur golf tournament in four years on Wednesday at the Farms Country Club. Whaley, 17, won by 14 strokes over Catherine McEvoy of Riverside.
Whaley, a senior at the International Junior Golf Academy at Hilton Head, South Carolina, previously won the state amateur title in 2011 and 2013. She had a three-day total of 218 after rounds of 73, 70 and 75. McEvoy, who will be a junior at Greenwich High this fall, was second with a 232 with rounds of 81, 76 and 75.
Canton’s Nikki Liucci, a junior at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, was 24th in the field with a score of 256. She had rounds of 83, 85 and 88. Avon’s Marissa Grillo, who will begin her freshman year at Boston College in September, was 34th with a 262 after rounds of 89, 89 and 84.
Kevin Foster of Hop Meadow Country Club, winner of the 2014 Mid-Amateur championship.
Foster wins Mid-Amateur for second time
SIMSBURY — Kevin Foster of Simsbury’s Hop Meadow Country Club fired a two under-par 70 in the final round to capture the 27th Connecticut Mid-Amateur Championship, winning by two strokes over Philip Perry of Black Hall Club in Old Lyme.
Foster, who entered the final day just two strokes off the lead after an opening round of 70, shot a round of 74 in the morning round and trailed Perry by two heading into the final round. Golfers played 36 holes on day two of the tournament.
Playing in the final group with day 1 leader David Olender of Ellington Ridge and Chris Maxwell of Tunxis Plantation in Farmington, Foster jumped out to an fast start in his final round, making three birdies on the third, fifth and sixth holes. Paired with a pair of back-to-back bogies by Perry on the fourth and fifth holes, Foster quickly moved from a tie for second to a three-shot lead over the field.
“The first six holes are where you have to make your move out here,” said Foster. “I was fortunate to get off to a great start before the hard stretch of holes began.”
It was Foster’s first Connecticut State Golf Association (CSGA) championship in 16 years since he captured his first Mid-Amateur tournament title in 1998 at Hartford Golf Club. Since that time, he has captured a pair of Connecticut Senior Open titles (2004 and 2013), and finished second in the 2011 Connecticut Senior Amateur.
Winning at his home club was pretty special for Foster.
“It’s really exciting for me,” said Foster. “Winning at your home club is really special. I was fortunate to have a lot of Hop Meadow members and friends out watching today, and that support was really helpful especially on a long day like today where we’re playing 36 holes. I’m really proud to be a member here and it was a great chance for us to show off our golf course to some of the best players in the state.”
It was the fourth time that the Mid-Amateur championships were held at Hop Meadow CC. It was previously played at Hop Meadow in 1999, 2005 and 2012.
The Mid-Amateur is for amateur golfers of at least 25. The tournament was started nearly 30 years ago because the post-college player could compete in the Amateur Championship, sometimes successfully, but these older amateurs faced greater odds. While they fit their golf around their work and families, they were most often competing against college golfers, for whom the game is close to a full-time activity.
Information from the CSGA was included in this report.
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