16 TH CONNECTICUT WOMEN’S OPEN
Wampanoag Country Club West Hartford, Conn. May 27 - 28
EYES ON THE PRIZE
From the first hole to the final putt, Carmen Bandea of Johns Creek, Georgia never
lost her composure en-route to her first Connecticut Women’s Open title.
W
Top: Same pose, different day- dressed in winter clothes,
Carmen Bandea tees off on the first playoff hole. Middle:
Liz Caron came close to capturing her record fifth-straight
Women’s Open title on her childhood course. Bottom: Carmen
Bandea smiles with the Women’s Open trophy after making
birdie the second playoff hole.
ITH HEAVY ROUGH
made more difficult after a
late Tuesday rain storm, an
overnight temperature drop of thirty degrees,
and a stiff wind blowing throughout, the final
18 holes of the Connecticut Women’s Open
looked to be a battle against the elements. It
turned out to be a two-woman fight for the
title between four-time champion Liz Caron
of Stamford, and 23 year-old Georgian,
Carmen Bandea.
Through the first nine holes Caron
and Bandea dropped from 4-under and
3-under respectively to be tied for the lead at
even par. Caron’s front nine 40, and Bandea’s
39 were not shocking given the conditions.
That first round leader, Lindsay Ann Aho (-4,
68) shot 45 after multiple three-putt greens
was surprising, as the former Big Break Florida
star was coming off a smooth 4-under par
opening round.
Bandea, after misfortune at the 8th
hole when her second shot to the par five
buried under the lip of a greenside bunker,
could have faltered if not for impressive
composure and relentless determination.
With little choice but to take an unplayable lie
in the bunker, Bandea produced a 6 on a hole
she expected to birdie.
“It was a tough break,” said Bandea,
“it wasn’t really that bad of a shot. It was just
about pin high and only about twenty feet left
of the flag. If it lands one inch to the right and
takes any kind of bounce I’ve got an eagle putt.
But those are the breaks.”
After the debacle at the 8th, Bandea
orchestrated a spectacular run over the next
seven holes. She narrowly missed birdie at the
difficult 9th then dropped an eight-footer at
the 10th after a brilliant approach. She then
went on to birdie the 12th with a forty-footer,
and the 14th and 15th with downhill sliders
to gain a one-shot lead over Caron.
Much the way they started, perhaps
again succumbing to the elements, the players
struggled to reach the clubhouse and the
official scorer’s table. Bandea bogeyed 16 and
17, and Caron bogeyed 18. That left them
tied at 142, 2-under par, and in the ensuing
sudden death playoff that began with a return
to the 18th tee, both halved with bogeys and
then halved the second playoff hole (the par 4
10th) with pars.
Bandea’s quest for her first
Connecticut Open title, and Caron’s bid for
her fifth came to resolution at the third playoff
hole, the par 4, 17th. Bandea’s perfectly struck
nine iron came to rest ten feet from the hole.
With Caron unable to match the play, Bandea
rolled in her birdie to claim the 16th playing
of the championship
Bandea’s father served as her caddy
over the 36 hole test. Shortly after his daughter
won her second tournament as a professional
(she won the Maryland Open in 2011), he
remarked, “We learned a lot from Liz Caron
today. How to play certain shots, how to
compete, how to conduct yourself. Valuable
lessons and a great experience. The $5,000 first
place prize money will help as well.”
16th Connecticut Women’s Open Championship
Wampanoag Country Club ~ West Hartford, Conn. ~ May 27-28
Par: 36-36--72 ~ Yardage: 5,804 ~ Entries: 68
1
www.csgalinks.org
Carmen Bandea, Johns Creek, Georgia
69-73--142
2
3
4
5
8
Elizabeth Caron, Stamford, Connecticut
Seul-Ki Park, Northbrook, Illinois
Lynn Valentine, East Lyme, Connecticut
Alexa Re Rancourt, Simpsonville, South Carolina
Amanda Steinhagen, Herndon, Virginia
Teri Hjelte, Greenwich, Conn.
Ashli Bunch, Morristown, Tennessee
Michelle Dobek, Chicopee, Massachusetts
Jordan Lintz, Milford, Connecticut
Katy Jarochowicz, Flinders, New South Wales
68-74--142
73-74--147
74-75--147
76-74--150
74-76--150
70-80--150
75-77--152
74-78--152
74-78--152
73-79--152
Connecticut State Golf Association 2014
17