Both Zaback and Josephson began the morning round
seeking to capture their first Connecticut Amateur title, and
after 18-holes, the match remained all square. Both players shot
rounds of two under-par 70 in the morning, highlighted by a
flurry of clutch birdies and incredible par saves.
The turning point of the match came at the difficult par4 7th. All square through 25 holes, both Josephson and Zaback
drove it into the thick brush lining the fairway. Both players
struggled to advance it, with Zaback forced to ta ke an unplayable
lie penalty and Josephson unable to pitch out after a pair of
swings. With both players lying four in the fairway, Zaback hit
a laser-like approach to the back-left hole location and drained
a ten-foot downhill slider to take the 1-up lead with just eleven
holes to play.
“We both kind of shot ourselves in the foot there, so to
speak. I was able to get up-and-down for six and win the hole,
which was a huge momentum boost for me.”
Indeed, it was just the boost he needed. Zaback would
go on to win holes 9 and 11 to take a 3-up lead with just seven
holes to play.
However, Josephson refused to go away quietly. He
promptly bounced back with wins on the 12th and 13th holes
to close the gap to within one. Knowing that he needed birdie on
the par-5 17th, Josephson hit driver off the tee and was able to
reach the 550-yard hole in two shots, a hole that Zaback eagled in
the morning round. With his ball in the bunker and Zaback just
short, he made a magnificent up-and-down from the greenside
bunker for a birdie four, good enough for a halve and a chance to
win the 18th.
22
Connecticut State Golf Association 2014
www.csgalinks.org