69 TH CONNECTICUT SENIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Wethersfield Country Club Wethersfield, Conn. September 29 - 30
HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES!
Having played collegiate soccer at UMass, Mark Vasington had faced plenty of
pressure-packed situations, but none quite like having the lead at a CSGA major
championship. Like a true champion, he rose to the challenge.
A
S A YOUNG BOY, Mark Vasington
was first introduced to the game
of golf at Wethersfield Country
Club. The year was 1960, and the club was
hosting the annual Insurance City Open (now
the Travelers Championship). Vasington
remembers watching Arnold Palmer hit a shot
from the fairway on the fourth hole that hit
the flagstick and dropped in for an eagle. The
crowd went wild, and Vasington was hooked.
Palmer went on to win his second Insurance
City Open title that year, adding to his resume
that already included two Masters and a U.S.
Open, the latter of which he had won a little
less than two months before.
It only seems fitting that Vasington’s
quest for his first CSGA major championship
would happen at the place where he first
fell in love with the game. After an opening
round of 74, he began the day a total of seven
strokes back of overnight leader Rob Bartha
of Tallwood Country Club, whose 67 on day
one gave him a three shot lead heading into the
final day. Vasington stood in a tie for 17th at the
start of the final round, and knew he needed
something special to even have a chance at the
title.
“I said to my wife last night that to
be close, I probably had to shoot 68 to have
a chance,” said Vasington. “To be honest, I
didn’t think that would be enough to win, but
I thought I might have a shot. My mind-set was
really to just play one shot at a time “
Starting on the 8th hole in the final
round shotgun, Vasington birdied the 10th
and 17th holes to head to the front nine at
one over-par for the championship. Playing in
the same group as Vasington, Dave Szewczul
of Tunxis Plantation Country Club made a
pair of birdies of his own on the 8th and 10th
holes to move to +1 as well. With the leaders
faltering on the back nine, suddenly Vasington
and Szewczul found themselves in a tie for the
lead.
“As our round progressed, I started
seeing more and more people following our
group, so I knew that Dave [Szewczul] and I
were in the hunt,” said Vasington. “I just kept
telling myself to make good swings, and that
was my goal.”
Vasington made his third birdie on
the par-5 2nd hole to take sole possession of
the lead, and despite the pressure of leading
a CSGA major championship, he refused to
stumble.
After hitting his tee shot to the right
on the 4th hole, his 16th hole of the day, he hit
a spectacular recovery, a low punch through
the trees that ended up just thirty feet from
the hole. It turned out to be the shot of the
tournament, on the same hole that he witnessed
Palmer’s miraculous shot fifty-four years ago.
After two-putting for the par save on
the fourth hole, and making a pair of clutch
par’s on the fith and sixth holes, Vasington had
done what he set out to do, and a bogey-free
round of three under-par 68 left him holding
the Senior Amateur trophy.
“I’ve only been playing state
competitions for a few years and I’m very
humbled by the win, knowing all of the great
names of former champions on the trophy. It’s
Top: Mark Vasington hits his approach into the par-3 3rd
green; Bottom: Mark Vasington (left) holds the Senior
Amateur Trophy with Joel Johnson of Johnson Brunetti, the
championship’s presenting sponsor.
a pretty amazing feeling for me and I feel very
fortunate to have come out on top.”
69th Connecticut Senior Amateur Championship
Wethersfield Country Club ~ Wethersfield, Conn. ~ September 29-30
Par: 35-36--71 ~ Yardage: 6,383 ~ Entries: 178
1
Mark Vasington, Wampanoag CC
74-68--142
2
3
4
Dave Szewczul, Tunxis Plantation CC
Bill Torza, Wethersfield CC
Bob Spaniotis, Wethersfield CC
Shawn McLoughlin, Ridgewood CC
Chuck Claffey, Jr., Farmington Woods CC
Rob Bartha, Tallwood CC
74-69--143
71-74--145
73-73--146
73-73--146
70-76--146
67-79--146
www.csgalinks.org
148 (8) Bill Hermanson, Black Hall Club, Manny DaSilva, Blue Fox Run GC, Timothy Dailey, H Smith
Richardson GC, Frank Geiger, H Smith Richardson GC, Mark Durand, Wethersfield CC, Jack Bracken,
Hartford GC, Les Zimmerman, Hunter GC, Roger Everin, Wethersfield CC, Steve Finkel, Wethersfield
CC, John Torda, Wethersfield CC 149 (18) Robert Barnes, The Course at Yale, Tom Scarrozzo, Blue Fox
Run GC, Rod McCorkill, Cedar Knob GC, Scott Newman, Wampanoag CC, Rob Davidson, Tallwood CC
150 (T23) Tom Fox, Sterling Farms GC, Gary Mattesen, Cedar Knob GC 151 (25) Wynne Bohonnon, New
Haven CC, Manny Cavalieri, Stanley GC, Jim Tierney, Richter Park GC, Nick Bogann