The North and South Courses at
Lake of Isles demand precision off the tee
and a tremendous short game to navigate
the difficult green complexes. After
shooting rounds of 76-75--151 to grab the
#18 seed, Zaback made his way through
the bracket of Connecticut’s best amateur
golfers, knocking off the likes of Dave
Szewczul, Monte Mullen, and Branden
Chirorka en-route to the finals. He faced
Kevin Josephson of the Country Club of
Farmington, the only player who stood
between him and his first CSGA major
championship title.
“I tried to not think about what it
would mean to win because I didn’t want
to get ahead of myself, but I ‘ll admit did
think about it a bit. It was a cool feeling
to know you are so close, but you still have
to stay focused and take it one hole at a
time. I felt like if I kept doing what I was
doing throughout the whole tournament,
I would have a great shot at winning.”
Indeed, Josephson tested Zaback
all the way to the final hole of the 36-hole
final match, but it was Zaback’s remarkable
recovery shots and putting prowess
that left him holding the state’s oldest
championship trophy.
Zaback took advantage of every
opportunity he had to garner Player of the
Year points, including a third place finish
at the New England Amateur, an eleventh
place finish at the Connecticut Open, and
successfully qualifying for the 114th U.S.
Amateur Championship, a moment that
Zaback will cherish forever.
“Winning the Connecticut
Amateur was certainly the highlight of the
year, but qualifying for the U.S. Amateur
was really special for me. When you qualify
for a USGA event, it means playing on the
next level with some of the best players
in the country, and it was an awesome
experience. In the second round of the
qualifier, I knew I needed a great round to
have a chance at qualifying. I went out and
shot two under-par, and it just confirmed
my belief that I belonged there.”
Zaback needed everything just to
edge Dave Szewczul, who almost overtook
Zaback by advancing to the Round of 16
at the U.S. Senior Amateur and finishing
Runner-Up at the Connecticut Public
Links. But it was Zaback who came out
on top, a deserving honor for a young man
who put together a season he won’t soon
forget.
“This was by far the best season
for me. I played really consistently and I
felt like I was giving myself opportunities
to be in contention every tournament I
played in.”
Along with Zaback, it was an
incredible year for the Huskies, who
placed three teammates in the top-10 of
the Player of the Year race. John Flaherty
of TPC River Highlands and Chris
Wiatr of the Country Club of Waterbury
finished fourth and sixth in the standings,
respectively. Flaherty nearly won the
Russell C. Palmer Cup, losing in a playoff
to eventual champion Blake Morris,
while Wiatr finished eleventh in the
Connecticut Open and advanced through
local qualifying for the 114th U.S. Open
Championship.
“We have a really strong team,
and I think we have all gotten better each
year,” said Zaback. “We all put in a lot of
work this summer and I think as we have
gotten older and have gained a lot more
experience, everyone just became a lot
more comfortable with their own games
and it showed with a lot of the guys having
a lot of great finishes this year.”
“I really tried to work on my short game and putting going into
the season. Throughout the whole summer, I putted really
well and I think that was a big key for my success this year. I
was in a good rhythm throughout the season which gave me
a lot of confidence in myself going into each tournament,
and because of that, I was able to play my own game.”
~ Zach Zaback, TPC River Highlands
Top-Left: Zach Zaback worked on his short game throughout the off-season, and it paid off, hitting a host
of incredible recovery shots to defeat Kevin Josephson in the finals of the 112th Connecticut Amateur
Championship; Top-Right: Zaback lines up a birdie putt on the par-3 11th at Lake of Isles; Zaback had his
father, Andrew, on the bag for him during the 36-hole final day of the Russell C. Palmer Cup.
60
Connecticut State Golf Association 2014
www.csgalinks.org