June 13 - 17 , 2016 ~ Wethersfield Country Club
TOP TO BOTTOM : Zach Zaback rode a hot putter en route to a fifteen under-par total through twenty-nine holes of the final match ; P . J . Cavaliere of Wethersfield Country Club carried the scoring standard for the final match and was one of many Wethersfield CC members who volunteered throughout the week .
OPPOSITE PAGE ( CLOCKWISE FROM TOP ): Zaback holds the Robert D . Pryde Trophy , named in memory of the first Executive Director of the CSGA . Pryde also designed several courses around the state , including the present layout at Wethersfield Country Club ; Corey Birch recorded his best finish in the Connecticut Amateur , finishing runner-up in his second consecutive CSGA championship ; There was plenty to smile about for Zaback in the final match alongside caddie Eric Dietrich , who advanced to the quarterfinals and also qualified for the U . S . Amateur later that summer .
22 / CONNECTICUT STATE GOLF ASSOCIATION / 2016 ANNUAL
Z aback , the # 6 seed and 2014 Connecticut Amateur Champion , entered the finals of the Connecticut Amateur hoping to win his second CSGA championship of the year . The recent University of Connecticut graduate won the Russell C . Palmer Cup at the Country Club of Waterbury by six strokes over Corey Birch of Silver Spring Country Club , also a recent University of Connecticut graduate , who was looking to capture the first CSGA championship of his career .
Zaback got off to a near-perfect start , making birdie on three of his first five holes to take a 3-up advantage over his former teammate and college roommate .
“ The first two holes are pretty gettable and I ’ ve been playing solid all week . I ’ ve been hitting it well and putting well , after the start , I just tried to keep my foot on the gas and keep doing what I was doing all week .”
While Birch was able to win the 10th and 12th holes to stay 3-down through twelve holes , Zaback proceeded to win four of the next five holes , highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 14th , to go to 7-up walking down the 18th fairway . A rare bogey from the fairway on the par-4 18th left Zaback 6-up over Birch going into the halfway point of the 36-hole final .
“ I won the 18th hole in the morning and thought that was pretty big going into the break , because I figured at least 6-up is better than 7-up ,” said Birch .
With the honor on the 1st tee for the 19th hole of the match , Birch hit his tee shot just into the left rough , leaving him a good angle to the middle hole location and a chance at birdie . With a 6-up advantage , Zaback pulled driver on the 332 yard par-4 , landed his driver thirty yards short of the green and watched his ball take a healthy bounce toward the putting surface .
“ I was watching it get up there and I thought it was going to maybe be just short ,” said Zaback . “ It kept bouncing up , rolled up on the green , and then it disappeared . I thought maybe it went in but it was hard to tell . To make my first hole-in-one on a par-4 was a pretty cool feeling .”
Often times the phrase “ shot of the match ” or “ shot of the tournament ” is used , but the hole-in-one made by Zaback could be deemed the single best shot in the 114-year history of the tournament . Zaback ’ s ace on the par-4 first hole marked his first hole-in-one and the first recorded ace on the 1st hole in the 100-year history of Wethersfield Country Club . Aside from the long list of CSGA championships held at Wethersfield CC , the club famously hosted the Insurance City Open ( now the Travelers Championship ) from 1952 to 1983 . Throughout the years of hosting the best players in the state and across the world , no player has ever recorded an ace on the opening hole .
When all was said and done , Zaback played nearly perfect golf , recording eleven birdies , one eagle and one double-eagle , matched with just one bogey . There isn ’ t much doubt his round of fifteen under-par for twenty-nine holes will go down as one of the great performances in Amateur history . Zaback only lost four holes
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I can ’ t even describe it , this was by far the best day of golf I ’ ve ever had . Everything was on today , I drove it great , my irons were on and I made a lot of great putts . - Zach Zaback