Golfers With Hartford County Ties Fare Well At 89th Connecticut Open

BERLIN, CT — Former PGA Tour pro Brett Stegmaier of New Haven Country Club won his first Connecticut Open championship Wednesday, David Pastore of Fairview Country Club in Greenwich wound up second, and two-time defending champion Peter Ballo of the Connecticut Golf Club in Easton fell short in his bid to become the first golfer to three-peat in 40 years, finishing tied for fourth. However, it was not just players from downstate who turned in impressive showings in the 89th edition of the state championship.

Six golfers with strong ties to Hartford County placed in the top 15, led by Jason Thresher of West Suffield. After tying for second last year and tying for fourth in 2019, Thresher, 34, shot 67-69-65-201 (-12) to place third, three strokes behind Stegmaier and one back of Pastore. He won the Massachusetts Open three straight years from 2016 to 2018, and won the 2019 New England Open.

For the third straight year, Cody Paladino of West Hartford posted the best total among amateur players, with 71-68-64-203 (-10) to tie for fourth. The 2015 Connecticut Open champion, Paladino, 34, reached the finals of the Connecticut Amateur earlier this year, and qualified to play in the 123rd U.S. Amateur next month.

Arthur Ouimet, an amateur who played at East Windsor High School, finished alone in ninth place with 70-67-68-205 (-8). In May, he won his first Connecticut State Golf Association title, capturing the Two-Man Championship with partner Anthony Guerrera. Ouimet, 24, now plays out of the Country Club of Waterbury.

Three other players with local roots were in a group tied for 14th at 4-under par 209. Kyle Gallo of Berlin, who won the event a record-tying four times (1998,2000, 2004, 2010), was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 2019. Clark Robinson, 28, graduated from South Windsor High School in 2013, and went on to play collegiately at Marshall University before turning pro in 2017. Jackson Roman, 20, is an amateur from Kensington who just completed his sophomore season at Loyola University Maryland.

Complete tournament results for all players in the 150-man field may be found here.