Connecticut Senior Match Play: Brett Wins First CSGA Title

09 Jun 2017
by Connecticut State Golf Association
see also: View results for Connecticut Senior Match Play, Indian Hill Country Club, Tom Brett Profile
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Tom Brett, the 2017 Connecticut Senior Match Play Champion<br>(CSGA photo)

Tom Brett, the 2017 Connecticut Senior Match Play Champion
(CSGA photo)

FAIRFIELD, CT (June 9, 2017) - Tom Brett of Tallwood Country Club overcame an early deficit, winning six of the final ten holes en-route to a 4 and 3 victory at the 11th Connecticut Senior Match Play Championship. Brett was able to knock off Eugene Fabbri of Brooklawn Country Club in the final match, claiming his first CSGA championship title.

The Senior Match Play final was represented by a pair of players with unique ties to Brooklawn Country Club. Fabbri, a longtime member of the club, was hoping to become the first player in tournament history to win the Senior Match Play Championship on their home course. Brett, who plays his golf at Tallwood Country Club, was an Assistant Golf Professional at Brooklawn CC in the late 1980’s.

“It’s amazing because everything is the same as it was thirty years ago,” said Brett. “I have so many great memories of my time here and it was like a trip back in time for me.”

Lifelong friend of AmateurGolf.com founder
Pete Wlodkowski, Tom Brett (R) with another
lifelong friend Jim Gentile (L).

After making a pair of bogies on holes #2 and 4 in the 18-hole final, Brett quickly found himself 2 down to Fabbri. As he had done all week, he focused on putting the ball in fairway off the tee, and the strategy paid off. He would go on to win holes #6, 7, 8 and 10 to swing the match to a 2-up advantage. In that difficult stretch of holes, Brett didn’t miss a fairway and played them in a remarkable three under-par.

“I kept the ball in play, and that’s really the key out here to be able to get the ball into the right places on these greens,” said Brett. “The greens were so fast and so difficult that it was so important to be below the hole.”

The deficit would prove to be too much for Fabbri, as Brett would go on to birdie the 13th hole and an eventual 4 and 3 victory. For Brett, the victory marks his first CSGA major championship, but in his long amateur career, he has had his share of close calls and near misses. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the Connecticut Amateur in 2007, finished fifth at the Connecticut Mid-Amateur in 2013, and advanced to the semifinals in last year’s Senior Match Play Championship.

Despite coming up short in the final match, it was a memorable week for Fabbri, who made a historic run at his home club that included knocking off Bruce Kraczkowsky (defending champion) and Richard Stevens (2007 Senior Amateur Champion).

“My putter was really working well all week, and that really served me well,” said Fabbri. “I was fortunate to be able to beat a lot of great opponents and it was a really great experience to make it this far.”

View results for Connecticut Senior Match Play

ABOUT THE Connecticut Senior Match Play

The tournament, which is the first of two majors for senior golfers on the CSGA schedule, challenges competitors with a round of stroke play to determine the low sixteen match play qualifiers followed by two rounds of match play each day that culminate in an eighteen-hole final match.