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The Farrell Ready for Championship Sunday

GREENWICH, Conn. (October 1, 2022) – While day two of The Farrell appeared to be threatened by weather, a 1-hour delay in the morning stood as the heaviest impact as two rounds of match play took place at The Stanwich Club, Saturday.

One quarterfinal match remains in the Men’s Mid-Amateur bracket, as Darin Goldstien of Deepdale and T.J. Shuart of Fort Lauderdale Country Club finished 18 holes tied and will conclude their match Sunday morning.

Related: Match Play Brackets | Photos

Otherwise in the men’s bracket, the quarterfinal match between Brad Tilley of Sleepy Hollow and medalist Pat Wilson of Hamilton Farm served as a highlight, with Tilley knocking his approach to just a couple feet to win the back-and-forth match in 19 holes.

“I laid back farther off the tee,” said Tilley of his strategy on the par-4 first hole. “I think it’s a little bit easier, it takes the bunker out of play and it’s nice to hit first when it comes down to the end. I had a little 9-iron, made a great swing and it landed about a foot from the hole and I don’t think I had more than two feet to seal the deal. So, it was pretty sweet to do that.”

 

 

Tilley will face 2017 Ike champion Matt Lowe of Bethpage, who notched a pair of decisive victories on Saturday, defeating Trevor Randolph of Arcola by a 6-and-4 margin and ousting Chris Troy of Winged Foot, 8-and-6 in the afternoon.

On the bottom half of the bracket, Cody Paladino of Hartford Golf Club upended Ben Cooley of Huntingdon Valley, 4 and 3, and reigning MGA Mid-Amateur champion Chris DeJohn of Arcola, 4 and 2 and faces the winner of Goldstein and Shuart.

After qualifying as the No. 9 seed, Chaithra Katamneni of Midland Country Club (Mich.) reeled off a pair of impressive victories, topping NJSGA eClub member Daria Delfino, 6 and 5, before knocking out co-medalist Pendleton Bogache of Deepdale by an 8-and-7 margin. Katamneni lost just one hole on the day, letting her steady play get the job done as 13 of her 15 holes won on the day came with pars.

Katamneni, who advanced to match play in September’s U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur will square off against back-to-back U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur runner-up Aliea Clark of Five Iron Golf. Clark had a 6-and-5 win in the morning over Brooke Cooper of Meadow Brook before narrowly edging Ellen Oswald of Westchester, 1-up, by winning the par-4 18th with par.

Co-medalist Catherin McEvoy continued her fine play with a 2-up win over Natalie Grainger of Apawamis in the morning and a 6-and-5 win over Noelle Maertz of Ridgewood in the afternoon.

She’ll square off against Ina Kim-Schaad, who defeated Tracy Pester of Baltusrol, 7-and-6, and Adrienne MacLean of Somerset Hills, 4 and 2.

“I was prepared for much worse weather, to be honest, so I was pleasantly surprised by today,” said the 2019 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion.

Kim-Schaad reported that her green reading and getting a better pace on the greens helped her through the day and has her seeing the final day of a championship that’s already been memorable for her.

“The membership has been above and beyond even what we would have ever expected,” said Kim-Schaad. “Everyone’s been so welcoming, so warm, so kind. It’s such a fun environment. Even the competitors—we all want to play great, but it’s more about getting to know each other and having fun together, which is so special.”

In the Senior bracket, higher seeds made their way through as No. 9 Pat Pierson of New York Country Club will face No. 13 Mark Vassalotti of Sterling Farms. Vassalotti credited his lag putting and iron play as keys to his two victories and is embracing the run in the championship.

“I’ve lived in this area for a long time and know the history of Mr. Farrell and his family,” said Vassalotti. “I can’t even begin to tell you how proud I am, regardless of what happens tomorrow, that I’m one of four people right there.”

In the other semifinal, No. 10. Kurtis Babczenko of Stanwich and No. 14 Ed Gibstein of Glen Head will face one another.

Stanwich hosted the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2002 and is especially known for its fast, true greens. In the years since, the Club has welcomed the Palmer Cup and Wyndham Cup. It stands among 19 Met Area clubs that have hosted all three MGA majors—the Ike, Amateur and Open—hosting the Met Open in 1972 and 1996, the Ike in 1989 and the Met Amateur in 2004 and 2013.

The Farrell family has long been synonymous with golf in the Met Area. Billy was one of five children and grew up in in New Jersey; his father Johnny, the 1928 U.S. Open champion, was the Head Professional at Baltusrol Golf Club. While competing on tour, where he played in eight U.S. Opens and seven PGA Championships, Billy also worked as an assistant at Baltusrol. Billy and his wife Alvera had seven children; for 20 years, his son Bobby served as the Director of Golf at Tamarack Country Club in Greenwich, Conn. The Farrells were named Golf Family of the Year in 1966 by the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association.

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