Semifinal Matchups Set at Third Playing of The Farrell
GREENWICH, Conn. (September 28, 2024) – The semifinal matchups at the third playing of The Farrell are set at The Stanwich Club after two round of match play on Saturday. The Men’s Mid-Amateur division matchups feature Christian Cavaliere of Hudson National against Australian Lukas Michel, and Will Davenport of Pine Tree (Fla.) against Tim Hagerty of Winged Foot. The Senior division include Jim Strickland of Whisper Rock against Mark Loomis of Winged Foot and Ronan Culligan of Saucon Valley (Pa.) versus Kevin Vandenberg of Beaver Meadows (N.Y.). In the women’s mid-amateur division, Alyssa Roland of Watchung Valley will meet Jackie Rogowicz of Merion (Pa.), and Jacqueline Setas of The Country Club of Tennessee and Meghan Stasi from Tavistock (Fla.) will face one another.
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Cavaliere defeated Franco Castro 3 and 2 to advance. Cavaliere won the first two holes before falling one down after the seventh. The 26-year-old won the next three holes to build a 2-up lead, which he wouldn’t surrender. In Michel’s match against John Spellerberg of Omaha (Neb.) no player led by more than one until Michel wrapped up the match 2 and 1 with a tie on the par-5 17th.
Davenport has yet to play Nos. 17 and 18 in match play through two rounds. In the quarterfinals against Adam Freidman of Great River (Conn.), Davenport was 1-up after 12, then won the ensuing three holes to close the match on No. 15, 4 and 3. Hegarty also won by a 4-and-3 margin in the quarterfinals against Ben Cooley of Huntingdon Valley (Pa.) and never trailed against Cooley. Hegarty hasn’t played holes 16-18 in match play so far.
Strickland advanced with a win against Kurtis Babczenko of Stanwich 2 and 1. The Arizona native was two down after 12 before winning four of the last six holes to win. Loomis built a 5-up lead against Keith Dardis of Stanwich through 10 holes. Dardis chipped away at the deficit and forced the match to the par-4 18th, which Strickland won with par to secure the win.
Culligan was 1-up after nine against D. Scott Mackesy of Winged Foot. Mackesy tied the match with a par on the par-10th before Culligan restored his advantage on the par-4 11th. Culligan then won the par-3 16th and the par-5 17th to close the match. Vanderberg led by three at the turn after winning Nos. 6, 8, and 9. Dougherty picked up two wins but couldn’t get closer than one down. Vandenberg won 1-up after a par on No. 18.
Roland was 3-up after four holes, but saw Charlotte Daughan of MGA eClub-Connecticut win four of the next five holes to take a 1-up lead at the turn. Roland responded with wins on three of the next four holes to build a 2-up advantage. After alternating wins on Nos. 13 and 14, Roland punched her ticket to the semifinals by making birdie on the par-5 17th. Rogowicz closed the front nine with three straight wins to take a 3-up lead over Valeria Mendizabal from The Country Club of Tennessee. Rogowicz closed out the match with a birdie on the par-4 15th.
Setas needed all 18 holes to defeat Corinna Limbocker of Otterkill (N.Y.), 1-up. Setas was 2-up after 14 holes before Limbocker pushed the match to the par-4 18th. Setas won the match when her par putt was conceded. Stasi got revenge on Ina Kim-Schaad of Deepdale on Saturday with a 3-and-2 win. Stasi lost to Kim-Schaad at the U.S. Women’s Amateur a few weeks ago in the second round of match play. On Saturday, Stasi built a 4-up lead through 11 holes and never let Kim-Schaad back into the match before closing it out with a half on the par-3 16th.
The Senior division semifinal matches start at 7:30 a.m. and 7:40 a.m., with the Men’s Mid-Amateur division semifinals following at 7:50 and 8 a.m., and the Women’s semifinals going off third at 8:10 and 8:20 a.m.
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.