The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
CONNECTICUT OPEN Kong keeps rolling, leads by four
Rasmey Kong’s confidence is skyhigh right now. It should be.
The 22yearold West Haven resident owns a fourstroke lead in the 85th Connecticut Open at Torrington Country Club and is showing no signs of slowing down.
“I was so hard on myself when I was younger. If you’re free, you can do anything you want,” Kong said.
Kong followed up Friday’s 7under 65 — which tied the competitive course record — with a 66 on Saturday to sit at 13under 131 through 36 holes. He’s made 14 birdies and just one bogey.
“My mindset right now is if I keep playing my game plan, I mean, kind of no one has a chance,” Kong said. “But I’m not going to let my golf game define me as a person anymore. … We all play against the golf course. We’re all here for the same reason. That’s what my dad and I talked about today (on the drive to the course).”
Jason Thresher stands in second place at 9under 135. Fletcher Babcock and Paul Pastore are another stroke back at 8under.
“My goal was to get to double digits,” Thresher said. “I need to make birdies tomorrow if the conditions remain the same.”
A former Register Area MVP for high school golf, Kong bypassed college after graduating from North Haven in 2015. He remained an amateur, but continued to compete in both New England and in West Palm Beach, Florida.
He didn’t win any tournaments before turning pro on Dec. 18. And he noted that he hit rock bottom with his game — and his confidence — during the winter months.
“I was pretty low for 23 months when I was doing Monday qualifiers,” Kong said. “I played OK, but not good enough. … It’s kind of hard to beat yourself up every day when you need to perform on one day.”
But a change in attitude has helped Kong, who weighs 140 pounds soaking wet but can still belt it around 300 yards off the tee. And as seen by the eight birdies, he can get hot with the putter as well.
“I also played with him (the first two rounds of the Open) last year,” said Alex Aurora, who played with Kong on Friday and Saturday. “Last year, he hit it almost as well, but his putter was holding him back. This year, it’s completely different. His putting has improved. I was impressed but never surprised. I wish it would have made me play a little better.”
Aurora, who missed the cut (1over 145), just graduated from Hamden High and will play at Lehigh University this fall. He and Kong, along with Kevin Morris, Aurora’s high school teammate, and Chris Fosdick, the former Xavier High standout heading to play at Florida Southern, have played together at Wallingford CC.
So they have seen firsthand Kong’s improved game and demeanor. And now so has the rest of the state.
Kong was able to succeed despite the extremely humid conditions and a heat index that rose above 100 degrees.
“I like playing in the heat compared to spring golf in high school,” Kong said. “It doesn’t bother me at all.”
But there is one more round to be played on Sunday.
“My main goal was to win. Literally, I told everyone that I was going to win. I said, ‘I’m making this trip to make it worth it. I’m playing well, my head’s in the right place.’ We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I’ll keep doing what I do.”
Thresher, who won the Massachusetts Open three straight years (201618), lost in a playoff to Jeff Evanier two years ago in this event. He made six birdies on Saturday.
Thresher will play with Kong in the final group at 8:51 a.m. The tee times have been moved up to avoid the excessive heat and humidity for the final round.
Pastore, who plays out of Fairview CC in Greenwich, made five birdies and no bogeys for a 67 and to get within striking distance of Kong.
Babcock, who has overcome both elbow and foot injuries in the past decade, birdied six of his first eight holes, then eagled the par5 16th to get to 8under for his round (Babcock’s round started on the eighth hole). But Babcock, who plays out of Connecticut National GC, played the rest of his round in 1over.
Max Theodorakis, Michael VanDerLaan and Cody Paladino are all tied for fifth at 7under. Theodorakis, who also was in that playoff in 2017, shared the lead while playing the 18th hole Saturday. He hit a flier on his second shot out of the rough approximately 20 yards over the green.
It was a shaved area, giving Theodorakis the option to putt, but the green played severely downhill. Theodorakis, who will be a senior at Campbell University, made a double bogey and is now six behind Kong.
“If I went straight at the pin, it would have gone all the way down off the front. I made a big mistake leaving it short,” Theodorakis said. “I didn’t play enough break (on the second putt), but I kept it on the green. My third putt was a hard putt, 6 feet with 4 feet of break. That’s the course’s defense.
“I’m sure I’m not the only one who airmailed that green.”
Paladino, who won the 2015 Connecticut Open, is in the process of getting his amateur status back. This is the only tournament he has played in this year.
“I don’t miss struggling and just grinding,” he said.
“I’ve always loved the travel, always loved the work. I love putting in 1011 hour days. But I also wanted a life,” said Paladino, who played on PGA Tour LatinoAmerica through last year.
Ben James, who had the lead by himself for a good portion of Friday’s opening round, shot 71 Saturday and is tied for eighth place, seven strokes behind Kong.
“I was above the hole the whole day,” said James, who will be a sophomore at Hamden Hall Country Day. “I really played the par5s pretty poorly. I guess it wasn’t a bad round, under par is not that bad ever. But I’ll have to go low (Sunday). I’ll probably need a 63, 64 (to win). I’ll play aggressively tomorrow because I have nothing to lose.”