UConn’s Manuel excited to play his first US Open
Sectional qualifying to play in professional golf ’s national championship can be quite the ordeal for most, but also a moment of glory for the very few.
Put Caleb Manuel in that latter category. The rising junior for the UConn men’s golf team shot a 3-underpar 137 at Old Oaks Country Club and Century CC in Purchase, New York, on Monday to earn one of the five spots to next week’s U.S. Open field.
“I’m very excited and looking forward to the opportunity of playing in a major championship,” Manuel said. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed about as a kid.”
The 122nd U.S. Open begins Thursday at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Manuel shared medalist laurels at the Big East Championship meet. He moved onto the NCAA Division I East Regional, where he contended for individual medalist laurels to reach the NCAA national championship meet.
Last summer, the Maine native finished second to Cody Paladino at the New England Amateur held at Great River GC in Milford.
Manuel’s 3-under total tied Chris Gotterup of New Jersey, who also earned a sponsors exemption into the Travelers Championship to be held June 23-26 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell. Ben James of Milford, a Hamden
Hall Country Day graduate, on Friday fell short in the playoff that awarded the final three spots, but he, too, was awarded a sponsors exemption by Travelers.
Manuel said he plans to arrive in Brookline on Sunday night and will play an 18-hole practice round Monday and nine holes on both Tuesday and Wednesday. He said his coach, Paul Piveronas, will be on site and he will have a former teammate caddie for him.
“I’m going to go out there and play freely and see what happens,” Manuel said. “It’s going to be a really cool experience, especially since it’s close to home and in New England, so I plan to have a lot of people there supporting me.”
TRAVELERS PRE-QUALIFIERS
The Connecticut Section PGA will host a pair of Travelers Championship pre-qualifiers on Tuesday and Wednesday at Ellington Ridge CC.
A total of 101 golfers entered Wednesday’s qualifier, while 134 more are competing Thursday. According to Dennis Dungee, the tournament operations director for the Connecticut Section PGA, the top 16 and ties out of Wednesday’s event advance to the final qualifier while the top 22 and ties from Thursday’s qualifier advance.
The final Travelers qualifier for four spots into the PGA Tour event will be held June 20, also at Ellington
Ridge CC.
Among those attempting to qualify Wednesday are Kyle Gallo, the four-time Connecticut Open champion, and 2019 Connecticut Open winner Rasmey Kong. Former PGA Tour pro Brad Adamonis is among those attempting to qualify Thursday, along with Michael Ballo Jr. (Stamford), Will Lodge (Darien) and 2020 Connecticut Open winner Max Theodorakis (Danbury).
CAMP RING OF HONOR
Former Walter Camp Football Foundation AllAmericans Archie Griffin and Ty Law will be inducted into the foundation’s Ring of Honor.
That induction will take place at the Race Brook Country Club on Sunday (a private ceremony). The annual Ring of Honor Golf Classic on Monday is sold out. Griffin and Law will join previous inductees Herschel Walker, Tony Dorsett, Tim Brown, Cornelius Bennett, Hugh Green and Tommie Frazier in the Ring of Honor.
Griffin not only was a Camp All-American in 1974 and 1975, he won the Heisman Trophy both of those years. Griffin was also the 1993 Walter Camp Alumni Award recipient. Law was an All-American as a senior at Michigan. He went on to help the New England Patriots win three Super Bowls (2002-04).
Joining Griffin and Law at Race Brook CC on Monday will be the following former Camp All-Americans: Green, Frazier, Will Shields, Mike Rozier, Ed Marinaro and Irving Fryar.
Also scheduled to tee it up are Calvin Murphy from Norwalk, an NBA Hall of Famer for the Houston Rockets, and Kevin Faulk, a former standout for the Patriots.
LAPPLE PREVAILS IN PLAYOFF
Alexsandra Lapple made par on the first suddendeath playoff hole to defeat Samantha Morrell and win the 23rd Connecticut Women’s Open on Tuesday at Hop Meadow CC in Simsbury.
Lapple, a member at Ridgewood CC, and Morrell (Millbrook CC) both finished regulation at 2-overpar 146, three clear of the field. Lapple managed to
get into the playoff despite a second-round 77.
Defending champion Melissa Siviter finished in a three-way tie for third place at 5-over 149 with 2011 champion Jordan Lintz (Oronoque CC) and Sydney
Nethercott, a 2020 Greenwich High graduate now playing college golf at Fairfield University.