Milford’s James only state player at U.S. Amateur
Ben James believes his golf game is rounding into shape at a very opportune time.
The 17-year-old Milford resident is the third-youngest player in the field — and the only state player — at the U.S. Amateur, which begins Monday at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon.
“If I have one good round at one of these tournaments, everything is going to click,” said James from out at Bandon Dunes on Friday. “I will have some fun. I don’t know when I’ll come back to Bandon Dunes.”
James, who turned 17 on May 30, is one of 264 players in the field. Because no qualifiers were held this year nationwide due to COVID-19, James earned an exemption based on his stellar Amateur record, which included earning a spot on the victorious U.S. Junior President’s Cup Team last December.
And now James gets to try and navigate both Bandon Dunes and Trails. Each golfer will play a round of stroke play on each course either Monday or Tuesday.
“The wind is brutal. It is blowing pretty strong,” said Don James, Ben’s father. “The fescue is as high as my chest in some parts, There are sand dunes everywhere. The Pacific Ocean is right here.”
Don noted what it took to just to arrive on the grounds Thursday: fly out of New York to Seattle, a connecting flight to Eugene, Oregon, then a 21⁄2 hour drive to the resort. And now, the James duo have joined “the bubble” as Don called it.
Both father and son had to take a saliva COVID test earlier this week. They did not receive their negative results until they arrived in Oregon. Then they each were given the nasal swab COVID test, which were both negative as well.
No one is supposed to leave the resort grounds while still in the tournament.
The low 64 players will move on to match play beginning Wednesday. Win five matches and you get to the 36-hole final on Aug. 16.
“I’m here to win. Getting to match play would be great, but I’m playing to win,” Ben James said.
BACK IN CONTENTION
Seeing Kyle Gallo’s name on the leaderboard at a Connecticut Open is not a surprise to anyone. He’s won the event a record four times.
But for Gallo, 45, competitive golf has been on the back burner for several years. Work and family are the priorities now. He is not even sure when he will play competitively again.
“I’m semi-retired, that’s a fair way to put it,” Gallo said. “It’s such an enjoyment just to play golf and be competitive. The enjoyment of playing golf now is more important than the competitive nature of it.”
Gallo birdied three of his final four holes at Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury to finish in solo fourth place on Thursday at the 86th Connecticut Open. He finished at even par, four
shots off his target score and seven shots behind winner Max Theodorakis.
Gallo left Danbury to go back to work at Northeast Performance Institute in Southington.
He now helps teach and grow the game by working with people of all ages on their respective games and goals, giving back to the game that turned him into a Hall of Famer.
Gallo was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame last December. In addition to winning the Connecticut Open in 1998, 2000, 2004 and 2010, Gallo also won the Maine, Providence, Cape Cod and Massachusetts opens.
“When I won the 2010 Open, my dad said, ‘Now you should be able to get into the Hall of Fame,’” Gallo said. “I knew eventually as I got older (he’d be inducted), God willing. To be 44 at the time of being inducted is nice (you have to be 40 to be considered). To get in on the fourth year was special.”
Gallo won his first Connecticut Open as an amateur at age 23. He came oh so close in the mid-2000s to qualifying for the PGA Tour — just one stroke short. He played on the Nationwide Tour in both 2005 and 2006, but a multitude of injuries derailed his productivity.
Now, Gallo awaits the birth of his second child this week. It will just put things further into the proper perspective: competitive golf is no longer a priority, But as we saw this past week, Gallo still has plenty of game to contend in the state’s biggest event.
CWGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Leslie Li from Tumble Brook CC won the 101st Connecticut Women’s Golf Association Championship match Tuesday, defeating Priscilla Wargo (Heritage Village CC) 4 and 3 at CC of Farmington.
Pam Burt (CC of Farmington) won the Founder’s Cup final 5 and 4 over Christine Sullivan (New Haven CC).