Conroy captures Amateur title

WATERBURY — Ben Conroy had to give the question some thought. And even then, he wasn’t sure of his answer.

Conroy couldn’t recall exactly the last time he had won a golf tournament, either as an amateur or in his brief time as a professional. Maybe a one-day tournament conducted by the Connecticut State Golf Association, he said.

But the runner-up performances he had? Those are easier to recall: the State Amateur, the Connecticut Open and the State Mid-Amateur.

“Even in college, I lost a couple of playoffs,” Conroy said. “I knew my game was good enough to be a champion in one of these events, but I think I wanted it so bad and I tried so hard to make it happen that I almost put too much pressure on myself.”

Calling on all of those past experiences helped Conroy’s cause on Friday, but nothing worked better than just a fine-tuned game from tee to green and the ability to drop key putts. Conroy, a member at New Haven Country Club, wwon the 116th State Amateur championship, dispatching Elias Gross 7 and 6 in the 36-hole final at CC of Waterbury.

“One of these weeks would be my week,” Conroy said. “I didn’t have to force it. When my game comes together at the right time, why not me?”

Conroy, a 28-year-old Durham native and Berlin resident, was in a groove most of the week, surviving 36 holes of stroke play, then four matches, two of which went a combined 39 holes on Thursday, to reach Friday’s final.

He used a caddie on Friday after carrying his bag all week. “I needed every ounce of energy,” he said.

Gross, a rising junior at the University of Hartford, was playing in his first CSGA event. He stuck with his philosophy of hitting fairways and greens. But Conroy shot a 3-under-par 66 on the opening 18 holes to gain a 5-up advantage.

“This was by far the most golf I have ever played in a few days,” Gross said. “There probably was a fatigue factor and I have never been in a spot quite this big, so I’m sure that played into it as well.”

Speaking of the Open, it will be held at New Haven CC, Conroy’s current home course.

Joe Morelli / Hearst Connecticut Media Ben Conroy tees off on the first hole at Country Club of Waterbury during the finals of the State Amateur championship on Friday.