Sep. 2—Not all Labor Day weekend family gatherings happen at the beach, park or in the backyard.
The Great Neck Country Club family turned out in force Monday for the annual club championship day, watching Andrew Cavasino and Caroline Petchark capture the men’s and women’s club title, respectively.
Earlier in the day at Old Lyme Country Club, cousins Jack Fader and Thomas Woessner met in the men’s club final for the second straight year. With family members looking on, Fader earned bragging rights by defending his title.
Let’s take a closer look at the club championship matches:
— Cavasino and Petchark share a few things in common.
They’re both former Waterford High School golfers who basically learned to play at Great Neck.
And they’ve both won the club championship multiple times.
Cavasino defeated eight-time champion Eric Bergstrom, the defending champion, by a 4&3 score in the scheduled 36-hole final to claim his third title overall.
It was the first meeting in the final between the two and first time Bergstrom lost at that stage.
“I just played pretty steady around par all day,” said Cavasino, who lives just down the road from the course. “Eric didn’t have his ‘A’ game.”
Cavasino built a 5-up lead after the first round and never trailed after that while playing in his fifth final.
Bergstrom did put some pressure on Cavasino, cutting the deficit to two after the 10th hole of the afternoon round.
Cavasino regained the momentum by winning No. 11 and No. 12 to go 4-up.
“I hit a really good bunker shot on 11 to get up and down,” said Cavasino, who drained about a three-foot putt for par. “That was the key.”
Cavasino closed out the match with three straight pars to win his second club title in three years. His other win came in 2018.
“This one was the best, for sure,” Cavasino said. “Eric is the best player here. So definitely the best.”
Petchark defended her title and won her fourth crown overall by defeating Olivia Hoagland, 2&1 in an 18-hole final.
“We had never played together, so today was a lot of fun,” Petchark said.
Petchark, 23, recently finished her college golf career. She earned her undergraduate degree at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and then attended graduate school at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I.
She spent her summer finishing up work on her master’s degree, leaving little time for golf.
“This summer, I haven’t played as much as I’d like to, or wish that I did,” Petchark said. “But I’m still happy with my golf game. You can always improve a lot more.”
It took time for Petchark to shake Hoagland on Monday. The match was even through nine holes.
At that point, Petchark adjusted her mindset.
“I thought that was my chance to go into the back nine with a different mindset and start to get into it a little bit more,” Petchark said. “I won the 10th hole with a par and just kept it going.”
Petchark seized the lead for good by winning the 12th hole and stretched her advantage to 2-up by sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 14.
“After I made that, I had a lot of momentum going into the next hole and a lot of positive thoughts,” Petchark said.
A few holes later, Petchark clinched the title. She appreciated the support from the club members.
“A lot of the women that I play with, they come out and watch,” Petchark said. “And it’s just exciting to be around them and they give so much support.”
— Fader and Woessner kept playing after their match was decided on the 16th hole by a 3&2 margin.
They figured “why not?” since it was a beautiful day and an opportunity to spend time together.
“It’s fun,” Woessner said. “It’s a good family event.”
Due to a summer internship in Chicago, Fader had little time to play golf up until a few weeks ago. He has one more year left to complete law school at UConn.
Woessner also has been busy, but for another reason. He has a seven-month old daughter who attended Monday’s final.
“There’s a picture of her in the (championship) cup,” Woessner said. “One day maybe her dad will have it. All credit to Jack. He made a bunch of birdies. I fumbled my way through the first nine and Jack just took it to me.”
Fader, 27, took control early, ringing up birdies on the first and third holes. He extended his lead to 4-up through nine.
But Woessner, 33, regrouped and threatened to catch Fader before fading.
“I had a few moments where I didn’t feel good about myself or where I was in the match,” said Fader, who won his first club title last year by a 2&1 score. “He just sort of ran out of time.”
They’re both living in Old Lyme right now, so they’ll back out on the course playing together soon. Sometimes Marlie, Woessner’s daughter, comes along, riding in a jogger stroller.
“You should see it, it’s awesome,” Fader said. “We’ll come out here and it will be the two of us and the baby, and we’ll go play nine.”
Both golfers thanked pro Rob Barbeau, assistant pro Drew Kelly and assistant superintendent Tim Dunn for their hard work behind the scenes.
