Ellington’s Bradley Sawka went wire to wire to win the 92nd Connecticut Open golf championship at Country Club of Fairfield Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Joe Morelli / Hearst Connecticut Media
Ellington’s Bradley Sawka hits drive off the 10th tee at Country Club of Fairfield Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Sawka went wire to wire to win the 92nd Connecticut Open golf championship.
Joe Morelli / Hearst Connecticut Media
Ellington’s Bradley Sawka went wire to wire to win the 92nd Connecticut Open golf championship at Country Club of Fairfield Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Joe Morelli / Hearst Connecticut Media
Ellington’s Bradley Sawka lines up a putt on the 9th green at Country Club of Fairfield Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Sawka went wire to wire to win the 92nd Connecticut Open golf championship.
Joe Morelli / Hearst Connecticut Media
FAIRFIELD — The next stage of Bradley Sawka’s life begins Monday. It’s wheels up to Norman, Oklahoma. Sawka is going to be an Oklahoma Sooner.
Ellington’s own was the best golfer in the CIAC his final two years of high school. He then played three seasons at UConn and evolved into an All-Big East Conference second-team and All-Northeast selection.
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As CSGA executive director Mike Moraghan noted, he has watched Sawka grow from a young golfer “into a cold-blooded young man, just fearless” on the golf course.
Now, Sawka will be testing himself against the best golfers the Southeastern Conference has to offer.
“It will allow me to compete against the best,” Sawka said.
There was one last state golf tournament to play in this week. And it was the biggest one other than the Travelers Championship: the Connecticut Open. The 21-year-old Sawka fired a final-round 65 to finish 14-under and win the 92nd Open by two shots at Country Club of Fairfield.
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“It means the world. I haven’t won in a really long time,” Sawka said.
Sawka is the second amateur in the last three years to win the Open. Jackson Roman won the event in 2024.
Sawka went wire to wire, defeating playing partner Patrick Healy by 2 strokes.
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“As a dad, you sit back and kind of watch this all play out. I give him advice here and there, but he’s kind of done this on his own,” said John Sawka, who caddied for his son all three rounds.
Because he is an amateur, Bradley receives only pro shop credit. Healy wins the $15,000 first-prize money.
Healy hails from New York, as does third-place finisher Michael Miller. A good number of non-Connecticut residents played in the 54-hole event.
Moraghan said the Open field expanded beyond the state borders beginning in 2024, mainly to enhance the competition. Moraghan said he and Ryan Hoffman, the CSGA’s director of operations, rules and competitions, discussed increasing the number of professionals to strengthen the field. Moraghan said the idea was presented to the CSGA’s executive committee and it was approved.
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Moraghan also said there were many requests for exemptions to play in the Open at CC of Fairfield, one of the few links courses in the state. Those who participated from out of state had to go through qualifiers held in Connecticut if they were not already exempt.
So that strengthens the case that Sawka went wire-to-wire against one of the strongest fields in the 92 years of the championship.
Tee times were pushed back about 3½ hours Wednesday due to the heavy rain that pelted the Fairfield area early Wednesday morning. Healy, Sawka and Miller went off in the early afternoon. The weather cleared and remained sunny throughout the afternoon.
“I wasn’t sure if we were going to play today, but luckily we did,” Bradley said.
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Sawka placed fourth in last year’s Open. He also was the runner-up in the Connecticut Amateur. Earlier this month, Bradley tied for fourth at the New England Amateur.
John called the Amateur the turning point for Bradley’s career. He had a fine junior season this past year at UConn, finishing with five top-10 finishes and a 70.7 per-round average. He decided to test the transfer portal.
“Once I finished the year strong, it definitely went through my head about what opportunities I could have,” Sawka said. “I talked everything over with my parents and we decided that it’s probably best just to see how far I could take my golf game, to see how great I can play against the best competition.”
Bradley said he emailed a number of schools. He ended up visiting TCU and Oklahoma before committing to the Sooners in June.
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“I felt like his stock price was at a high and said, ‘If you’re going to do it, now’s the time to do it.’” John said. “… It was time to take that next leap. This will be the next step, the next building block to hopefully take his game to the next level.”
Said Oklahoma coach Jonathan Moore in an email: “It quickly became apparent during phone calls and time with Bradley on campus that he is an exceptional young man. He has a great reputation as a leader and has put together consistent results. My coaching staff and I believe Bradley, with his consistent play, calm personality and leadership, will make a big impact on our team.”
Bradley realizes that without the opportunity given to him by UConn men’s golf coach Dave Pezzino, this opportunity may not have been possible.
“I was able to go to UConn and play almost every event for three years,” Bradley said. “Getting those reps, I feel like I wouldn’t be the player I am if I didn’t go to UConn. Say I went SEC right away. I might not have played. Coach Pezzino gave me that opportunity and I’m very grateful for it.”
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Bradley made eight birdies in the final round, including all three par-3 holes on the back nine (11, 14 and 17).
John estimated the birdie putt on 17 to be 30 to 35 feet long. That one gave Bradley a three-shot lead — and some breathing room on the final hole.
John said his son has shown the ability to persevere. Bradley feels his hard work, consistent play and ability to stay in the present on each shot has helped him turn into a fine college golfer and now a member of an SEC program that has reached the NCAA Championships 15 straight years.
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And now you can call Bradley Sawka a Connecticut Open champion.