Connecticut Players Nosed Out at Travelers Championship Qualifier

ELLINGTON, CT — On a morning when scoring conditions were ideal, a nine-man playoff at a qualifier at Ellington Ridge Country Club Monday decided three of the final four spots in this week's PGA TOUR stop in Connecticut, the Travelers Championship.

Starting in the third group off the first tee at 8:18 a.m., Ryan McCormick of Middletown, N.J. captured medalist honors, firing a bogey-free 6-under par 66 to earn a berth in the Travelers. The former Web.com Tour player carded three birdies on each nine to earn his second career spot in a PGA TOUR event.

One shot behind McCormick was a logjam - nine players tied at 5-under par 67. A massive playoff resulted in Travelers entries for Michael Miller of Brewster, N.Y., Chip McDaniel of Manchester, Ky., and former PGA TOUR player Jim Renner of Orlando, Fla.

Renner, 35, is a Boston native who tied for second with Dustin Johnson at the 2014 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, one stroke behind Jimmy Walker.

A dozen players from Connecticut were in the 51-man field, with Mike Ballo, Jr. of Stamford claiming state bragging rights with a 4-under par 68, missing the playoff by just one stroke. Another shot back of Ballo at 3-under par 69 were Eric Dietrich of Cheshire and Clark Robinson of South Windsor.

Here are the results for players from Connecticut; click here for the complete scoreboard including all participants.

• T-11 (68): Mike Ballo, Jr., Stamford
• T-13 (69): Eric Dietrich, Cheshire; Clark Robinson, South Windsor
• T-19 (70): Dylan Newman, Greenwich
• T-25 (71): Andrew Gai, Westport
• T-33 (72): Peter Ballo, Stamford
• T-39 (73): Patrick Casey, Goshen; Jantzen Vargas, Danielson
• T-46 (74): Evan Grenus, Glastonbury; William Street, Hamden
• T-50 (77): Scott Vroman, Ellington Ridge; James Giampaolo, Torrington