Ashton Lewis was a two-time New England PGA Junior Tour winner and an all-Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference member at Fairfield Warde High School. Aspirations for additional achievements in his upcoming senior scholastic season evaporated, though, when the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference canceled all spring sports in 2020 because of COVID health concerns.
There were no college golf scholarship offers for Lewis. Nevertheless, he shed his disappointment because his focused priority was his father, Rick, who had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma a few months earlier. “Cancer, the ups and downs, all of that; you do a lot of thinking,” Lewis said. “As for college, I wanted to stay closer to home because of my dad.”
Rick, who introduced his son to golf, encouraged him not to abandon his competitive game. Lewis did some research to discover Eastern Connecticut State University was reinstituting its golf program after a 38-year hiatus. The restart would be in the fall of 2020 – his freshman year. He embraced the idea of trying to help build a fledgling program, “to get the kind of name for the school and ourselves.”
Three years later, the Lewis-led Eastern Connecticut Warriors achieved that by playing in their first NCAA Division III tournament.
Lewis, Chris Davidson, Matt Orefice, Cal Angelo and Andrew Gromko teed it up for Eastern Connecticut in the competition at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky, in May. “To be on that stage, with that caliber of players, was unforgettable,” Lewis said.
Though Eastern didn’t make the cut for the final two days of play and finished 32nd in the 43-team field, Lewis not only advanced individually but also finished as the low New England player. His 10-over-par 298 tied for 47th place in the 221-player field.
Lewis’ performance was not surprising. In early May he carded a 74 and missed competing in a playoff by two strokes at the local U.S. Open qualifier in Gladstone, New Jersey.
This followed an impressive season at Eastern Connecticut and coincided with his dad’s improved health. “In 2021 he got COVID and was hospitalized,” Lewis said. “It wasn’t good, and he was homebound for a while. He’s back out, on the course again, and has been in remission for about a year and a half. He is doing much better.”
Eastern Connecticut coach Marc Senia said, “It’s family first, which is huge in my book. We always talk about being a good human being first, then school and then golf.”
Rick attended every Warriors’ tournament during this past historic season and smiled often. Lewis was a six-time medalist and was second and tied for third in his other tournaments before the NCAAs. Last fall he was medalist (1-over 145) and fueled ECSU’s Little East Conference tournament championship that was an automatic NCAA Division III Championship qualifier. He also was the LEC player of the year for the second consecutive season. His second at the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association Championship earned All-New England honors.
The final collegiate highlight of the 2023 season was Lewis being the first Eastern player to earn All-America accolades (Ping Division III All-Region 1). “Ashton sees the game at a different level,” Senia said. “He’s creative and shapes shots so well.”
Lewis said his approach, focusing on how to play each shot and each hole, “is so much better than when I got here.” Playing for Eastern Connecticut, which is less than 10 miles from the University of Connecticut, benefitted his game too. That ECSU is a Division III institution and a member of the Little East Conference and UConn is in Division I and the Big East Conference contributed to an enhanced work ethic for Lewis and his teammates. “Playing or working on my short game just about every day I can, rain or shine,” he said.
As for UConn, Lewis respects what it does on the course and is motivated by that. He’s friends with Huskies players Connor Goode and Tommy Dallahan. “We play in CSGA [Connecticut State Golf Association] events,” Lewis said. “We’re competitors, but I know I can play just as well as them.”
Last year Lewis was medalist at the CSGA one-day tournament in Bloomfield, Connecticut, with a 3-under 69. He also tied for third (1-over 143) in the 2022 Connecticut Amateur stroke-play qualifying at Ridgewood in Danbury, but lost in the first round of the match play. He competed two weeks ago in his first CSGA event of this season, the 121st Connecticut Amateur at the Country Club of Darien. RESULTS
Lewis has a stocked summer schedule, which includes the Connecticut Open and the Connecticut Public Links Championship. He’ll practice as much as possible, while he works at Blackledge Country Club in Hebron, Connecticut. His duties include working in the pro shop, cart barn and on the range.
His career goal is in golf. “After college, I’d like to turn pro in a year or two,” said Lewis, whose major is business administration with a concentration in sports management. “I just want to work in the industry, such as being a teaching pro.”
In the meantime, Lewis concentrates on being a better amateur. “One goal is for our team to return to the NCAAs next year,” he said.
Another would be to replicate a memorable photo of Lewis, holding the Eastern Connecticut NCAA Tournament team flag and standing next to his father after the final round in Kentucky.
“My individual goal was to make the cut for my dad,” Lewis said. “He has meant so much to me and my brother, Brady, who’ll be a freshman and wants to play golf at Rutgers. Golf, hockey, soccer – you name the sport, he has been there forever. After the final round of the NCAAs, I saw my dad … well, there was just so much joy.”
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Top: Ashton Lewis and his father, Rick, pose proudly with the Eastern Connecticut flag at the NCAAs.
courtesy ashton lewis