Massachusetts Golf News Fall 2009
Local Amateurs... and Professionals Battle Against Each Other at the Annual Cape Cod Cup in Hyannisport
The MGA championship season may be over, but the high-caliber golf is continuing on in the Bay State.
In addition to a handful of club-level and regional tournaments, a field of professional and amateur golfers came together this past weekend to take part in the annual Cape Cod Cup match. This 23-year-old event was held in Hyannisport pits local professionals against amateurs.
This year the outcome came down to the final pairing where the professional tandem of Rusty Gunnarson of Rochester Golf Club and reigning Cape Cod Chapter of the New England PGA champion Allan Menne of Hyannis Golf Club pulled out a 2 & 1 victory over the amateur duo of Herb Aikens (Pinehills GC) and Jim Horvath (Dennis Pines GC).
Bay State Super Senior Standout Del Kinney, Jr. Comes Through With a Big Win on National Stage
The championship golf season here in Massachusetts may be winding down, but some competitors have taken their game south to compete against some of the top talent in the country.
One golfer – Del Kinney, Jr. (Wyantenuck CC) – recently traveled to Chattanooga to participate in the John Owens Division (age 65-74) of the Society of Seniors Championship.
In what has continued to be a sensational fall season of golf, the 68-year-old Kinney posted a three-round total score of 225 to best a field of top super senior competitors at the event which was held at Lookout Mountain Golf Club and The Honors Course.
Kinney began the event by posting a 1-over par 73 and then followed that up with scores of 5-over par 77 and 3-over par 75 to defeat 1999 U.S Senior Amateur Champion Bill Ploeger (Columbus, GA), Gus Kozina (Beach Park, IL) an Jack Vardaman (Washington, DC) by one stroke.
Record Number of Participants Take Part in 3rd Annual MGA Junior Golf Fund Golf Tournament at TPC of Boston
Despite cool temperatures and scattered showers, a record number ?of golfers took part in the 3rd Annual MGA Junior Golf Fund Golf Tournament at TPC ?of Boston in Norton.
All monies raised will go directly to The First Tee of Massachusetts which provides junior golf programming to thousands of children from across the Bay State.
"We were amazed at the spirit and enthusiasm displayed by all of the participants," said Joe McCabe, executive director of The First Tee of Massachusetts. "No one let the weather get them down and in the end everyone had a great time and we were able to raise important funds and awareness for The First Tee program."
Team Massachusetts Captures Record Sixth Tri-State Match Title at Pleasant Valley Country Club
Sutton, MA — It was a performance that was befitting of a record-breaking day.
The 12-person team from Massachusetts capped off a magical two days of competition by winning a record sixth title at the 76th Tri-State Matches which were held this week at Pleasant Valley Country Club.
Facing off against formidable foes in teams from Connecticut and Rhode Island, the Bay State contingent defended its title in memorable fashion as they collected a total of 71 ½ points to defeat Connecticut by 18 ½ points and Rhode Island by 34 points.
Rain Can Not Dampen the Playing of the 2009 Southeastern Amateur... Steve Tasho Collects Fifth Title
Rain may have shortened the event, but the inclement weather could not take away from the playing of a very special 2009 Southeastern Amateur.
One of the regional events that are part of the Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the year Points System, the Southeastern Amateur is annually a three-round tournament featuring some of the state's top amateur competitors from the the South Shore. This past weekend, rain forced the shortening of the event to 36 holes contested at South Shore Country Club and Easton Country Club.
Photo Caption: Steve Tasho shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday at South Shore Country Club en route to his fifth victory in the Southeastern Amateur. Photo courtesy of Gary Higgins/The Patriot Ledger.
This year there were simply too many headlines to cover at the 50th anniversary of the event. It could have been the impressive play of former Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year Steve Tasho (Thorny Lea GC) who captured his fifth straight title... or the presence of founders Roger Barry, Fordie Pitts, Dick Lambert, and Ray Bump who were honored at the awards ceremony... or the presentation delivered by former champion and PGA Tour player Dr. Bill Mallon.
Veteran Champion Paul Murphy Claims 2009 Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship at Salem CC
Peabody, MA —It's hard to believe that it has been more than two decades since Paul Murphy (Charles River CC) has won an MGA title. However, 21 years after winning the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship, Murphy was victorious once again… this time at the 2009 Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship at Salem Country Club. (Story
Team Massachusetts Finishes in a Tie for Sixth Place at the 2009 USGA Men's State Team Championship
St. Louis, MO — They may not have won the title, but the three-man team from Massachusetts came home with a record.
Following three days of stroke play against a field of 51 three-man teams representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Team Massachusetts – which included Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC), John Hadges (Thorny Lea GC) and Brian Higgins (Franklin CC) – finished in a tie for sixth place at the 2009 USGA Men's State Team Championship which was held this week at The Lewis and Clark Course at The Country Club of St. Albans in St. Louis, Missouri. (Story Continues Below)
Co-champions Crowned at 2009 Gilholm Cup Contested at Country Club of New Bedford
One of the many regional events scheduled for this fall may have been hampered by the testy New England weather, but that did not keep event organizers from crowning co champions.
Hosted by the Country Club of New Bedford, a strong field of amateur golfers took part in the 2009 Gilholm Cup. The scheduled 36-hole, best-ball partner event was reduced to 27 holes as a result of rain, wind and wet conditions.
Finishing atop the leaderboard were the teams of Jon Fasick (New England CC) and Jim Ruschioni (Monoosnock CC) and Mike Soucy (Metacomet CC - RI) and Bill Auger (Crestwood CC). Both teams posted 27-hole scores of 106.
Capturing third place honors were Carter Fasick (Indian Meadows GC) and Bob Hickman (Bay Pointe CC) and Bob Mancini (Thorny Lea CC) and Steve Bruce (Plymouth CC).
This year's event attracted golfing amateurs from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Georgia and Illinois. The tournament is named after legendary CCNB PGA professional John Gilholm who served the club for forty years.
Brian Higgins Captures 2009 Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship in Dominating Fashion
Haverhill, MA — It wasn't a question of whether he would win… it was more about how much would he distance himself from the field.
Brian Higgins (Franklin CC) took care of business on Thursday by calming posting a 5-under par 65 and claiming his second straight Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship title by an astounding 12 strokes. He finished with a three-day total of 14-under par 196. (Story continues below)
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