July 14 — After roaring back into contention from an 8-over-par 80 on Monday, defending champ Bill Drohen posted a second-round 70 and moved into the round of 32 match-play portion of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship. Only problem was, Drohen (Brookmeadow CC) actually shot a 71 and officials disqualified him Wednesday morning after he told them he had signed for the wrong score.
Drohen had attested to shooting a five on the par-4 fourth at Myopia Hunt Club (Hamilton) but realized before teeing it up for match play that he had actually bogeyed the hole.
With Drohen’s DQ, his slated opponent, Mickey Werenski (The Orchards GC), moved onto the next round of match play, which started in the rain on the North Shore of Massachusetts.
Brotherhood. Mickey Werenski, 16, may be the youngest contender to advance to match play, but he’s not the only Werenski to make it to the next stage of the championship. His older brother, Richy Werenski (The Orchards), carried the tourney’s sibling rivalry torch that last year’s Drohen brothers (Bill and Andy) passed their way.
“All we have talked about is playing against each other in Match Play,” Mickey told reporters following his two-day score of 3-over 147.
Before meeting in a 36-hole final on Friday, the Brothers Werenski would have to advance through four matches starting Wednesday. Each was doing his share, as Mickey automatically advanced after Drohen’s DQ and Richy was a sizzling 4-up over Greg Shuman (The Country Club) after seven holes.
Still, the siblings will face some formidable competitors with the same goal.
20 and counting. Frank Vana Jr., aiming for his third state amateur title, is one of those guys. The 46-year-old Vana made match play for the 20th consecutive year and, for the first time in his 25 appearances in the event, earned medalist honors.
Vana finished stroke play at 2-under 142, one shot better than runner-up John Gilmartin (Indian Ridge CC). But that was yesterday’s news, as Vana looked forward to match play.
“It’s a clean slate now and it doesn’t matter what you did [during stroke play],” Vana said Tuesday, before vanquishing John Sadowski (Turner Hill, 2&1, in Wednesday morning match-play competion.
Lights! Sadowski just made it into the Wednesday contest after winning the last spot in a 13-golfer playoff for the final three positions. Sadowski earned the position with par on the fourth playoff hole, but he had to do so with an assist from the headlights from two cars.
After Wednesday’s match play, the low eight players will move on to quarterfinals and semifinals, with the 36-hole championship match set for Friday. In the event of a tie, a hole-by-hole playoff would determine the winner.
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(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. She also writes the Boston Golf Examiner and National Golf Examiner blogs.)
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