July 12 — With a nearly flawless 3-under par 69 and much golf yet to play Monday, Frank Vana Jr. (Marlborough CC) was the leader in the clubhouse after his first round of the 2010 Massachusetts Amateur Championship.
Player of the year. Vana, a nine-time Massachusetts Golf Association (MGA) player of the year, posted four birdies and a lone bogey in his opening 18. The 46-year-old Vana is certainly no stranger to the winner’s circle. He has captured the Mass. state am twice, and came close to winning his third title last year but lost, 4 & 3, to 2009 champ Bill Drohen (Brookmeadow CC).
Drohen will have a lot of work to do to repeat this year. The defending champ struggled to an opening-round 80 on the 6,539-yard, par-72 Myopia Hunt Club course in South Hamilton.
A field of 144 players from across the Bay State are competing in the 102nd Mass. state am, which involves two days of 18-hole stroke play, followed by three days of 36-hole match play.
The course. The classic Myopia Hunt Club hosted four US Open Championships early in the 20th century and continues to reap awards.
Golf Magazine listed Myopia’s par-4 fourth and par-3 ninth holes as two of the top signature holes in the United States. Golfweek ranked Myopia as Number 32 of its Best Classic Courses in 2010, and Golf Magazine made it 78th of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S.
Polo. Spectators will note the bridle paths on the course. True to its name, Myopia still hosts polo matches on Sunday afternoons. The porch of a remodeled pre-Revolutionary War farmhouse overlooks the practice putting green and finishing hole.
Click here for an aerial view of the course and an official MGA scorecard.
Other notables in the field include:
- Brian Higgins — The defending Massachusetts Mid-Amateur champ from Franklin CC won the Worcester County Amateur contest earlier this month. Higgins carded a 73 in his first round at Myopia.
- John Hadges — In 2008, Hadges (Thorny Lea GC) became the first Mass. state am medalist to go on and win the title since James Driscoll did so in 1998. Earlier this year, he was one of only six amateurs to advance to the third and final round of the Massachusetts Open Championship. Hadges was at 1-over after his Monday round.
- Doug Clapp — Clapp (Old Sandwich GC) won the Norfolk County Classic title earlier this season. Clapp finished the day at 76.
- Mike Dunham — As a former NHL goaltender, Dunham (Old Sandwich GC) qualified for both the Mass. Open and state am for the second straight year. Dunham closed out Monday’s round with a 74.
- Kevin Quinn — Quinn (Charles River CC) is aiming to become the seventh golfer in history to win both the Mass. state am and Mass. Open. He won the latter in 1999 and shot a 76 in his opening round Monday.
Past winners of the Commonwealth Cup include golf legends such as Francis Ouimet and Gene Sarazon. Admission is free. Visit MGA for additional details and click here for up-to-date scoring.
(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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