While Massachusetts entered the final day with a 10-point lead over Connecticut and 9.5 over Rhode Island, Wednesday’s 16 singles matches had 96 points up for grabs. With one player from each state in a group, the trios competed in simultaneous Nassau matches, with 1 point rewarded for winning the first nine, 1 point for winning the second nine, and 1 more for winning the overall match.
Connecticut got as close as four points throughout the day, winning 10 of the 15 overall matches with Mass Golf. Still, Massachusetts won 14 of 16 overall (a mid-amateur sweep) against Rhode Island to secure enough points.
There were key moments that kept the Bay State on track. One of them was credited to longtime competitor Mike Calef, whose blind approach shot into Worcester’s signature two-tiered 18th green. As we walked up and saw the ball resting on the rear of the putting surface, he grabbed his putter and wedge, prepared for the worst.
What looked to be an impossible putt that may well have ended in the front bunker, turned out not to be. He tapped it toward the downslope, and though it appeared to stop at the apex, gravity took over. As the ball picked up speed, it rotated toward the hole, hit the back of the cup, and fell into the hole for the most unlikely birdie, propelling him to earn 5.5 points out of 6 on the day.
After sinking a long putt to close out Day 1, Worcester member Brandon Parker also put his stamp on the victory with 5.5 points of his own Wednesday. Parker, a Central Mass native who joined in 2015, has played and won on past Tri-State squads, but said having it at Worcester made it especially meaningful.
“I love this place. It’s really fun to share it when the rest of the great players around New England come,” Parker said. “It was in incredible shape. The greens were running so fast, and it was playing tough, so it’s pretty cool to be able to do all that at your home course.”
Perhaps most importantly: “I think everybody enjoyed themselves.”
Led by Drohen, Mass Golf’s seniors made the difference. Hall of Famer Frank Vana Jr. (Marlborough Country Club) also notched 5.5 points in the final round and won both of his matches. Doug Clapp (Old Sandwich Golf Club), the Mass Senior Amateur winner, tallied all three points against Rhode Island but made a clutch putt on the final hole to tie Connecticut’s Dave Jones at 1.5 points apiece.
As players piled into the clubhouse, there were curious eyes drawn to the numbers on the handwritten scoreboard, curious to see if Connecticut had tallied enough to catch up. Alas, it wasn’t, and Team Mass players gathered at a table and joined in a brief applause as they were handed the trophy for the 40th time in competition history.
Next year, Team Massachusetts will defend its Tri-State Matches title in Rhode Island. A course location will be announced at a later date.
The first Tri-State Matches event took place in 1907 when the team from Massachusetts won at the Agawam Hunt Club in Providence, Rhode Island. Ever since 1928, teams from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut have competed for the title over a two-day period to compete for the regional title. Individual amateur golfers are selected each year by their state’s respective golf associations.
On Wednesday, Mass Golf announced that the 93rd Tri-State Matches will return to Cape Cod National Golf Club, which hosted the competition back in 2021. The club will also host two additional championships over the next four years.
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