COHASSET, Massachusetts – Unlike last year’s contesting of the Senior Amateur Championship, in which the Championship Proper was adjusted to only one round of play due to rain, mother nature was on Mass Golf’s side this year as the weather was nothing but sunny for the first round of this year’s Championship.
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At the conclusion of Round 1, Don Reycroft (Bayberry Hills GC), Tom Bagley (Oak Hill CC), and Frank Vana Jr. (Ferncroft CC) remain tied atop of the leaderboard, after all carding an even par score of 70.
For Reycroft, who won the 2015 Mass Senior Amateur Championship at Berkshire Hills Country Club, his ball striking remained consistent throughout his round which played a significant role in his even par score.
“It was really a good ball striking round,” said Reycroft. “I made a couple of mistakes getting up and down on hole ten. After I made the turn at 1-under par, I was right on the front edge and didn’t make the putt. Then I bogeyed both sixteen and eighteen coming in.”
Despite shooting a score of even Par 70, Reycroft believed some of his mistakes during the first round of the Championship Proper, were due to small errors that could have been avoided.
“I hit every fairway with my driver except on hole sixteen, that’s where I made bogey,” said Reycroft. “Then on eighteen, I just picked the wrong club. I should have hit four iron, but I picked the five iron and it ended up hitting the top of the hill and rolling all the way down.”
With a total of four bogeys, four birdies, and ten pars on the day, Reycroft’s biggest contribution to being able to post a solid score is what every golfer aims to do off the tee, put the ball in the fairway.
“The biggest contribution was that I was playing out of the fairway on almost every hole,” said Reycroft. “The only bad drive I hit was on hole sixteen.”
Going into the final round tomorrow, Reycroft believes that if his driver remains steady off the tee as it did today, he should not have any difficulty posting another good round for the final 18 holes of the Championship.
“I’ll be what I call conservatively aggressive going into tomorrow,” said Reycroft. “As long as I’m hitting the ball off the tee in a good spot in the fairway, I can do that. If I’m struggling off the tee tomorrow, it’s going to cause some problems, but I do not anticipate that.”
Along with Reycroft, Bagley, and Vana, a top of the leaderboard Jack Kearney (Westover GC) is tied for fourth place along with Dave Houghton (Captains GC).
The former 2010 Mass Senior Amateur Champion and reigning 2018 New England Senior Amateur Champion, was quite pleased with his round today.
“I played good today. I had some good holes, but I gave some away,” said Kearney. “I kept it in front of me and no real issues. I hit a lot of greens and a lot of good shots.”
The 6,281-yard layout in Cohasset proved to be a challenge for the field of 120 competitors as no competitors were able to post an under-par round.
“The finish here is hard,” said Kearney. “Hole fifteen is no easy par three. Sixteen is a hard hole and then eighteen is a hard hole. It’s a good golf course.”
Along with Kearney, Reycroft commented on the challenging layout in Cohasset.
“It’s a tricky little golf course,” said Reycroft. “I think you have to stay within yourself and have a game plan that is cautiously aggressive. You don’t want to be overly aggressive because that’s when this course jumps up and bites you.”
Following the conclusion of Round 1, the cut line fell at 10-over par where a total of 73 players advanced to the second and final round of the Championship Proper, which will be held tomorrow.
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