Headline: Marc Forbes and Bill Vine Post Career Team Low Score - 9-under par 63 - For a Two-Stroke Lead Following Day 1 of MGA Senior Four-Ball Championship
For Immediate Release: May 23, 2016
 |
The Captains GC (shown above) and Cranberry Valley GC are hosts of the 2016 MGA Senior Four-Ball Championship. |
|
Brewster, MA — Forty years of friendship just got even better today for Marc Forbes (Norton CC) and Bill Vine (Foxborough CC).
The longtime friends fired a day-low and career team-low score of 9-under par 63 at The Captains Golf Course to claim the overall lead following round one of the 2016 Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship.
They currently hold a two-stroke advantage over the team of Kevin Nery (CC of New Bedford) and Barry Higham (Back Nine Club).
-------------------------
Day 1 MGA Senior Four-Ball Quick Links
-------------------------
The 20th edition of this MGA Championship is being held this week at The Captains Golf Course and Cranberry Valley Golf Course.
“It was probably a little better than we were thinking,” said Vine. “The blades got them rolling in and it worked out well.”
After making the turn at 3-under par 33, their round became defined by a stretch of holes where they made five straight birdies. In fact, both players contributed three birdies each from the stretch of holes from 12 through 18 for a score of 6-under par 30 on that back side.
“Billy was playing so good on the front side and was pretty much three under on his own ball,” said Forbes. “He was rolling the ball beautifully and just got hot, and then I got a little hot on the back side.”
Vine began that impressive stretch by making a 20 footer on the 350-yard, par 4 12th hole. Forbes then found the back of the green on the 495-yard, par 5 13th hole and almost made his putt for eagle on 14.
Vine would continue his steady putting by carding two straight birdies, and then Forbes capped off that stretch by making birdie on the 390-yard, par 4 16th hole.
“Everything we looked at seemed to go in the hole which is the best way to say it,” said Forbes. “He putted and played extremely well, and then I came in on a few holes.”
Forbes put a exclamation on the round by sinking a 40-foot birdie putt on the 505-yard, par 5 18th hole
“A blind squirrel finds a nut on 18,” said Forbes. “And we were in a little bit of trouble there too.”
Vine whole-heartedly agreed with his partner’s assessment of the situation.
“It was looking like five would be a good number on that hole,” said Vine. “I had to punch it out sideways, and then he rolled that 40 footer in.”
That errant drive off the tee on the last hole for Vine was a distant memory to the duo as they recounted their earlier holes.
After all, Vine started off the round by making five straight pars on his own ball, a birdie on the 6th hole and then an eagle on the 529-yard, par 5 7th hole.
“I hit a good drive down the middle, a 3 wood that just rolled on and then I made a 25 footer,” said Vine, who also made birdie on the 9th hole. “That kind of kick started us. Although we gave one back [on the 8th hole with a bogey], we came back on the very next hole and then birdied nine which got us going.”
One year ago in what was their second-ever appearance at this Championship Proper, Vine and Forbes came two strokes from winning the title. They finished second overall and two strokes back of the eventual winners.
“We enjoy this a lot,” said Vine. “You can miss a shot and still help.”
The life-long friends who grew up playing together at Heather Hill Country Club in Plainville are hoping that the third time will be the charm.
Herb Brooks is famous for saying that “great moments are born from great opportunities.”
On Monday at The Captains Golf Course, Barry Jones (Captains GC) made sure that his moment did not pass him by.
Playing on his home course on a picture-perfect day in Brewster, Jones fired a 6-under par 66 on his own ball to propel him and partner Thomas Magner (Captains GC) into a tie for third place with a score of 6-under par 6. They are currently tied with Kevin Carey (Dennis Pines GC) and Joe Walker (Dennis Pines GC).
The first team off the 10th tee at 7:30 a.m., Jones and Magner made three straight pars before Jones found his groove. He made birdie on the 13th, 15th, 16th and 18th holes to make the turn at 4-under par 32.
Jones continued his stellar and flawless play through the final eight holes. In fact, he was 7-under par through 16 holes before suffering his one and only miscue of the day – a bogey on the 410-yard, par 4 8th hole – to finish at 6-under par for the day.
Carey and Walker have won plenty of tournaments together – eight Seagulls Four-Ball titles, in fact – and this week they are hoping to claim their first MGA Senior Four-Ball title.
The Dennis Pines GC duo turned in a six-birdie and zero-bogey effort.
“We just played tidy,” said Walker. “We didn’t birdie some holes we should have but then made a couple of birdies on holes that we didn’t expect to."
The short commute to Brewster also brought quick smiles to both of their faces
“We had to travel 10 minutes or 15 at the most,” said Carey, who just yesterday finished T2 at the Norfolk County Classic. “Driving east to a golf tournament doesn’t happen too often for us.”
After starting their round on the 10th hole, Carey and Walker made the turn at 2-under par 34 and then played their last nine holes at 4-under par.
“It’s hard to say we shot a good score but left some out there but we really did,” said Walker, who won his first MGA title last year alongside his son at the Massachusetts Father & Son Championship. “Poor Kevin hit some beautiful shots and never got a reward on some of the par 5s which was very frustrating. but we made a couple of putts which helped.”
About the MGA Senior Four-Ball – The Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball began in 1997 and is open to two-person teams of amateur golfers who are 55 years of age or older. The senior field is limited each year and a competitive handicap index is established in order to create a competitive, team environment on the course.
Eligibility - Entries are open to two-person teams of amateur golfers who hold a membership at an MGA member club, who have reached their 55th birthday by May 23, 2016 and who have an up-to-date MGA/USGA GHIN combined Handicap Index not exceeding 12.0 (as determined by the April 15, 2016 Handicap Revision) or have completed their handicap certification.
Par and Yardage –Cranberry Valley Golf Course will play around 6,500 and a par of 36-36—72. The Captains Golf Course (Starboard Course) will play around 6,500 and a par of 36-36--72
About the Host Clubs – Here is a brief overview of the two host clubs. Information was excerpted directly from each club's web site.
About Cranberry Valley Golf Course – If you ask serious golfers what their favorite course on Cape Cod is, the name that often pops up is Cranberry Valley Golf Course which opened in 1974 in the beautiful Cape Cod town of Harwich. The course was designed by Geoffrey Cornish and Bill Robinson and quickly became a very popular golf destination for players from all over. Cranberry Valley is well maintained and features a superb routing that flows easily over the beautiful terrain, which includes marshes, and, of course, a few cranberry bogs. Every hole has its own personality and no two are the same.
Management enhanced the course a few years ago, through an extensive bunker redesign and restoration, overseen by architect Mark Mungeam. Several fairway bunkers were relocated to come into play and protect par against today’s modern equipment, although the best players can still accept the challenge of attempting to fly the traps off the tee.
Mungeam also redesigned the driving range and practice facilities. Cranberry Valley now has one of the finest practice facilities on Cape Cod, which includes a short game area with bunkers and a chipping area, providing players with the opportunity to work on all aspects of their game.
Cranberry Valley isn’t overly long by today’s standards at 6,745 yards, but this par 72 layout has a number of dogleg holes that add invisible yardage which demand proper club selection and placement off the tee. With challenging Par 3s and an exciting double dogleg finale on Hole #18, Cranberry Valley offers a full golf experience whether you are a beginner or long-time player.
About Captains Golf Course – the course is known as Cape Cod’s “Sea Captain’s Town”. In 1850 there were over 50 sea captains living in Brewster at one time; 115 have lived there since 1840. The golf holes at the Captains Golf Course are named after some of these sea-faring men.
When the original 18 holes were under construction, the Golf Commission at the time selected the name Shipmasters Golf Course for the new facility. Shipmaster was a title earned after schooling in fields from astronomy and navigation to money management and reading. Brewster’s fine school system prepared young boys for the many skills that would be required when they were at sea, commanding ships and being responsible for the needs of their crews. Brewster shipmasters were in high demand and captained many ships that sailed trade routes from Maine to China.
Though shipmaster was a title held in high esteem in the 1800’s, as the name of a golf course in 1984 it was, according to Golf Commission minutes, “frowned upon” by the Board of Selectmen. The Golf Commission went back to work and proposed a new name, the Captains Golf Course. The Selectmen approved the new name, and work continued in preparation for a May, 1985, grand opening. In 1997, Brian Silva, of Cornish, Silva & Mungeam, was hired to expand his original design. The new design was incorporated into the original course and in August, 1999, the new 36-hole layout was opened as Port and Starboard.
The 36 golf holes are named after Brewster shipmasters and captains, none more famous than J. Henry Sears (original #9, now Port #18). In addition to being a great shipmaster, he was an enthusiastic golfer with his own private golf course located on 32 acres of sandy property on Lower Road in Brewster. This is only one story of the exciting and adventuresome shipmasters and captains of Brewster’s past. Names such as Nickerson, Eldredge, Knowles and Crosby are still seen on streets and buildings throughout Brewster and surrounding towns.
Past Champions In the Field - The following teams have been victorious at this event, which dates back to 1997, and will be competing as a team in the 2016 Championship Proper.
A Look Back at 2015 - They had to battle rain, wind, cold temperatures and a strong field but in the end the team of Jack Kearney and Bill Barry, Jr. proved that nothing could stop them from becoming the 2015 Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Champions. Following 36 holes at four-ball stroke play over two days and two courses; Pembroke CC and Indian Pond CC, the duo finished with a score of 7-under par 136 to help them claim their first-ever team MGA Championship title.
Oldest Players: Stanley Briggs 75, (South Shore CC)
Youngest Players: Stephen Mihalek 55, (Oak Ridge GC), Ken Baer 55, (Brae Burn CC), Jeffrey Supko 55 (Brae Burn CC), Charles Grandon 55, (Winchester CC), Wayne Guyer 55, (Salem CC), Peter Hemme 55, (Thomson CC), Michael Hunter 55, (Trull Brook GC), Jack Nicolas 55, (Kernwood CC), Joseph Rolli 55, (Indian Ridge CC), Bryon Collins 55, (Sandy Burr CC), Mark Payne 55, (Sandy Burr CC), David Pierce 55, (CC of Halifax), Robert Malcolm Jr. 55, (Oakley CC), Ron Harwood 55, (Bradford CC), Bill Jenks 55, (Brae Burn CC), Robert Bouley 55, (Highland CC), Chris Tufts 55, (New Seabury) and Scott Grossman 55, (Kernwood CC)
Most Common Name in the Field: Stephen (17)
Notable Players in the Field: Here are just a few interesting notes about a few competitors in this year's field.
Total Number of MGA Member Clubs Represented:120
Most Represented MGA Member Clubs: Thorny Lea GC (10), Franklin CC (8), Salem CC (8), Winchester CC (6), Dennis Pines GC (6), Indian Ridge CC (6), Poquoy Brook GC (6), Cape Cod National (5), Charles River CC (5), Brae Burn CC (5), Cummaquid GC (5), Walpole CC (5), Brockton CC (4), Foxborough CC (4), Bass Rocks GC (4), Black Rock CC (4), Orchards GC (4), Old Barnstable (4), Ludlow CC (4), Longmeadow GC (4), Segregansett CC (4), Shaker Farms (4), Willowbend (3), Oak Hill CC (3), Cyprian Keyes GC (3), Captains GC (3), Framingham CC (3), Glen Ellen CC (3), Highland CC (3), Hyannisport Club (3), Bayberry Hills GC (3), Berkshire Hills CC (3), Blackstone GC (3), Blue Hill CC (3), Sandy Burr CC (3), South Shore CC (3), Stockbridge GC (3), The International (3), Kernwood CC (3), LeBaron Hills CC (3)
Total Number of Massachusetts Towns Represented: 152
Other States Represented: Vermont (2), Rhode Island (2), Connecticut (4), New Hampshire (4), Georgia
Average Age of Field: 61.44
