Headline: Starting Times Released For 107th Massachusetts Open Championship; Field of 150 Will Compete on June 13-15 at Worcester Country Club

For Immediate Release: June 2, 2016

Worcester Country Club

Norton, MA — Following a total of six qualifying rounds held at sites across the Bay State, #RoadToWorcester continues as starting times have been released for the 107th Massachusetts Open Championship.

A field of 150 of the top professional and amateur competitors will vie for the Clarence G. Cochrane Memorial Trophy on June 13-15 at Worcester Country Club.

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MGA Open Quick Links:

• Round 1 Starting Times
• Round 2 Starting Times
• Qualifying Results

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This marks the seventh time that the Worcester facility will serve as host of this MGA Championship Proper.

Winners of the six events held to date are as follows:

1919 – Jesse Guilford (303) by three strokes over Mike Brady
1926 – Donald Vinton (297) by two shots over Mike Brady and Willie Ogg
1931 – Wiffy Cox (292) by eight strokes over Willie MacFarlane
1930 – Byron Nelson (283) by five strokes over Lloyd Mangrum
1952 – Jim Browning (276) by four strokes over amateur Don Moenig
1976 – Paul Barkhouse (211) in playoff over Bob Menne and Bruce Douglas

Here is a summary of the six qualifiers that were held as a prelude - from May 9 to May 31 - to Championship Proper.

VESPER CC:
At the first qualifying round of the season on May 9, a trio of golfers took the top spot with Derick Fors (Townsend Ridge CC), Mark Stevens (Pembroke, N.H.) and Zack Byrd (Murrells Inlet, SC) each recording scores of 1-under par 71 to lead the field of 12 who qualified in Tyngsboro. Of the 12 qualifiers, three - Griffin Brown (Vesper CC), Steven DiLisio (Salem CC) and Gregg Bonheurr (Andover CC) - qualified as amateurs.

LeBARON HILLS CC:
On May 24, the qualifying round saw a range of scores between 1-over par 73 and 3-over par 75, with all but two leaders to qualify having club memberships in Massachusetts. In total, 10 golfers qualified to Championship Proper with another seven individuals who shot 4-over par 76 slated as alternatives.

SPRING VALLEY CC:
On May 25, amateurs secured four of the top-five spots, including George Wright GC’s Michael Thorbjornsen who earned medalist honors with a 3-under par 69 round. The reigning MGA Boys Junior Amateur champion and Wellesley Middle School eighth grader became the youngest player to win a Massachusetts Open qualifier at 14 years old, defeating several professional and adult amateur players along the way. Earlier this year, Thorbjornsen was a divisional winner at the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals held at Augusta National GC.

EASTWARD HO!:
Ricky Stimets (Oyster Harbors) enjoyed a perfect day on the Cape by carding a 2-under par 69 in Chatham. Of the 11 qualifiers from that site, a total of six were amateurs, including Derek Schug (Plymouth CC) who was the top finishing amateur with a score of 1-over par 72.

THE RANCH GC:
The deepest field from competition came from May 26th’s qualifying round at The Ranch Golf Club, where all 10 qualifiers shot under par. Ryan McCormick (Middletown, N.J.) fired a 5-under par 67, the top score amongst all 2016 competitors. Brendan Lemp (Westerly, RI), Sean Gaudette (Wyckoff CC) and Blake Morris (Southbury, Conn.) each recorded a 4-under par 68. 

PLEASANT VALLEY CC:
Cole Wilcox (Malvern, PA) finished atop the leaderboard in Sutton with a medalist score of 4-under par 68. Jeff Johnson (Pleasant Valley GC) used his home-course advantage by finishing second with a score of 2-under par 70. Six different states - Pennsylvania, Alabama, Florida, Maine, Colorado and Massachusetts were represented by just the 11 qualifiers.