Headline: The Bay State's Best Super Seniors Compete in 3rd Massachusetts Super Senior Amateur Championship at Cummaquid GC
For Immediate Release: September 28, 2016
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Cummaquid GC |
Yarmouth Port, MA — It may not have been the weather that you’d expect when you think of Cape Cod.
However, for the 79 competitors who qualified for the second day of play at the third annual Massachusetts Super Senior Amateur Championship, being held at Cummaquid Golf Club, the strong winds and the off-and-on precipitation were no match for state’s top golfers aged 65 and older.
On Wednesday’s first day of the final MGA Championship Proper of the calendar season, three players fired even par or better to lead the group heading into tomorrow’s final round, which will begin at 8:00 a.m. on both the first and tenth tees.
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3rd MGA Super Senior Amateur Quick Links
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In the morning round of Wednesday’s competition, the day one leader, David Pomarico (Poquoy Brook GC), fired a 1-under par 70 to lead the group of 120 players competing this week in Yarmouth Port, which began in 2014 and has been dubbed one of the most successful events of the season ever since.
After opening the morning with an even par on the par-4 1st hole, the Foxborough native Pomarico tallied his first of three birdies on the par-5 second hole that sits at just over 500 yards.
After making bogey on the 3rd hole, the 71-year old started a streak of eight straight made pars before carding threes on a pair of par-4’s, Hole No. 12 and 18, to finish the day at 1-under par 70.
Right below Pomarico on the leaderboard were Sassamon Trace GC’s Tom Taylor, Jr. and Dave Houghton (Captains GC), who both shot an even par 71 in Wednesday’s first round.
Taylor and Houghton registered three birdies and 12 pars apiece. Both competitors were able to score a birdie on the 439-yard, par-5 14th hole which sits parallel to the main road abutting the club’s entrance.
These two, plus clubhouse leader Pomarico, will be paired together for Thursday’s final round as they vie for their first MGA Super Senior title. They are scheduled to tee off the first tee at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.
In total, 79 players advanced to Thursday’s final round with scores ranging from 1-under par 71 to 13-over par 84.
While most growth for the game of golf is focused on the young golfers who are just picking up clubs for the first time, there has also been growth in numbers for the players who may have upwards of five plus decades of golf under their belts.
At the third annual Massachusetts Super Senior Amateur Championship, taking place at Cummaquid Golf Club in Yarmouth Port, 120 players have qualified for the Championship Proper, which means for the third straight year, the field size has seen an increase in numbers.
“We are thrilled to continue the growth of the game at all levels for our MGA Championships,” said Kevin Eldridge, the MGA's director of rules and competitions who is overseeing this week’s championship. “We feel that Massachusetts has a large field of golfers who fit into the age bracket of the Super Senior field, so to be able to offer them their own championship made perfect sense.”
Prior to the creation of the MGA Super Senior Championship in 2014, which is open to all players who have reached their 65th birthday and who hold membership at an MGA member club, the Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship, which is open to those aged 55 and older, had a separate division that honored the lowest scorer in the Super Senior Division.
However, the field for that Championship became so large that even some of the Bay State’s top golfers were finding it challenging to qualify for the respective Championship Proper. Because the amount of people playing as a super senior in the MGA Senior Amateur Championship was so large, it was determined that there was a need to create a separate event for the older group of golfers.
As a result, the Super Senior continues to be well received.
In its inception in 2014, the event, which was held at Cohasset Golf Club, drew 111 players for the one-day Championship with no pre-qualifier needed. The following year, the Championship Proper, held at Bass Rocks GC, was extended to a two-day Championship with all players needing to advance from one of two qualifiers.
For 2016, the 120-person field is the largest to date with all individuals having qualified in one of the three qualifiers, which is most needed to date.
When the Super Senior Championship was added in 2014, it became the first event added to the Championship schedule since 1997, when the Senior-Four Ball Championship was added. In 2015, the MGA also added the Young Golfer’s Amateur Championship to its Championship calendar.
Earlier this year, it was announced that the 2017 MGA Super Senior Amateur Championship will be held at Wyantenuck CC on September 6-7. The MGA expects an even larger field as it goes into its fourth season.
Of the 120 players in the field, 33 golfers or 27.5 percent hold residence on Cape Cod while Great Boston (27 golfers) and South Shore (21 golfers) round out the top three regions.
The average age for players in this year’s field is 68.23. The three oldest players, at 77 years of age, are James Logue, Alexander Lindsey, & Edwin Monteiro Sr.
There are 14 players in this year’s Championship field who are 65 years old, making 2016 the first year of eligibility for them.
While each of the 120 golfers come from their own various backgrounds, one player in particular has found athletic success outside of golf. Doug Crawford, who won the 2015 Super Senior Championship, looks to win his second straight title. Crawford, a former professional tennis player, won a round at the 1974 French Open, played Wimbledon in 1975 and advanced to the third round of the 1977 US Open. He previously retained a world record of 117 in the ATP World Tour rankings.
Another player in the field, James Logue, was a member of the 1968 US Olympic Hockey Team that finished sixth in Grenoble, France. He played collegiately as Boston College, where he also served as an assistant coach from 1993-2013. He was on the coaching staff that won four national championships under head coach Jerry York and is one of only three players to have his number retired on The Heights.
Doug Crawford (International), the 2015 champion, and Peter Brumme (Nashawtuc CC), the 2014 champion, are both competing for their second Super Senior title this week. On day one, Crawford shot 5-over par 76 (T9) while Brumme finished T84 after his plus 12 mark. Both advance to Thursday’s final round.
Here is a summary of some course statistics from Wednesdsay, September 28.
The hardest hole on the course was the 18th, which had an average score of 5.179, while the first hole had the lowest average score of 4.198
On Wednesday, there were a total of 101 birdies, 419 pars and 375 bogeys combined between the 120 players in the field.
For complete coverage of the event, make sure to check the MGA’s website, www.mgalinks.org and follow us on social media (@mgalinks) and #MassSuperSenior
