CHESTNUT HILL, Massachusetts – The Massachusetts Amateur Championship, the longest running Mass Golf Championship and the organization’s longest conducted tournament of the year, will return to the historic Country Club beginning on Monday, July 15 for what will be a record 11th time. Consisting of the Bay State’s top amateur golfers, the five day championship proper will feature 144 competitors all eyeing the opportunity to become the state’s top amateur golfer. As in previous years, the Championship will feature two days of 18-hole stroke play for all competitors, before the field is cut down to the top-32 who will battle in a series of matches over the course of the remaining three days. The championship match on Friday, July 19, will once again be contested at 36-holes.
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One of the USGA’s five founding member clubs, The Country Club in an integral part of the American golf story, beginning with America’s first amateur golf hero – Francis Ouimet – who upset two of the game’s best professional players in Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in the 1913 United State Open Championship – at the young age of 20, nonetheless.
In the years since, The Country Club has hosted numerous Mass Golf Championships in addition to several milestone national events, including six U.S. Amateur Championships, three U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships, three United States Open’s, two Walker Cups and the 1999 Ryder Cup.
Looking to continue the lasting tradition of Championship golf, the 144 golfers in the field, who earned entrance into the Championship Proper via qualifying through one of 12 qualifying events held in the last two months or via exemption for past performance in Mass Golf competition, this year’s Massachusetts Amateur champion will be presented the Massachusetts Cup – awarded annually to the tournament champion with the distinction of being the state’s top amateur golfer. Following the completion of the stroke play portion of competition, the Harry B. McCracken Stroke Play Medalist will be awarded to the competitor(s) with the lowest combined score for the 36-hole stroke play portion of the competition.
Please find additional information regarding this year’s Massachusetts Amateur Championship Proper below:
MASSACHUSETTS AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
SCHEDULE OF PLAY:
Monday, July 15th
First Round, 18 Holes Stroke Play
Tuesday, July 16th
Second Round, 18 Holes Stroke Play
**The low 32 players will advance to match play beginning Wednesday. A tie for the final qualifying place(s) will be determined by a hole-by-hole playoff.**
Wednesday, July 17th
Match Play – Round of 32 (morning) & Round of 16 (afternoon)
Thursday, July 18th
Match Play – Quarterfinals (morning) & Semifinals (afternoon)
Friday, July 19th
Match Play – Championship Match (36 Holes)
PAST CHAMPIONS
There are 11 past champions competing in this year’s Amateur Championship field that are responsible for a combined 15 Massachusetts Amateur Championships victories dating back to 1981.
They are the following, listed in order of their most recent Massachusetts Amateur Championship:
2017 – Matt Parziale
2015 – Nick McLaughlin
2014 – John Kelly
2013 – Mike Calef
2012 – Mike Calef
2011 – Ryan Riley
2010 – John Hadges
2009 – Bill Drohen
2008 – John Hadges
2006 – Ben Spitz
2005 – Frank Vana, Jr.
2004 – Frank Vana, Jr.
2001 – Brendan Hester
1985 – Steve Tasho
1981 – Steve Tasho
• Of these competitors, only John Hadges, Steve Tasho, Ryan Riley and Brendan Hester had to qualify through sectional qualifiers. All others were exempt. The reason for exemptions can be found here:
THE COUNTRY CLUB
This year’s Amateur at The Country Club will mark the 11th time the championship has been held at the famous club, one of five founding member clubs of the USGA, which is a record for the most times a single club has held the event. As a 10-time host of the Amateur, Brae Burn Country Club has hosted the second most times.
A complete list of past Massachusetts Amateur Championships held at The Country Club, and the winner of each such event, can be found below:
1905 – Arthur G. Lockwood
1920 – Frederick J. Wright, Jr.
1925 – Francis D. Ouimet
1934 – William O. Blaney
1949 – Robert W. Knowles, Jr.
1967 – Barrie Bruce
1976 – Bruce Douglass
1987 – Kevin Johnson
2003 – Andy Drohen
2009- Bill Drohen (Past Champion in this year’s field)
OTHER NOTES
• Sudbury’s Weston Jones (Charter Oaks), at 15 years, 10 months is the youngest in the field while Arlington’s Paul Murphy (Charles River CC), at 68 years, 6 months, is the oldest player in the field.
• This year’s Massachusetts Amateur Championship is free and open to the public during all five days of competition. Complete Spectator Information, as well as the approximate scorecard/yardage info can be found here.
• This year’s Massachusetts Amateur Championship features competitors who qualified at 1 of 12 qualifying sites held across Massachusetts between May 29 and June 26. Complete results and highlights from each qualifier can be found here:
• In addition to the 12 qualifiers and the exempt competitors, the remainder of the 144 player field was assembled using the alternate list. The updated alternate list can be found here:
• With 11 competitors affiliated with George Wright Golf Course, co-host of the 2018 Massachusetts Amateur Championships, George Wright is the most populous club amongst the Massachusetts Amateur field. Thorny Lea GC (six competitors) and Old Sandwich GC (five competitors) are the next two most populous clubs amongst competitor affiliations.
• Only one competitor, Aengus McAllister, will be playing on his home course when the Massachusetts Amateur Championship begins on July 15. He advanced through sectional qualifying on June 24 at Brookline Golf Course.
• Par and Yardage: The Country Club’s Main Course will be the course for the entire week of competition. It will be set up at approximately 6800 yards and will play to a par of 71.
• Most Victories: 6 (Frederick J. Wright, Jr. – 1920, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1938)
• Most Times as a Host Club: 11 (The Country Club)
• Last Competitor to Defend: Mike Calef (2012-13)
• Youngest Players to Win: Ted Adams (1939) & James Driscoll (1996) [both were 18 years old]
• Oldest Players to Win: Ed Fletcher (53 years old in 1995); Ted Bishop (48 years old in 1961)
• Largest Age Differential Between Finalists: 39 years (1956 – Fred Wright (58) and Charles Volpone (19)).
• Longest Final Match: 40 holes in 1993 (Flynt Lincoln def. Jason Kissell at Essex County Club
• Shortest Final Match: 25 holes in 1922 (Francis Ouimet def. Clark Hodder, 12 and 11, at Kernwood Country Club)
• Most Appearances in Championship Proper: 33 (Frank Vana, Jr. (1984-85; 1988-2017; 2019)
• Most Consecutive Appearances in Match Play: 22 (Frank Vana, Jr. (1991-2012)
• Most Appearances in Match Play: 26 (Frank Vana, Jr. (1985, 1988, 1991-2012; 2015; 2017)
• Total Number of Towns Represented: 95
• Most Towns Represented: Boston (9); Winchester (4); Sudbury (4); North Easton (4); Andover (4)
SOCIAL MEDIA
For complete coverage of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship, visit MassGolf.org or follow Mass Golf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @PlayMassGolf and by using the hashtag, #MassAm.
