NORTHBRIDGE, Massachusetts | HOPKINTON, Massachusetts – The top six teams on the leaderboard at the 22nd annual Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship were separated by a mere three strokes, all but ensuring that the second and final day of the tournament would be a nail biter.
But in a game where every shot can be a difference maker, it was one pair who didn’t appear to be in contention at the completion of play on Monday that ultimately were victorious on Tuesday.
The sibling duo of Jon Fasick (New England CC) and Carter Fasick (Westborough CC) matched a tournament-low 7-under 65 on Tuesday at Shining Rock GC, matching the score set there by David Holmes (Blackstone GC) and Brian Secia (Miacomet GC) on Monday, by recording a bogey-free round that featured seven birdies to claim their first-ever Senior Four-Ball title. Previously, the twin brothers were multi-time winners of the Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship, an event they had won four times between 1986 and 1998.
The Fasick brothers bested the teams of Holmes and Secia, Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC) and Michael McCarthy (Framingham CC) and Ronald Laverdiere (Crumpin-Fox Club) and Michael Mertes (Wyckoff CC), who all finished at 8-under 135 for the 36-hole Championship.
“We were totally prepared for a playoff, when we saw those guys were 7-under after 27 holes,” said Jon Fasick in regards to the 7-under scores of both the Vana/McCarthy and LaVerdiere/Mertes after both teams made their final turns to the back nine at Hopkinton. “I thought one of those guys would get it done, but it’s a tremendous feeling to win a [Mass Golf] title again.” The two had traveled from Shining Rock following their morning round to watch the conclusion of play at Hopkinton, where any potential playoff would occur.”
Jon and Carter Fasick also earned recognition as the top-pair in the Super Senior Division – the division for teams consisting of competitors who are both aged 65 and older. Both Jon and Carter turned 65 last August.
Finishing with a 2-under 69 at the Hopkinton Country Club site on Monday, the Fasick duo found themselves amongst the top-20 on the leaderboard heading to a site where they felt they both could leap up the leaderboard.
“Just looking at the score, we knew that Hopkinton CC was playing tougher than Shining Rock and you could make things happen over there,” explained Jon on the team’s mindset heading into Tuesday’s final round. “We tried to just relax and knew there were a lot of opportunities and [we wanted to] cash in on those opportunities.”
Cash in they did as the pair tallied three-birdies on the front nine, followed by four more on the back nine.
“It was a little too early to get things rolling,” added Carter on having to worry how the other competitors might finish. “Jon made a couple good par putts that kept us strong, which was helpful, and then we strung together some birdies on the back.”
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After matching pars on each of the first three holes Tuesday at Shining Rock, Carter carded the team’s first birdie on the par-4th hole, a 300-yard dogleg left that is divided by a large gorge that remained from the original construction of the course. Two holes later, brother Jon added to the the birdie action, carding a three on the 6th hole that was nearly equidistant in length to the fourth hole. Carter added a birdie on the par-5 9th hole as Team Fasick to make the turn at 3-under 33.
On the back nine, Jon registered back-to-back birdies on the par-3 12th hole and par-5 13th hole before Carter added his third of the day on the 14th, a streak of three-such marks which was also the longest such streak for their two rounds.
Jon finished the day with a birdie on the par-4 17th hole and the pair made par on 18 to complete their bogey-free round.
Eligible for the Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship since 2008, the year the brothers finished second to four-time champions Jim Rushioni and Paul Nunez, Carter and Jon also tallied a third place finish in 2010. At last year’s tournament, which was contested at Red Tail GC and Shaker Hills CC, they finished at T10.
“It’s been 20 years between Mass Golf titles,” said Jon.
He jokingly added, “20 years ago, after we won the last Four-Ball, I would have been happy to just be alive right now, so this is pretty good.”
Prior to Tuesday’s second round, the Fasick brothers had only played Shining Rock four or five times in their careers, which makes their 7-under 65 performance that much more impressive.
Growing up in Natick, Carter and Jon have been playing competitively for more than 40 years, including several times when the Hopkinton track was known as Saddle Hill Country Club.
Carter currently resides in Milford, Massachusetts while Jon is a resident of Bellingham.
For complete coverage of the Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship, visit MassGolf.org or follow Mass Golf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @PlayMassGolf and by using the hashtag, #MassSeniorFourBall.
