HAMPDEN, Massachusetts — “Go West, young men.” And so, they did, to Hampden, Massachusetts. A field of 120 amateur golfers, ages 18 and under, convened at GreatHorse for the 105th playing of the Massachusetts Junior Amateur Championship Powered By KOHR Golf.
36 holes of stroke play spread across Monday and Tuesday will whittle the field down to 16 finalists for a seeded match play bracket, which will begin on Wednesday.
Sascha Robinson (Plymouth Country Club) wasted no time getting deep into red figures, carding birdies on five of his first seven holes. He continued to play pristine golf the rest of the way, adding two more birdies and never ceding a bogey, to polish off an opening round of 65, three shots clear of the next closest competitor. “Coming into the day, I just wanted to try to hit fairways and hit greens,” said Robinson, and he did just that. By his count, Robinson hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation.
Robinson is coming off an appearance at the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur in Charleston, SC, last week, where he missed the cut, posting +12 over two rounds. The result appears to have motivated Robinson this week, “Last week I was at the U.S. Junior Am and I didn’t play my best, so I kinda just want to come out here and see how low I could go.”
Ryan Downes (GreatHorse) has had a special summer season, becoming the youngest ever winner of the Massachusetts Amateur. Shortly after claiming his second Ouimet Memorial title last week, he was already looking forward to a bid at the trifecta at his home course: “I’m hoping to go win the Mass Junior next week to get three in a row, which would be pretty sweet.”
Despite a few stumbles down the stretch, Downes put himself in fine position heading into round two. Three-putt bogeys on 15 and 17 knocked him back a bit, then a seemingly wayward drive on the 428 yard 18th had the finish looking even murkier. However, a member’s bounce off the cart path sent his ball careening down to the fairway about 30 yards short of the green–a modest 400 yards from the tee. Downes capitalized with an impressive pitch that skipped up the slope and checked neatly a few feet beyond the hole. The tap-in birdie capped a 3-under round of 69, good for T-4th.
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Playing alongside Downes was Zach Pelzar (Weston Golf Club), who is looking to build on his success at the 2022 Mass Junior, when he made it to the final four of match play. Pelzar racked up six birdies on his way to an opening round of 4-under 68. “It’s a good start,” said Pelzar, “Obviously, the goal is just to get to match play, so I think I put myself in a good position. Just go do my job tomorrow and we’ll be in good shape.”
Also 4-under and tied for 2nd is Carson Muse (Winchester Country Club). Muse birdied three of the four par-5s and eagled the 340 yards 4th, one of only two eagles produced by the field all day.
15-year-old Colin Gleason (Barnstable Golf) leads the Pre-Junior Division, which is limited to competitors who are 15 and under. He birdied 18 to post an even-par 72, which has him tied for 10th overall and right in the mix for a spot in match play. This is Gleason’s first appearance in the Mass Junior and he was soaking it all in, “I’m really happy. This course is really nice–it’s probably the nicest course I’ve ever played. And some of my family is out here. I was pretty happy to come here and experience all this.”
Round two gets underway Tuesday morning, after which the field will be trimmed to sixteen.
Two 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur participants are in the field: Sascha Robinson (-7) & Trevor Drew (+1)
Half of last year’s 16 match play competitors are back in the field :
Pieter Hartman (Orchards Golf Club) +7
Ryan Fay (Dedham Country and Polo Club) +1
Ryan Scollins (Franklin Country Club) -1
Zach Pelzar (Weston Golf Club) -4
Galen Fowles (The Ranch Club) +3
Emil Nielsen (Weston Golf Club) +7
Ryan Keyes (Student Member) E
Josiah Hakala (Northern Spy Country Club) -3
Course Stats:
-The closing stretch should prove interesting as players battle to make the cut on Tuesday. The final four holes each ranked among the six most difficult on the course.
-The par-4 18th was the most difficult on the course, with a stroke average of 4.52 and yielding only 6 birdies on the day.
-Nine players finished under-par, with another four players at even.
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