WILLIAMSTOWN, Massachusetts – Sometimes inspiration can come when you least expect it.
Don Foberg (Plymouth Country Club) entered Tuesday’s final round of the Massachusetts Super Senior Amateur down five strokes and trailing several of the state’s best seniors players. But it wasn’t his past Super Senior victory in 2019 or any past accolades that sharpened his focus heading into the final round.
Instead, it was a song on the radio when driving from the range at nearby Waubeeka Golf Links to the course at Taconic Golf Club. The song: the 1982 hit ‘Gloria’ by Laura Branigan.
“I always get a song stuck in my head when I play, and I can’t get it to stop, and my wife’s name is Gloria, so I said ‘Well, I’m going to keep that song in my head,'” Foberg said. “She’s always telling me to be patient and don’t think to much, so I said make the best swing you can on each shot, stay focused, and I made a boatload of putts. Yesterday, I couldn’t get a ball to even hit the hole, and today everything went right in the middle.”
Not the rain nor the chilly conditions could stand in his way. Foberg poured in four of birdie putts on the front nine followed by nine consecutive pars to capture his second Super Senior Amateur title in four years. The Pembroke resident shot a bogey-free 4-under 67, two strokes below his age, to finish with a two-day total of 2-over-par 77-67–144.
“[Defending champion] Don Reycroft once told me once you win one of these things, you realize you can do it,” Foberg said. “So that’s what I try to come into every tournament with the mindset that I can do it, it’s a matter of doing it.”
That’s 2 Mass Super Senior titles in 4 years for Don Foberg (Plymouth Country Club). 🏆 #MassGolf pic.twitter.com/ccOjGiqG2u
— Mass Golf (@PlayMassGolf) October 4, 2022
Carter Fasick (Westborough Golf Club), who was playing in the final group Tuesday, made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th to capture the Legends Division title for players 70 years and older. Fasick finished with matching 74s to to earn runner-up honors in the overall competition with a 148. He also avoided a Legends Division playoff with his twin brother Jon Fasick (New England Country Club and Jim Ruschioni (Wachusett Country Club), as well as edging out defending champion Don Reycroft (Bayberry Hills / Bass River) for second place.
Peter Harrison (Vesper Country Club), who entered Tuesday with a two-shot lead, shot 78 on the final day and finished T6, his best finish in the tournament to date.
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Foberg is continuing on a trend of getting better with age. In 2019, he earned his Mass Golf title at the 2019 Super Senior at Woods Hole Golf Club and won the prestigious Senior Hornblower Tournament at his home course. He followed that up in 2020 by winning the Mass Senior Amateur and earning his second consecutive selection to Mass Golf’s Tri-State team.
This year he added to his string of success by qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur in his home state at The Kittansett Club in Marion.
“I guess I’m a late bloomer,” Foberg said. “I didn’t play much in my 30s and 40s. Ever since I started hanging around Don Reycroft, the Fasicks (Jon and Carter), Jim Ruschioni, I started playing better.”
On Tuesday, Foberg opened with a birdie on the 1st hole and added two more on the 4th and 7th. His best shot of the day came on the downhill par-3 9th as he stuck his shot to within 2 feet and made the birdie putt, giving him a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.
On the back nine, he continued to dial in the short game. Laying up on the 16th, he hit his shot within five feet and made the putt for par. After nearly chipping in for birdie on the par-3 17th, he two-putted for par on the 18th to close out the round.
While this victory doesn’t exactly close out the golf season for Foberg, he does have some different plans for Wednesday: “I’ll be fishing.”
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If Carter Fasick has learned anything this year, it’s been keeping golf in prospective. Battling multiple illnesses during the year, Fasick’s future of playing the game was in question.
But ultimately, he recovered, got his swing back and put together and captured an individual victory as the golf season winds down.
“My attitude is better,” Fasick said. “When you’re battling health problems, and you think you’re not going to play anymore and things start snowballing, your attitude goes. You have to remind yourself to keep a good attitude and how lucky you are to play golf. It took a while but I got there.”
A prime example of this was on the first hole, as Fasick topped his second shot of the day, but he followed up by almost holing out for eagle and making the birdie putt. Despite a double-bogey on the 7th, Fasick bounced back with a birdie on the 12th and made all pars until his decisive birdie make on the final hole and avoid a playoff.
Meanwhile, this putt on 18 from Carter Fasick put him over the top in the Legends Division (age 70+), edging out his brother and #MassGolf legend Jim Ruschioni by a stroke. pic.twitter.com/6j4E53rkSn
— Mass Golf (@PlayMassGolf) October 4, 2022
“It’s nice to nip Jim Ruschioni, my brother and Paul Murphy because they’ve been beating the heck out of me for 50 years,” Carter said with a chuckle. “They’re all Hall of Famers, as far as I’m concerned.”
Taconic Ties: Don Foberg also has several close ties to Taconic. He is friends with head golf professional Josh Hillman, who grew up in Greenfield, and the two played at Country Club of Greenfield when Foberg was a member (up until 2017). Foberg’s son Benjamin is also married to the daughter of Mike Haddad, the Front of House Manager at Taconic.
Player Of The Year Race: With the victory, Foberg has also secured enough points to earn the brand new Mass Golf Super Senior Player of the Year Award. In addition to his Super Senior victory and qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur, Foberg also tied for low Super Senior placing at the Mass Senior Amateur. To view the Super Senior Player of the Year standings, CLICK HERE.
Weekend Accolade: Paul Murphy, an esteemed member of Charles River Country Club, was in the hunt Tuesday but came up a few strokes short. However, over the weekend he won the Turning Leaves Tournament that takes place every fall at Stockbridge Golf Club, also located in the Berkshires.
Next Year: While the site of next year’s Mass Super Senior Amateur is still to be decided, the low 70 and ties who played in the final round Tuesday are automatically exempt for next year’s Championship Proper. To view the full list of exemptions for this year’s championship, CLICK HERE
Visit MassGolf.org and follow @PlayMassGolf on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest updates on the Mass Super Senior Amateur Championship. To join the conversation, use the hashtag #MassGolf.
