Headline: 100th Massachusetts Open Championship Approaches; Starting Times for Round 1 Now Available
For Immediate Release: June 7, 2009
Norton, MA — In preparation for the 100th playing of the Massachusetts Open Championship, the MGA has released starting times and pairings for the first round of play.
This historic championship event will be making a return to Belmont Country Club on June 22-24 and will include two rounds of stroke play on Monday and Tuesday. Following 36 holes of stroke play, the 150-player field will be reduced to the 40 lowest scorers and ties or anyone within seven strokes of the leader. Those players will return to Belmont on Wednesday to compete in a third and final round of 18-hole stroke play. Any tie for first place will be decided immediately by a three-hole aggregate playoff. In the event there is still a tie after three holes, a hole-by-hole playoff will determine the champion.
One of the premier pairings on Monday will include defending champion Jim Renner (Plainville, MA), who one year ago posted a three-day score of 6-under par 204 to capture the 2008 Massachusetts Open Championship which was held at Stockbridge Golf Club.
Renner capped off his impressive title run with a sizzling 5-under par 65 on the final day to edge long-time professional and 1991 champion John Elliott (Bristol, CT) by four strokes. His victory was fitting as it put an exclamation point on a season that was already full of highlights. Prior to his win in Stockbridge, Renner had already captured two marque titles in 2008 – the Cape Cod Open and Vermont Open. He also qualified for and competed in the PGA Tour's PODS Championship in March.
Prior to embarking on his professional career, the 25-year-old Renner was an outstanding amateur player who is a former champion of the New England Amateur Champonship (2005) and Francis Ouimet Invitational (2003, 2005), a two-time participant in the U.S. Amateur Championship (2004, 2006) and the NAIA national player of the year while a student-athlete at Johnson & Wales-Miami.
Renner will be paired with 2005 champion of this event Eric Egloff (Sandy Spring, MD) and veteran amateur Doug Clapp (Old Sandwich GC). The trio will tee off at 8:06 a.m. on the 10th tee on June 22 at Belmont Country Club.
One noticeable golfer missing from the field is six-time champion Geoff Sisk (Marshfield, MA). Sisk captured the title in 1995, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Although originally scheduled to compete in this year's Massachusetts Open Championship, Sisk was forced to withdraw due to a conflict with the Nationwide Tour Players Cup being held in West Virginia on June 25-28.
Following a strong 2008 season in which he earned a full exemption on the Nationwide Tour, the Marshfield native and Temple University graduate has played well in 2009 and is – as of June 7 – ranked 22nd on the money list. When the Tour organizers announced that the Nationwide Tour Players Cup would be held [there was speculation that it would be cancelled], Sisk made the decision to continue competing in all possible Nationwide Tour events in hopes of earning a top money list position and eventual status on the 2010 PGA Tour.
An interesting note about Sisk... in his Nationwide Tour bio Sisk cites "winning his first Massachusetts Open as his biggest thrill in golf."
On the amateur side, four top players will also be absent at the 2009 Massachusetts Open Championship. Nine-time Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC), reigning MGA Player of the Year Brian Higgins (Franklin CC), 2008 Massachusetts Amateur Champion John Hadges (Thorny Lea GC) and University of Rhode Island standout Taylor Fontaine (Pleasant Valley CC) received invitations to and will be competing at the Northeast Amateur Invitational scheduled for June 24-27 at Wannamoisett Country Club (RI).
