Headline: Come One, Come All... Spectators Invited to the 2010 Massachusetts Amateur Championship Scheduled for July 12-16 at Myopia Hunt Club
Norton, MA — The time has come for the state's top amateur competitors to take part in one of the most historic and grueling tests of golf in the Bay State.
Beginning on July 12th at Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, a field of 144 players hailing from all parts of Massachusetts will take part in the 102nd Massachusetts Amateur Championship. The end goal for all is to capture the prestigious Commonwealth Cup, which has been won by golfing legends such as Francis Ouimet, Eddie Lowery, Gene Sarazon and Jesse Guilford. (event preview continues below).
2010 Massachusetts Amateur Championship Quick Links
Come Monday, all eyes will no doubt be on defending champion Bill Drohen (Brookmeadow CC), who will making his 2010 debut at the Massachusetts Amateur Championship. One year ago, Drohen made a memorable comeback from off-season shoulder surgery to capture his first-ever Massachusetts Amateur title by defeating two-time champion Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC) by a score of 4 & 3 at The Country Club.
Since that time, Drohen has allowed his shoulder to heal and has enjoyed the birth of his first child and a recent move to a new home with his wife Deb, who was by his side throughout the week last year in Brookline.
"My patience over the years and experience help my nerves and let me play more relaxed," said Drohen, whose son Matthew is now 9 months old. "I try not to put too much pressure on myself and have fun with the crowds. I'm really looking forward to playing Myopia. The course really suits my game. It requires straight tee balls and delicate shots around the small greens."
This year Drohen will face a 144-player field that is loaded with talent including defending Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Champion Brian Higgins (Franklin CC) who will be looking to secure his second victory in July. One week ago, Higgins — who advanced to the Massachusetts Amateur finals in 2002 — captured the Worcester County Amateur by an impressive six-stroke margin.
"I haven't had the best success in match play," said Higgins who was defeated in the first round of Match Play last year after finishing as medalist during the stroke-play portion of the event. "It's a mindset change and I historically have not adapted well from stroke to match play. My goal is to win this year, as it is every year, and take it one step at a time. Patience is the key, and I've become increasingly patient throughout my golf career."
Another person vying for the title this year will be veteran Mike Calef (Brockton CC), who recently finished as one of two low amateurs at the Massachusetts Open Championship. He — like so many of the players — understands the importance and challenges of this special event.
"If I could describe this event to anyone who hasn't seen the history of the Mass State Amateur I would call it the one event every year that you cannot miss," said Calef who was defeated in the Round of 32 in 2009. "You will start thinking about it for next year the day that you finish it this year... the other reason that I am so fond of this event is because it is Match Play. It doesn't matter if you shoot 65 or 85 as long as you beat the only other guy standing on that tee box with you. It's always friendly, but man is it tough."
Myopia: Vision of a World Apart
It was considered the best golf course in America at the beginning of the 20th century, chosen to host the U.S. Open Championship four times in 10 years. All four Opens in that early era were high-scoring affairs, prompting one respected journalist to label the course "the Alcatraz of U.S. Open venues".
So goes just one of the many tales of Myopia Hunt Club, one of the 42 founding clubs of the Massachusetts Golf Association. That excerpt appeared in the MGA's Centennial book "A Commonwealth of Golfers" and aptly describes the rich history and lore that surrounds the club that was established in 1875.
A respected venue for the best players in the world, Myopia Hunt Club served as host of the U.S. Open Championship in 1898, 1901, 1905, and 1908. The 72-hole winning score by Willie Anderson in 1901 was 331, a record high that still stands today. He defeated Alex Smith in an 18 hole playoff, 85 to 86, his highest 18 hole score of the tournament.
Walter Travis, the three-time U.S. Amateur champion and British Amateur winner, called the layout, "the best in the country... the creation largely of one man... with putting greens, mostly undulated, which are equal to the best anywhere in the world."
Golf was first introduced at Myopia in 1894 with the creation of nine holes. Herbert C. Leeds — after joining Myopia in 1896 — was then charged with upgrading the layout already in place and, using Shinnecock Hills on Long Island as one of his models, created an inland links measuring 2,928 yards and offering, in the era of a guttapercha ball, a formidable test. As noted in "A Commonwealth of Golfers", the course was a challenge "offered by its tight tee boxes, chocolate-drop mounds, bunkers and perversly sloped greens and fairways".
Since that time, the course has undergone renovations and changes — most recently from 1995 through 2005 — but the vision of Leeds has lived on. Considered "a work in progress" to its creator, Myopia Hunt Club has always been a challenge to even the best of golfers. Leeds, for example, was known to follow top players who frequented his course (such as Harry Vardon and Bobby Jones) and "mark a spot where a good player's poor drive came to rest, then build a bunker on that spot after the visitor left." After all, he firmly believed that — as he once penned his scrapbook — "to eliminate change from any game is to spoil it."
It's beauty and expert design has led Myopia Hunt Club to become the only course in the United States to have been listed by Golf Magazine as having two of the United States's top 100 signature holes, Myopia's 4th and 9th. It is currently ranked #32 on the 2010 Golfweek's Best Classic Courses and #78 on GOLF Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the United States.
Here are just a few special features of Myopia Hunt Club that players and spectators alike will enjoy next week.
The Best of the Best Amateur Competition
Over a five-day period, spectators will watch the state's best players battle through two rounds of stroke play and three days of Match Play. The road to the championship title is considered one of the most grueling tasks as players must possess elite skill and endurance. Here are just some of the marquee players who will tee it up on Monday.
Who's Missing?
With Bill Drohen looking to capture his second straight title, one name is conspicuously absent from the field. Bill's older brother Andy Drohen (Crestview CC) – who won this title in 2003 at The Country Club and who served as caddy for Bill last year after failing to make Match Play – is not playing much golf this year after undergoing elbow and shoulder surgery. This marks the first time since his victorious 2003 campaign that he has not been in the event's starting field.
Another important figure who will be noticeably absent from the field is the 2008 George M. Cohen MGA Senior Player of the Year Joe Keller (Oyster Harbors Club). Demonstrating how deep the amateur field is here in Massachusetts, Keller missed qualifying for this year's event by a mere two strokes at Cape Cod Country Club on June 8. Had he advanced to Championship Proper, Keller would have been attempting to return to Myopia Hunt Club where – in 1996 – he lost in the finals of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship to current PGA Tour player James Driscoll. Over the course of his career, Keller has finished as runner up on three occasions, in 1988, 1996 and 1998.
A Family Affair
The Drohen brothers made family the name of the game at the Massachusetts Amateur Championship. When Bill Drohen captured the title in 2009, it marked the first time in the event history that a pair of brothers have won the Massachusetts Amateur Championship. Andy Drohen, who is five years older than Bill, won at The Country Club in 2003.
This year, another set of brothers will take to the course with hopes that they might – down the road – accomplish that same feat. Richy Werenski (The Orchards GC) and Mickey Werenski (The Orchards GC) – brothers separated by three years – both qualified for Championship Proper this year. One year ago, Richy, a 19-year-old freshman at Georgia Tech who shared low amateur honors at the 2010 Massachusetts Open Championship, made the trip to The Country Club last year to serve as caddy for his younger brother who missed the cut by three strokes. This time around, both players will need to find someone else to carry their bags as they aim to advance to Match Play for the first time in both of their young careers.
While the Werenskis represent the only brothers in the field, there are two sets of cousins who will hope for some family luck! Scott Congdon (Foxborough CC) and his older cousin Chris Congdon (Foxborough CC) came together earlier this season to post a score of 10-under par 72 during the final round of the Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship to finish second overall. Both players are in this year's field and will tee off on the 11th tee just 10 minutes apart.
Super Seniors
While the youngsters in the field draw much attention, there is a strong contingent of senior firepower in this year's field. Highlighting that impressive group of players over the age of 55 is the marquee threesome of Paul Murphy (Charles River CC), Robert Linn (Berkshire Hills CC) and Alistair Catto (The Orchards GC). Those three competitors will tee off at 8:40 a.m. on Monday off the first tee. Alone they have impressive resumes, but together they are simply inspiring.
Over the course of his career, Murphy has competed in at least 29 Massachusetts Amateur Championships and 14 USGA Championships and won the 2006 New England Senior Championship. He is also coming off a 2009 season in which he won the Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship... it came 21 years after he won his first-ever Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship.
Catto, a Scotland-native and Amherst College graduate who was the 2007 George M. Cohen MGA Senior Player of the Year, advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship that year. Previously, he had competed in three U.S. Amateurs (1987, 1990, 1995) and the 1990 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.
Linn, meanwhile, is the youngest of the three who made a splash during his first year of eligibility for senior amateur events. He won the 2009 New England Senior Amateur Championship, finished T3 at the Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship and represented Team Massachusetts at the 2009 Tri-State Team Match.
Monday, July 12, 2010
First Round, 18 Holes Stroke Play
— Morning Tee Times Begin at 7:30 a.m.
— Afternoon Tee Times Begin at 12:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Second Round, 18 Holes Stroke Play
— Morning Tee Times Begin at 7:30 a.m.
— Afternoon Tee Times Begin at 12:00 p.m.
(The low 32 scorers continue on to Match Play Competition. In the event of a tie, a sudden-death playoff will be used to determine the final Match Play competitors.)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
First Day of Match Play
— Round of 32 Matches Begin at 8:00 a.m.
(Remaining 16 move on to afternoon match)
— Round of 16 Matches (Afternoon)
(Remaining 8 move on to Thursday's matches)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Second Day of Match Play
— Quarterfinal Matches Begin at 8:00 a.m.
(Remaining 4 move on to Semifinals)
— Semifinal Matches (Afternoon)
(Remaining 2 move on to Finals)
Friday, July 16, 2010
Third Day of Match Play
— Morning 18 Holes Begin at 8:00 a.m.
— Afternoon 18 Holes Begin 45 minutes following the conclusion of the morning round.
(In the event of a tied match, (a) the winner shall be decided immediately by a hole-by-hole playoff, and (b) the stipulated round is deemed to extend to as many holes as are required for a match to be won.)
* this number does not include any playoff holes required following stroke play and any additions or reductions in the number of holes during Match Play.
