Oyster Harbors (Osterville, Mass.) will host the 116th Mass Open from June 9-11. It’s the first time the course has hosted this event since 1942.
The format is 54 holes of stroke play. There is a cut after 36 holes.
A Bit of History and Former Winners
From 1932 to 1942, Oyster Harbors hosted seven Mass Opens. Francis Ouimet won the 1932 edition at Oyster Harbors, and Horton Smith, a 2-time Masters champion (1934 and 1936), won at Oyster Harbors in 1940.
The history of the Mass Open is incredible. Donald Ross and his brother Alex Ross won the first eight Mass Opens from 1905 to 1912. Five of those courses also have design connections to Donald Ross.
1905 – Donald Ross (Vesper CC)
1906 – Alex Ross (Wollaston GC)
1907 – Alex Ross (Brae Burn CC)
1908 – Alex Ross (The Country Club)
1909 – Alex Ross (Woodland GC)
1910 – Alex Ross (Essex CC)
1911 – Donald Ross (The Country Club)
1912 – Alex Ross (Oakley CC)
11-time major winner, Walter Hagan won at The County Club in 1915. Gene Sarazen, one of six players with the career Grand Slam won in 1935.
Holy Cross graduate and Worcester native, Paul Harney, won the Mass Open four times in a row from 1967 to 1970. Harney won 6 times on the PGA Tour, and he built Paul Harney GC on Cape Cod, which is still run by his family.
Kevin Quinn is the last player to win the Mass Open as an amateur. He won a playoff over Brad Adamonis and amateur Jeff Curl.
There have been four amateurs who have won the Mass Open: Quinn, Kevin Johnson (1986), Don Hoenig (1954), and Jesse P. Guilford (1919 and 1929). Hoenig also won as a pro in 1961.
There are 74 amateurs and 71 professionals in the field this year.
Road Warriors
Carson Erick has a busy week ahead…
There are some players in the field who will play 36 holes in the U.S. Open Final Qualifying in June 8 and then head to Oyster Harbors for their first round the next day.
While most of them will be driving from the New York qualifying site, Carson Erick is playing his Final Qualifying in Maryland and then will hop on a plane to get to Cape Cod for his 12:30 tee time.
Other players who are playing in both events: Jared Nelson, Matt Costello, Mike Calef, and Jake Ratti.
Former Mass Amateur Champions in the field
Eight players in the field have won the Mass Amateur. Steven DiLisio is the only player in the field to win both the Mass Amateur and the Mass Open.
The return of James Driscoll is exciting. He was one of the best amateurs in the country in 2000. He was an All-American at Virginia, played on the Walker Cup team, and reached the U.S. Amateur final in 2000, losing in 39 holes to Jeff Quinney. Driscoll won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour and has 400+ starts between the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour.
Mike Calef is the only player in the history of golf to win the Mass and Rhode Island Amateurs.
Former Mass Open Winners in the field
Andy Morse is 67-years old. He played in 231 Korn Ferry events over the course of his career. He won seven times on the Hooters Tour, and in 1989, he won the state opens in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire.
Evan Harmeling won just months after the Boston Marathon bombing and donated all his winnings to the One Fund. He’s won on the Korn Ferry Tour and competed on the PGA Tour last month in the Myrtle Beach Classic.
Jason Thresher not only won three Mass Opens in a row, but he will also defend the New Hampshire Open title this summer for the second time. He won in 2024 and 2025. He was inducted into the Bryant Hall of Fame in 2017. He won eight times for the Bulldogs.
Pros Returning Home
As the state open circuit gets going, a bunch of young pros are returning to New England to compete after a winter down south working on their games and grinding on Monday Qualifiers and mini tours.
Ethan Whitney
Ethan Whitney and James Imai have been grinding down south over the last year as new professionals. Imai finished runner-up in the 2024 Mass Open as an amateur at Willowbend.
Whitney reached the Mass Amateur semi-final in 2024 at Framingham CC. He graduated from Temple in 2025.
Will Frodigh graduated from Elon in 2022. The Westwood native has been down in Florida playing on the Minor League Golf Tour.
Jared Nelson from Vermont is also back up north. He attended UConn and won the Hornblower, New England Amateur, and Vermont Amateur in the summer of 2022.
Another Vermonter, Bryson Richards played his college golf at URI and is the 2023 Vermont Amateur champion. He won six individual titles for the Rams.
Some Notes:
Ricky Stimets has deep ties to Oyster Harbors. The club championship trophy is named after his grandfather and he’s played there his entire life.
Liam Friedman and Jeff Martin, two pros from Wollaston GC, are both in the field his week.
Brothers Max and Jude McColgan are both in the field this week.
Aidan O’Donovan is a caddie at Oyster Harbors.
Mac Bredahl had an illustrious lacrosse career at Tufts. He was an All-American and made the Tewaaraton Award List, which is the Heisman Award of college lacrosse. He also played golf for the Jumbos in the fall season and finished his eligability at Boston College where he played golf while getting his Masters degree. He is currently a professional.
Ryan Celano is up from Florida. He is the son of Paul Celano, the Director of Golf at The International in Bolton, Mass.
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