QUINCY, MASS. - Presidents Golf Club measures 5,790 from the back tees, yet it always seems to pack a punch in the Norfolk County Classic. Every May, some of the best amateurs in Massachusetts arrive in Quincy, hoping to make birdies while knowing that they are hard to come by.

2026 champion Matt Johnson had never set his eyes on Presidents GC until Saturday when he played his first round. The front nine was a bit of a horror show, after a birdie on the par-3 second hole, he tripled the third hole and turned in 38 (+4).

Presidents GC was once Wollaston GC before the club moved to Milton, so the green complexes have some spice to them. The greenside bunkers are deep in spots, and a few holes are hemmed into the property with sloping fairways and out of bounds.

One bad swing can lead to a catastrophe, but birdies are available.

Johnson loosened up and started attacking the course, finding birdies on the back nine.

“I went on a heater on the back,” Johnson said as he cradled the glass trophy.

Heater indeed.

He birdied hole Nos. 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15 en route to a 31. In the end, he signed for a 69 (-1) and was sleeping on the lead.

Quite the turnaround.

Johnson might be one of the top five players in the state who can get liquid hot and rip off a bunch of birdies. He was the medalist at the 2025 Mass Amateur at Greathorse by four shot with back-to-back rounds of 68.

The weather this weekend might have been the best the tournament has ever seen. Bright sun and warm temps are not the norm, but the wind always seems to play a factor. Players have to navigate their shots into the greens, but the pins are so tucked that the wind impacts putts, too.

In the final round, Johnson shot an even par 34 on the front nine. He sanded off a bogey on the par-4 sixth with a kick in birdie on the ninth.

The closest competitors at the start of the final round were Steve Tasho and his son Steve Tasho Jr.

The elder Tasho had a front row seat to Johnson’s round, as they were paired together. He couldn’t muster a birdie and made three bogeys on each side for a 76. He won Low Senior.

Steve Tasho Jr. was in the group ahead and started his round with a double bogey on the first hole. He’d made another double bogey on the 6th hole and then a triple on the par-5 15th. A 75 with those big numbers on the card is impressive.

Brian Higgins was really the only one who pushed Johnson towards the end. He shot a 68 in the final round with a pretty tidy card. His only blemish was a bogey on the third hole, but he only made three birdies across the course on hole Nos. 5, 11, and 15.

One added challenge to the tournament is that there is no live scoring, and with the wild swings that can happen on the course, players have to either dive into their own game or look around and try to judge how the guys around them are playing. There are a lot of moments on the back nine when they can see each other on the tight, condensed course.

Whether he knew it or not, Johnson arrived at the 137-yard par 3 with a three-shot lead. He fired his wedge at the flag and missed long. A safe chip shot and two putts were all he needed to seal the win.

Last year the winner finished at even par. This year, one player finished under par. Even for a short course by today’s standards, Presidents GC is an excellent challenge and a great way to test the nerves early in the season.

Full Results:

Men’s Regionals - May 18-20 (Full rundown of teams)

Harvard will compete as the 12 seed in the Athens, Georgia Regional. Unfortunately, Duxbury’s Reese Jensen did not make the Harvard roster for this trip. Vanderbilt is also in that field as the 3 seed. Ryan Downes (Longmeadow, Mass.) and John Broderick (Wellesley, Mass.) could both be competing for the Commodores. Joey Lenane (Dedham, Mass.) is hoping to help the NC State Wolfpack in the Winston-Salem Regional. NC State is the nine seed. In addition, Fairfield’s Rasmus Ditzinger qualified as an individual in Athens after winning the MAAC individual championship. | Athens Scoring | Winston-Salem Scoring

PGA Championship: If you were living under a rock (or buried by youth sports this weekend), Aaron Rai won the PGA Championship. Keegan Bradley shot 74-72 and missed the cut at Aronimink GC. Michael Thorbjornsen had a rough week with rounds of 77-74 before packing it up. Thorbjornsen is now the 70th-ranked player in the world. After the Canadian Open, the top 60 in the world will earn a spot in the U.S. Open. We’ll be checking U.S. Open Final Q for his name, too. Results

Thorbjonsen and Davis Chatfield are both in the field for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch.

Colonial Life Charity Classic: Cole Sherwood won the event with a final score of 16-under par. Rob Oppenheim shot 69-70-73-71 and finished 83rd. Chris Francoeur missed the cut after rounds of 71-73. Results

Oppenheim and Francoeur will play in the Visit Knoxville Open this week.

Peru Open: In the PGA Tour Americas, Cole Anderson from Maine took home the title. He shot 67-67-68-65 and beat Patrick Flavin in a playoff. Anderson was a standout at Florida State and is a two-time Maine State Amateur Champion in 2019 and 2020. Results

Kroger Queen City Championship: Lottie Woad shot 12-under par and won her second career LPGA Tour event. A good day for English golf between her and Aaron Rai. She is also a Florida State alum, so she has that connection with Cole Anderson. Megan Khang shot 70-70-73-71 (+4) and finished T64. Alex Pano shot 78-68 and missed the cut. Results

U.S. Four-Ball: Max Ferrari (Framingham, Mass.) and Nick Liebold (Boston, Mass.) were the only duo with New England ties to make it through to Match Play. They shot 67-68 and play Evan Beck and Dan Walters on Monday in the Round of 32. A tough draw. Beck is a U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion. Live Scoring

Walter J. Travis Invitational: Matthew Naumec (Boston, Mass.) won the Devereux Emmet Division in this prestigeous event at Garden City GC. Matt Parziale (Brockton, Mass.) qualified for the top division and lost in the first round of stroke play to John Hunter. Doug Clapp (Manomet, Mass.) lost in the final of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Cup (Senior Division.) to Dave Scialabba. Results

JT Junior Championship: At Sanford CC in Sanford, Maine, Elijah La Tour (Tariffville, Conn) shot 73-70 (-1) to beat Jack Quinn (Litchfield, Maine) and SJ Welch (Newport, Maine) by three shots in the Boys 15-18 division… Benjamin Sheng (Milton, Mass.) shot 74-73 (+3) to win by six shots in the Boys 14&under Division… Alyssa Liu (Milton, Mass.) shot 78-81 in the Girls Division for her victory. Results

Mass Senior Four-Ball: The event is broken into two flights and three courses - Kernwood, Tedesco, and Indian Ridge on May 18-19. | MassGolf Hub

Mass Open Qualifying: The last two Mass Open qualifiers are this week. Orchards GC (S. Hadley, Mass.) is on Monday, May 18, and CC of Pittsfield (Pittsfield, Mass.) is on Thursday, May 21. | Orchards Scoring | CC of Pittsfield Scoring

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