Nick Maccario wins The Hornblower

Nick Maccario won his second Hornblower Invitational with a strong finish at Plymouth CC. He made birdies on hole Nos. 16 and 17 to edge out Drew Golden and another past champion, Aiden Emmerich, by one shot with a one-over par total score.

Results

Golden earned low junior for his impressive runner-up finish. The Hingham HS graduate will play his college golf at Lehigh next fall.

The day started with Maccario two shots behind first-round leader Jon Stoddard, who shot an impressive 66 on Friday. Brian Higgins, David D’Agostino, and Kyle Puchol shot 67 on Friday. Those five rounds were the only ones under par for the entire tournament.

A mix of the high winds and a bit of leaderboard pressure might have impacted those five players. Higgins was the only one to shoot 36 (+2) or better on the front nine; they all fell out of contention.

Maccario’s opening 13 holes could have cost him the tournament—bogeys on hole Nos. 4 and 11 and a double on the wicked seventh had him sitting at three-over par for the tournament.

In the group ahead of Maccario, Emmerich, who won the 2023 Hornblower in horrendous conditions, was even par with five holes to play after making two birdies and two bogeys up to that point in the round.

With five holes remaining, the two golfers had separated themselves from the field, and Maccario had a slight advantage by playing in the group behind Emmerich.

Much like last year, when Jake Shuman made eagle on the 14th and leader Eli Spaulding made a double bogey, the final five holes swung this year’s event.

Emmerich made bogey on the 14th and couldn’t take advantage of the only par five on the course, making a par on 16. A final bogey on the 18th left Emmerich at two-over par for the tournament.

As he tends to do, Maccario caught fire, and it came just in time. He made birdies on hole Nos. 14, 16, and 17 to claw back to even par for the tournament after it looked like he was losing his grip on his round. With two shots to spare, Maccario made a bogey on the 18th hole to clinch the title.

After finishing T4 in the John T. Lupton in Tennessee and this win in The Hornblower, Maccario seems primed for a strong summer. He’s heading to Scotland to compete in the St. Andrews Links Trophy from June 6-8.

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