Hey Everyone,
We’re deep in the competitive season, college golf is officially done, and individual tournaments are stacking up.
There’s some cool stuff coming up next week.
The U.S. Open Final Qualifying is on Monday. The meat of this newsletter focuses on the players teeing it up from New England.
As I was poking around for tee times, I was reminded of Tom Layman’s book Level Par. The book takes place during the 18th hole of Jake Steadman’s U.S. Open Local Qualifier. The story flashes back and forth between present and past. It’s a great, quick read, and you’d be supporting a local author if you headed here and purchased the book. I was on Layman’s podcast this winter when the snow was up to our hips (remeber that?!). You can listen here.
The Mass Open starts on Tuesday at Oyster Harbors. I put together a preview and also recorded a podcast with Dan Boisvert talking a bit about the course, the importance of state opens, and some interesting players and storylines. Dan coaches a few players in the field | Mass Open Preview | Mass Open Podcast
On July 17, National Links Trust is doing a Free Lesson Friday at Brookline GC. You can sign up here… just another cool thing that Brookline GC is doing to get people into golf.
Let’s get to the news and notes and meet the players teeing it up in the U.S. Open Final Qualifying.
News and Notes
Pro Golf
The Memorial Tournament: Keegan Bradley is in the field this week at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. He shot 71 in the opening round. Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun, Tommy Fleetwood, and Ryan Gerard all shot 67 (-5) and lead. | Live Scoring
U.S. Women’s Open: Megan Khang shot 75 (+4) at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Jennifer Kupcho shot 66 and leads by a shot. | Live Scoring
BMW Charity Pro-Am: Chris Francoeur shot 70 (E), and Rob Oppenheim shot 73 down in South Carolina. | Live Scoring
American Family Insurance Championship: Jason Caron and Brett Quigley are teaming up this week on the Champions Tour. | Live Scoring
College Golf
NCAA Division 1 Championship: Ryan Downes and Vanderbilt reached the match-play portion of the National Championship. They lost a heartbreaking match to Arizona 3-2. Downes finished 49th in the individual portion of the event, and he won his match 4&3 against Arizona’s William Wistrand.
Ben James (Milford, Conn.) earned his PGA Tour card after finishing as the number 1 player in the PGA Tour University rankings. He’s also the fifth player to ever earn All-America First Team honors four times. Two of the last three players to earn a PGA Tour card through PGA Tour U are from New England. Michael Thorbjornsen was the 2024 recipient.
Amateur Golf
Aidan Emmerich won his second Hornblower Memorial (Credit: BH Visuals)
Hornblower Memorial: Aidan Emmerich won his second Hornblower with rounds of 66-68 (-4) to beat Patrick O’Leary and Drew Golden by two shots. I was on site for both rounds. | Full Bay State Golf Recap
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MIAA Girls’ Championship: Maddie Smith added another trophy to the Smith household. She shot 73 at Indian Pond CC to win her final tournament for Westford Academy. Cecily Henshon finished in second place, two shots behind. Smith is headed for Memphis in the fall.
Mass Amateur Qualifying
There were three qualifiers this week for the Massachusetts Amateur.
Allendale CC (Par 72): Braden Yeomans 72, Sam Toomey 73, Tommy Murdough 73, Collin McMahon-Shea 73, Ryan Derosier 74, Will Spring 74, Aidan Monahan 74, Brendan Monahan 74 | Results
Veterans Memorial (Par 72): Doran Gibbs 68, Peter Alminas 69, Will Kannegieser 70, Joey Monahan 71, Amos Nissenbaum 72, Timothy Kaley 73, Nicolas Gebhardt 73, Brian Strzempek 73, Sean Kavanagh 73, Patrick McLaughlin 73 | Results
The Meadows at Peabody: Damon Lusk 70, Nick Leblanc 70, Eric Boulger 70, Tyler Cleary 72, Michael May 72, Henry Hall 72, Tommy Murphy 73, Owen Picariello 73, Jonathan Burke 73, Matthew Michaud 73, Maxime Ouellet 73 | Results
U.S. Amateur Local Qualifying
These players have made it through to the U.S. Amateur Final Qualifying
Longmeadow CC (Par 72): Cody Paladino -5 (65), Matthew Naumec -3 (67), Michael Asselta -2 (68), Matt Williams -1 (69), Matthew Johnson -1 (69), Matt Parziale -1 (69), Danny Frodigh -1 (69), Ben Madden -1 (69), Reese Jensen E (70) | Results | MassGolf Recap (There was a 9-for-1 playoff…).
U.S. Senior Open Quali
More Results
Wollaston GC Head Pro Jeff Martin advanced to U.S. Senior Open Final Qualifying. In 2024, he reached the U.S. Senior Open just down the road at Newport CC. He fired a 66 at The Bear’s Club in Florida to earn his spot and medalist honors. PGA Champion Shaun Micheel shot 71 and also advanced. | Results
Massachusetts Women’s Stroke Play Championship: Coco Chai shot 77-73 (+6) to beat Sadie Cumming by three shots. | MassGolf Recap
Tyler Bruneau (Concord, Mass.) qualified for the Florida Amateur. He shot 69 (-3) and earned co-medalist honors at PGA National. The Florida Amateur championship runs from June 11-14 at The Dye Preserve & The Club at Admiral's Cove (Golf Village N/W) - Jupiter, Florida… Eli Spaulding (Freeport, Maine) played in the Maryland Amateur this week. He shot a 77 in the 18-hole stroke play portion and missed match-play by 3 shots. He plays his college golf at Loyola Maryland. Spaulding finished T6 in the Hornblower Memorial last week.
Isabel Brozena (N. Reading, Mass.) finished T18 in the Sea Island Women’s Amateur. It’s the first Women’s Elite Amateur Series this summer. | Results
Woodland GC won the Sherril Cup at Essex CC. Alex Jeffers, Conor McCormack, Patrick Kilcoyne, and Michael Goodwin represented the club and shot +22 in the best ball and alternate shot format over 36 holes. Dedham Country and Polo Club finished two shots behind. | Results
There was some Bay State representation in the Rhode Island Four-Ball at Montaup CC this week. Greg Sampson and Nick Gernt finished fourth in the Rhode Island Four-Ball. Aidan O’Donovan finished fifth with his partner Randy Millen. | Results
Yvette O’Brien (Greenwich, Conn.) won the Connecticut Women’s Open by three shots over Maise Filler (Hartford, Conn.). O’Brien shot 72-69 (-3). She is a rising junior at TCU. Results
Plugs
I recapped my May golf rounds this week.
U.S. Open Local Qualifying
The U.S. Open Final Qualifying is known as Golf’s Longest Day. 10 sites across the United States will host hundreds of players, all hoping to earn a spot in the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island later this month.
There are a bunch of players from New England who made it through Local Qualifying or were exempt into Final Qualifying.
Let’s meet them.
Mike Calef
Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase | Tee Times and Scoring
Calef shot 70 (-2) at Berkshire Hills to earn a spot in Final Qualifying for the first time. The Rhode Island and Massachusetts Amateur champion shot 71-73 in the Hornblower Memorial at Plymouth CC last week.
Davis Chatfield
Venue: Lambton Golf and Country Club
The PGA Tour pro has had a tough go of it in his rookie season. He’s played some good golf but has only made the cut in 4 of 13 events. He’s been just a shot or two shy multiple times. A good day on Monday could turn the tide for Chatfield.
Matt Costello
Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase | Tee Times and Scoring
The UConn sophomore shot 68 (-4) at Kirkbrae CC to qualify. He capped off his round with an eagle on the 16th hole and a birdie on the 18th, leaping from outside the cutline to medalist. Costello had a solid spring with the Huskies, finishing 15th in the Big East Championship.
Matt Cowgill
Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase | Tee Times and Scoring
Cowgill shot 71 (E) at Woodland to qualify. In 2024, he was the medalist in Mass. Amateur stroke play. Cowgill played his college golf at James Madison and took a run at professional golf before returning to the amateur ranks.
Carson Erick
Venue: Woodmont Country Club (North Course)
Erick survived a 5-for-2 playoff at Kirkbrae CC after shooting 70 (-2). Erick won his first college event as a freshman this year with Georgetown. He is playing down in Maryland and then will hop on a plane to compete in the Mass Open the following day. Can he make his 12:30 pm tee time?
Reese Jensen
Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase | Tee Times and Scoring
Jensen shot 70 (-1) to earn medalist honors at Woodland GC. He just wrapped up his freshman year at Harvard. He won the Georgetown Intercollegiate in the fall. Last week, he finished T14 in The Hornblower Memorial. He also just survived a 9-for-1 playoff to reach U.S. Amateur Final Qualifying on Wednesday.
Rob Oppenheim
Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase | Tee Times and Scoring
The North Andover professional has been a staple on the Korn Ferry Tour over the years. He’s made 301 starts on Korn Ferry and 108 on the PGA Tour in his career. He’s made 6 cuts this year in 12 events.
Jake Ratti
Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase | Tee Times and Scoring
Ratti qualified in rather dramatic fashion at Woodland GC. He stood on the 17th hole at 3-over par, but he closed with two birdies to earn a spot and avoid the playoff. They were his only birdies of the day.
Jim Renner
Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase | Tee Times and Scoring
Renner is in the process of getting his amateur status back after years grinding as a professional. He shot 70 (-2) at Kirkbrae CC and survived the 5-for-2 playoff along with Carson Erick. Renner touched the sun in 2013 when he finished T2 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, one shot behind Jimmy Walker. Who did he tie with? Retired golfer Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson.
Ricky Stimets
Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase | Tee Times and Scoring
Stimets shot 69 at Kirkbrae CC to earn his tee time in Final Qualifying. He will pack up his car on Monday and head back to Cape Cod to play the Mass Open at a course he is very familiar with: Oyster Harbors.
Michael Thorbjornsen
Venue: Woodmont Country Club (North Course)
Thorbjornsen has played in three U.S. Opens. In 2019, he made the cut at Pebble Beach. He earned that spot after winning the U.S. Junior Amateur and was the first Junior Am winner to make the weekend. He also made it through Final Qualifying in 2022 and 2023. He missed the cut both times.
Matt Williams
Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase | Tee Times and Scoring
The recent Holy Cross graduate shot 73 (+2) and earned the final spot in a 3-for-1 playoff over Matthew Naumec and Timmy Adams.
New England Players also competing:
Shane Bacon - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Michael Ballo - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Jack Chung - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Chris Fosdick - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Austin Giroux - Vermont (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Ben James - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Jared Nelson - Vermont (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Cody Paladino - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
David Pastore - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Jackson Roman - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Andrew Stock - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Bradford Tilley - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
Tyler Vitolo - Connecticut (Venue: Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase)
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When I’m not golfing…
I’m reading…
Still reading Middletide
I’m listening to…
I’m eating…
Trader Joe’s makes an incredible potato chip that’s a mix of maybe six different flavors.
TJ’s also makes an insane coconut cashew candy clusters. They’re like the TJ’s version of Caramel deLites.
We’ve been grilling and just putting the meat on some salad this week. Warm weather! Grilling!
Tatte’s Chicken Salad Sandwich is one of my favorite things to grab for lunch.
I’m drinking…
Brooklyn Summer. Toss some sparkling lemonade in there for a delicious shandy.
I’m watching…
Season 2 of Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is back on Netflix. It took a bit of work to remember how season 1 wrapped up, but it’s a pretty good show!
