Headline: 30 Golfers Advance at Day 1 of Massachusetts Open Qualifying Held at Berkshire Hills CC & Hopkinton CC
For Immediate Release: May 19, 2009
Norton, MA —The first day of qualifying for the 2009 Massachusetts Open Championship was full of excitement as former state champions headlined a field of qualifiers at two sites. The 30 total qualifiers who advanced at Berkshire Hills Country Club and Hopkinton Country Club today have earned the right to take their game to Belmont Country Club, the site of the 100th playing of the Massachusetts Open Championship. The main event is scheduled for June 22-24 and will feature a field of 150 qualifiers and exempt players.
In Hopkinton today, two former Massachusetts amateur standouts – Justin Peters (Stuart, FL) and Jon Curran (Framingham CC) – were among the 19 golfers to secure qualifying spots.
Today’s round of even par 71 marks a second straight impressive day of golf for Peters, who is coming off a medalist performance at U.S. Open Local Qualifying held on Monday at Crumpin-Fox Club. Peters, the 1994 Massachusetts Junior Champion who claimed Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year honors four years later, is perhaps best known for winning The Golf Channel’s reality series "The Big Break" in 2003.
Peters round was solid today as he balanced three bogeys with three birdies on the 496-yard, par 5 3rd, 441-yard, par 4 4th and 515-yard, par 5 14th holes. He finished two strokes back of medalist Chris Rivard (Manchester, NH).
Also earning a qualifying spot was Curran, the three-time Christopher Cutler Rich MGA Junior Player of the Year (2002-04) who just last spring capped off a four-year career at Vanderbilt University. His amateur achievements are numerous as he established himself as one of the top juniors in the country. After an outstanding high school career at Hopkinton High School (he was three-year captain who led his team to two Massachusetts State Tournament titles), his national ranking soared as he was fourth in the Golfweek junior rankings during his senior year in high school. He also – back in 2004 – advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship held at the Olympic Club.
During his golfing career at Vanderbilt University, Curran became the third Commodore to earn All-America honors after placing eighth in the 2007 NCAA Championships. Following graduation, Curran decided to pursue his professional golf dreams and is looking to notch his first major professional win in his home state next month at the Massachusetts Open Championship.
Today’s top amateur qualifiers in Hopkinton were Greg Chalas (Thorny Lea GC) and Garrett Arnold (The International), who both shot 1-over par 72. Chalas is a recent graduate and former golf team member at Stetson University, while Arnold is a sophomore at Rollins College.
In the western part of the state, a total of 11 players earned qualifying spots, including Adam Rainaud (South Hadley, MA), who – much like Peters – advanced to U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying earlier this month. Rainaud fired a 2-under par 70 and was one of four players who broke par on the day and one of four amateurs who earned the right to advance to Belmont Country Club.
One amateur – John Dahrouge (Berkshire Hills CC) – made good use of his home-course knowledge as he posted a day-low score of 3-under par 69. That score was equaled by only one player, Adam Fuchs (Plainview, NY), a touring professional whose amateur claim to fame was 10 college wins at Binghamton University and a trip to the 2001 U.S. Amateur Public Links Semifinals.
Dahrouge made the turn at 1-under par 34 and proceeded to make birdie on the first three holes on the back nine. A lone bogey on the 18th hole could not take away from this spectacular round as his 3-under par round was good enough for co-medalist honors.
2009 Massachusetts Open Qualifying
Berkshire Hills Country Club (Pittsfield, MA)
May 19, 2009
Par 72 (35-37)
Qualifiers
T1) Adam Fuchs (Plainview, NY) 35-34—69
T1) a-John Dahrouge (Berkshire Hills CC) 34-35—69
3) Adam Rainaud (South Hadley, MA) 35-35—70
4) a-Hunter Stone (Crumpin-Fox Club 36-35—71
T5) a-Kim Mertes (Wyckoff CC) 38-34—72
T5) Paul Dickinson (Montauk, NY) 37-35—72
T5) Billy Downes (Hampden CC) 34-38—72
T5) Johnny Clarizio (White Plains, NY) 36-36—72
T9) Brian Smith (Oakley CC) 34-39—73
T9) a-Tim Tunstall (Longmeadow CC) 36-37—73
T11) Scott Johnson (Oakley CC) 38-37—75
Alternates
1st) Shaun Powers (Greenwich, CT) 37-38—75
2nd ) Andrew Inman (Ridgefield, CT) 38-37—75
2009 Massachusetts Open Qualifying
Hopkinton Country Club (Hopkinton, MA)
May 19, 2009
Par 71 (36-35)
Qualifiers
1) Chris Rivard (Manchester, NH) 35-34—69
2) Justin Peters (Stuart, FL) 35-36—71
T3) Brian Owens (North Kingstown GC) 35-37—72
T3) a-Greg Chalas (Thorny Lea GC) 36-36—72
T3) a-Garrett Arnold (The International) 37-35—72
T3) William Link (Sterling National CC) 36-36—72
T7) Abbie Valentine (Bayville, NY) 38-35—73
T7) a-Jedi Glass (Marlborough CC) 36-37—73
T7) Rich Berberian, Jr. (Derry, NH) 34-39—73
T10) Marlon George (William J. Devine GC) 34-40—74
T10) Benjamin Friedell (Charlotte, NC) 38-36—74
T10) a-Will Boyle (Brae Burn CC) 36-38—74
13) Gerard Courville (Westport, CT) 38-37—75
T14) a-Sean Deale (Brae Burn CC) 40-36—76
T14) Peter Maki (Land O Lakes, FL) 38-38—76
T14) Jon Curran (Framingham CC) 37-39—76
T17) a-Alex Daley (Marlborough CC) 40-37—77
T17) a- Brian Accorsini (Framingham CC) 37-40—77
T17) a- Cob Carlson (George Wright GC) 36-41—77
Alternates
1st) a-Mark Heffernan (Charles River CC) 39-38—77
2nd) a- Brad Hartz (Fresh Pond GC) 39-39—78
