Headline: 2010 MGA Open Qualifying Comes to an End; 150-Player Field Now Sets Sights on Championship Proper Scheduled for June 21-23 at Wellesley CC
For Immediate Release: May 28, 2010
Norton, MA — For the past week, more than 400 competitors traveled to sites located across the state to take part in 18-hole qualifying rounds. (story continues below)
Photo Caption: Spectators young and old will be checking the starting times and leaderboad during the 2010 MGA Open Championship which will be held on June 21-23 at Wellesley Country Club. Admission is free of charge for all MGA events.
While many signed their scorecards with visions of better results in 2011, a handful of qualifiers are now looking forward to capturing the coveted 2010 Massachusetts Open Championship title next
month.
As a result of their outstanding performances this past week, those qualifiers have earned the right to compete in Championship Proper scheduled for June 21-23 at Wellesley Country Club. A total of 150 competitors – including a handful of exempt players – will have the opportunity to play for a title which has been won by golfing greats Walter Hagen, Francis Ouimet, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Dana Quigley, Kevin Johnson and Geoff Sisk, to name just a few.
This year's event will be especially memorable since the event will be enjoying its 101st year of competition at a club that is celebrating its centennial (1910) incorporation. Over the years, Wellesley has hosted many prestigious events, including two other MGA Opens (1985, 1999). The entire club — including the staff and membership — is rolling out the red carpet in anticipation of this three-day event!
"There is real excitement in the air," said Jesse Menachem, the MGA's director of rules & competition, who has visited Wellesley Country Club several times in order to prepare for the event. "The players and spectators are in for a real treat. The staff and membership at Wellesley are welcoming us with open arms, and I am know that the quality of golf will be simply outstanding."
Five days of qualifying held as a prelude to the 2010 championship was capped off in exciting fashion as the last 17 available spots were secured on Thursday at Dennis Pines Golf Course.
Leading the way with a sizzling medalist score of 5-under par 67 was former Ryder University standout and rising professional star – Tyler Brewington (Orangeville, PA). On that day, Brewington – winner of the 2007 North Central Pennsylvania State Golf Association's NPGA Stroke Play Championship and a former U.S. Amateur Championship qualifier – carded six birdies and just one bogey on his round.
In addition to the professionals who advanced at that site, there was also a strong group of amateurs who held their own. Included in that list were Larry Rentz (Boston GC), who finished T5 in the 2010 Norfolk County Classic, Doug Parigian (Long Meadow GC), the two-time North Shore Amateur champion, and Anthony Dilisio (Salem CC), the 2007 Massachusetts Father & Son Champion.
Those qualifiers will certainly have their hands full come June 21 when they tee off against some impressive former amateur players who are now battling on the mini tour circuit.
Making a return to the Bay State next month will be 2009 Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year and 2009 Massachusetts Open Championship Low Amateur Matt Parziale (Thorny Lea GC), two-time New England Amateur Champion Mike Welch (North Quincy, MA), 2008 Massachusetts Open Champion Jim Renner (Plainville, MA) and three-time Christopher Cutler Rich MGA Junior Player of the Year Jon Curran (Hopkinton, MA), who most recently made headlines by sinking a 50-foot eagle putt to advance to U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying.
Competitors looking to become the first amateur since 1999 to capture the MGA Open title will be Ryan Riley (Norton CC), a two-time MGA champion in 2009 who most recently captured the 2010 Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship title, and Ben Spitz (Harmon G&FC), among many others.
One year ago, Spitz – the 2006 Massachusetts Amateur Champion – found himself just two shots back of the lead at this event after posting an impressive two-day total of 4-under par 138 at Belmont Country Club. He finished in a tie for fourth place overall that week, but his outstanding play all season long earned him an invitation to compete for Team Massachusetts at the 2009 Tri-State Team Matches.
While this year's field is arguably one of the strongest in recent memory, there are a few notables who will not be making a run at the title. One year after becoming only the sixth player in the history of this event to capture both the Massachusetts Amateur and Massachusetts Open titles, defending champion Rob Oppenheim (Andover, MA) will be out of state that week competing on the Nationwide Tour and chasing his dream of a 2011 PGA Tour card.
Also missing from the field are two former Richard D. Haskell MGA Players of the Year – Brian Higgins (Franklin CC) and Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC). Both players received an invitation to compete in the Northeast Amateur Invitational – a marquee national event that features the country's top amateur stars – that same week.
"The players and the club make this a very spectator friendly event," said Becky Blaeser, the MGA's director of communications who noted that admission is free all week long. "Spectators are invited to enjoy an inside-the-ropes experience and walk alongside some of the nation's rising stars."
Starting times, pairings and a complete schedule of events will be made available shortly.
