Headline: Jack Kearney Leads by One Stroke Against a Strong Field at the 2010 Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship Held at Plymouth Country Club
For Immediate Release: September 13, 2010
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One year ago Bob Linn finished T3 at the Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship. Following Round 1 on Monday, he finds himself just one stroke back of the leader. |
Plymouth, MA — Following the first round of play at the 2010 Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship, the top of the leaderboard looks like a "who's who" of senior golf here in the Bay State.
The top 10 spots are separated by a mere three strokes heading into Tuesday's final 18 holes at Plymouth Country Club.
Leading the way following a day-one score of even par 69 is a new face on the senior amateur circuit — Jack Kearney (Elmcrest CC).
Since turning 55 years old in June, the 1992 Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year has made his presence felt almost immediately. He captured the Lowery Division at the Francis Ouimet Memorial Tournament in July, finished second at the Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship, qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship and now leads the way at the Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship.
"I am confident but I know that it can go away in a second," said Kearney. "One or two bad shots and the game can turn on a dime. I know that for a fact. You can have a bad shot or miss a short putt and that's all it takes. I am never over confident because this game is fleeting."
For someone who has been making a lot of birdies lately (he made five during his USGA qualifying round at The International last week), it took Kearney six holes to find his groove. Following a stretch of holes where he made four pars and one bogey (on the 212-yard, par 3 3rd hole), he made his move by draining a 12-foot birdie putt on the 344-yard, par 4 7th hole and then a 15-foot birdie putt on the 144-yard, par 3 8th hole. He encountered trouble around the turn as he made bogey on three of his next four holes (on the 9th, 11th and 12th). Thankfully for Kearney, he did not let that struggle derail his game as he played 2-under par golf through his final six holes.
"I had two good stretches and one bad stretch," said Kearney, who drained 10-foot and 20-foot birdie putts on the 13th and 17th holes, respectively. "I am not a huge fan of practice rounds, but at some point you need to know the golf course. I know this golf course very well, but as comfortable as you can be it can still come back to bite you at anytime."
Familiarity with the layout comes in great part because the Hornblower Memorial Invitational, one of the most popular Regional Events in the Northeast, is hosted at Plymouth Country Club each spring. A loyal participant in the May tournament since 1991, Kearney won the prestigious title in 2005. Interestingly, the Plymouth Country Club staff assisted the MGA with the course setup this week in hopes of creating a similar challenge for the competitors.
Another competitor who has joined Kearney at the Hornblower Memorial Invitational is Bob Linn (Berkshire Hills CC), who stands just one shot back of Kearney with a score of 1-over par 70. Linn, the 2009 New England Senior Amateur Champion and George M. Cohen MGA Senior Player of the Year, began his round with back-to-back birdies but then lit fire by making birdie on the 5th, 8th and 9th holes to be one of only two competitors who made the turn under par today. Back-to-back bogies on the 11th and 12th holes hampered Linn's momentum but he finished his round with a birdie on the 17th hole and a bogey on the 18th hole.
Similar to what Kearney is doing in 2010, Linn made a splash in his senior amateur debut in 2009 by winning the prestigious NEGA Senior Championship, advancing to the second round of match play at the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship and finishing T3 at the Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship.
Also sitting in striking distance of the leader are the 2007 MGA Senior Player of the Year Alistair Catto (The Orchards GC), Jon Fasick (New England CC) and Cy Kilgore (Tedesco CC). While Catto is having another fine senior season (he was one of four Bay State competitors to compete at the 2010 British Senior Amateur Championship), Fasick and Kilgore have been perennial champions.
Over the course of his amateur career, Fasick has captured three different MGA Championships including the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship (1990), Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Championship (1994) and the Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship (1986, 1991, 1997, 1998).
Kilgore, meanwhile, posted a T3 finish at the 2009 Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship and — over the past two decades — has won his club championship 14 times, was a two-time Tournament of Club Champion and partnered with long-time friend Bill Jenks to win the 1995 Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship.
And those are just some of the leaders, which means that Tuesday's final round should be one for the memory books. The lead group of Kearney, Linn and Catto will tee off at 1:36 p.m.
Super What?
Although one Massachusetts Senior Amateur Champion will be crowned on Tuesday afternoon, there is another honor which will be bestowed on one very deserving competitor.
In addition to battling for the rights to the Frederick J. Wright Memorial Trophy, all competitors who are 65 years and older are in the running for the Super Senior Division title. One year ago, Del Kinney, Jr. (Wyantenuck CC) captured his first Super Senior Division title at the age of 68.
Following the first round of play, three Super Seniors — Mike Wrisley (Chicopee CC), Dennis Clinton (South Shore CC) and Sam Lussier (Amherst GC) — lead the way with scores of 7-over par 76
All Super Seniors have an asterisk placed next to their name on the results page.
(Un)Lucky Seven
The toughest hole this afternoon in Plymouth was the 344-yard, par 4 7th hole which was the round breaker for many players on Monday. The stroke average on that hole was a 4.929, which included 45 bogies and 21 double bogies. Click here to view course statistics for the first round of play.
Defending Champion Woes
Although the winner has yet to be determined, a new champion will be crowned on Tuesday. Defending Champion Paul Murphy (Charles River CC) signed for an incorrect scorecard (he signed for a par 4 instead of a bogey 5) on the 18th hole. He contacted the MGA after realizing his mistake and was thus disqualified from the competition.
