Headline: Dan Falcucci, Phil Smith and Ronald Laverdiere Fire Even Par 69 to Share Lead Following Day 1 of Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship
For Immediate Release: September 27, 2010
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Dan Falcucci was one of three players to fire an even par 69 on Monday to share the lead at the 2010 Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship. |
Dedham, MA — With driving rain making it hard to see at times, Dan Falcucci (Cyprian Keyes GC) managed his game and the inclement weather to near perfection en route to securing a spot atop the leaderboard at the 27th Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship.
Day 1 Quick Links
Falcucci, one of 120 players competing this week at Dedham Country & Polo Club, fired an even par 69 this morning to stand in a three-way tie for first place with Phil Smith (Vesper CC) and Ronald Laverdiere (Crumpin-Fox Club) following the first of three rounds of play.
"I just tried my best to stay dry," said Falcucci, who played his first four holes in a persistent and oftentimes sideways-driving rain. "I must have changed what I was wearing three different times, but I tried to keep dry and most importantly keep my clubs dry."
That strategy worked well as Falcucci made birdie on his first two holes. After beginning his round on the 549-yard, par 5 10th hole, Falcucci hit his sand wedge approach to three feet for birdie. On the next hole, he pulled his hybrid approach but went on to chip in from the bunker for a 2-under par start.
"It was unexpected to say the least," said Falcucci, who serves as the manager of the Callaway Performance Center at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club. "It's always a bonus to see those drop."
After making the turn at 1-under par 33, Falcucci posted back-to-back birdies on the 354-yard, par 4 2nd and 203-yard, par 3 3rd holes but then finished with a flurry... he made birdie on two of his final three holes. In total, Falcucci carded five birdies and five bogies.
"For only being 6,200 yards it's tough," said Falcucci of a course where the average score today was 78. "There are a lot of elevation changes that make club selection hard. You have to think your way around. You can't rip driver around this course. You have to place your ball off the tee. The greens are also very tricky and have a lot of slope, so you have to leave the ball in the right place."
Equaling Falcucci's score of even par 69 was Smith, the 2007 champion of this event, who registered a 1-under par 34 and finished with three bogies and three birdies. Meanwhile, Laverdiere had an uneventful – by comparison – and impressive round that featured just one birdie, one bogey and 16 pars.
Nipping on the leaders' heels with scores of 1-over par 70 are two MGA Champions – Herbie Aikens (Pinehills GC), the 2010 Massachusetts Four-Ball Champion, and the 2005 Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Champion Phil Miceli (Sagamore Spring GC).
With the entire field set to return to Dedham on Tuesday for the second round of play, all competitors will need to prepare themselves for more inclement weather forecasted for the region.
"The weather doesn't look great but today was a good start and it was nice to build some momentum," said Falcucci, who earlier this year qualified for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. "You can't win on the first day. It's a long tournament, but I'm off to a decent start."
Following Tuesday's round, the field will be reduced to the low 30 scorers and ties or anyone within five strokes of the lead who will return to Dedham on Wednesday for the third and final round of play.
A Long Ride to Dedham
One player in the field – Brian Higgins (Franklin CC) – is probably more tired than most competitors in this week's field. The two-time and defending champion traveled most of the night home from Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton where he was competing in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
Higgins, one of seven Bay Staters who qualified for the USGA Championship, failed to advance to the Match Play portion of the event after firing a two-round stroke play score of 10-over par 154. Since he was hovering around the cut line (which eventually landed at 9-over par 153), Higgins had to stay in New York until the end of the day. Although he didn't return home until close to midnight, Higgins arrived on time for his 8:24 a.m. tee time in Dedham.
Missing In Action
Mike Calef (Brockton CC) was forced to withdraw from this year's Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship, but he wasn't too upset about the turn of events. After all, Calef was one of 64 — out of a starting field of 264 competitors — who advanced to Match Play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
The West Bridgewater native finished T43 with a two-round score of 8-over-par 152. He followed up a 3-over par 75 on Saturday with a 5-over par 77 on Sunday to make the cut by one stroke. One year ago, Calef finished T11 at the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship.
Saving the Best for Last
Seven-time champion of this event Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC) mustered all of his experience through his final few holes on Monday to remain within striking distance of the leaders. Vana, a nine-time Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year, made bogey on his first three holes of the day and was 4-over par at the turn. He fell to 5-over par through 12 holes before making three straight birdies – on the 7th, 8th and 9th holes – to finish with a score of 2-over par 71.
