Headline: Seven-Person Team Massachusetts Seeks Fifth Win in Seven Years at 48th New England Junior Amateur Invitational

For Immediate Release: August 15, 2017

Team Massachusetts

Norton, MA — Seven of the Bay State’s top junior amateur players will join forces this week as they represent Team Massachusetts at the 48th New England Junior Amateur Invitational. This year's Championship Proper wil be held on August 15-16 at Vermont’s Manchester Country Club.

The squad, which will face off against teams from each of the five other states - Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont - is seeking its fifth victory in the past seven years and its 15th overall New England Golf Association (NEGA) Championship title.

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48th New England Junior Amateur Invitational Quick Links

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Joe McCabe, executive director of The First Tee of Massachusetts who earlier this year was named captain of Team Massachusetts, announced his roster ahead of this week’s two-day Championship Proper, which features an array of both new and returning competitors.

Competing for Team Massachusetts in 2017 are : Mark Turner (Bass Rocks GC), Andrew McInerney (Glen Ellen CC), Chris Francoeur (Amesbury G&CC), Jack Boulger (Walpole CC), Jared Winiarz (NEPGA Jr Tour), Lane Bohman (Old Sandwich GC) and James Imai (George Wright GC).

Turner, McInerney, Boulger and Imai were part of last year's victorious Bay State team which captured the team title by a record 35-stroke margin, while Bohman, Francoeur and Winiarz will be making their New England Junior debuts this year.

“We are excited to head to Vermont with these seven players to defend our title and keep the trophy here in Massachusetts,” said McCabe. “This year’s team consists of players who have not only demonstrated success on the course, but who’s work ethic and respect for the game is consistent with what we expect from our competitors. We feel the players on our team will benefit immensely from this opportunity.”

Team scores are calculated by taking the best five out of seven scores each day. Low 54-hole team score will be named the team champion. Low 54-individual will be named the individual champion.

All seven players from the team recently competed in the Massachusetts Junior Amateur Championship held at Orchards Golf Club, where Turner, Imai and Francoeur all finished within the top-13. Additionally, Turner, Jack and Francoeur all advanced to the match play portion of the 109th Massachusetts Amateur Championshipheld earlier this summer at Charles River Country Club and Turner and Francoeur finished 1-2 at the recent Northern Junior Amateur Championship in Connecticut.   

Turner (Dartmouth), Francoeur (Rhode Island), McInerney (Richmond) and Boulger (Connecticut) will all compete collegiately beginning in the fall while Winiarz (Norton), Imai (Brookline) and Bohman (Nauset Regional) will all return to the high school ranks in the coming weeks.

For more information on the New England Junior Invitational team, visit negagolf.org. Follow coverage of the entire tournament by following @NEGAGolf and #NEJunior on Twitter.