News Release
For Immediate Release: August 1, 2000
The Massachusetts Golf Association will conduct the 19th MGA State
Public Links Championship here at William J. Devine Memorial Golf Course (a.k.a
Franklin Park GC) on Aug. 13-14. Kevin Hanlon of Foxborough Country Club will
defend the title he won last year at Westover GC in Ludlow. The MGA's State
Public Links Championship is the state's premier event for amateur golfers
NOT affiliated with private clubs. A record number of entrants (more than
600) competed at six different qualifying sites this summer for 102 places
in the final, to be held for the first time at Franklin Park.
"It's only fitting that we bring the State Public Links to Franklin Park because this course is the cradle of public golf in America," explained Tom Landry, executive director of the MGA. "The history of the place is just astounding: Willie Campbell was the first professional here; as a youngster, Francis Ouimet played his golf here; and Donald Ross redesigned and expanded the course in the early 1920s."
"MassGolfer", the MGA's quarterly members' magazine, has devoted the bulk of its Fall issue to Franklin Park's long and fascinating history. Among those tidbits unearthed by "MassGolfer": When Campbell passed away in 1900, his 36-year-old wife, Georgina, took over as golf professional, making her the first female professional in America and, in all likelihood, the world. Also, when Francis Ouimet won his second U.S. Amateur Championship in 1931, he acknowledged his roots by holding a victory luncheon at Franklin Park's Refectory building. Of course, the years haven't always been kind to Franklin Park; by the early '80s, the layout had fallen into serious disrepair. In 1982, the City of Boston leased both George Wright GC in Hyde Park and William J. Devine Memorial GC to the MGA, which in turn hired Bill Flynn Golf Management to revitalize both layouts.
Franklin Park has since become a model for urban facilities nationwide. While the golf course itself remains a terrific example of Ross' peerless design sensibility, the facility has also become a haven for city golfers and youth programs, including the Caddie/Scholarship Program administered by the Boston Parks & Recreation Department and the USGA; year-round golf instruction for students at 12 Boston middle schools; and MGA ForeKids Clinics, now in their 8th year at Franklin Park.
"Tiger Woods held a youth clinic at Franklin Park back in 1992, when he was in town for the U.S. Junior Amateur at Wollaston [Golf Club]," Landry noted. "I think his appearance affirmed all the work that's been done -- by the City of Boston, by George Lyons and the Franklin Park Golfers Association, by Bill Flynn and his associates -- to keep the golf course open and accessible to public golfers of all abilities and backgrounds. "But golf is also about achievement and competition. The fact that we can hold an event like the State Public Links Championship there shows what a versatile and special place Franklin Park really is."
The Ray C. Bump, Jr. Trophy is awarded each year to the MGA Publinx champion.
This year's award will be particularly poignant, as Mr. Bump -- a longtime
member of the MGA executive committee who served as president from 1987-88
-- passed away July 16. He was 79. "Ray served on the USGA Public Links
Committee for nearly 20 years and played a vital role in elevating the significance
of this event -- on both the state and national levels," said Landry.
"In fact, due in large part to Ray's hard work, this year New England
had more entries for the U.S. Amateur Public Links than any region in the
country... Ray was a very kind and caring person. We were honored to have
him as part of the MGA family. He will be missed, but not forgotten."