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For Immediate Release: July 13, 2004

Headline: Hester Captures Medalist Honors at State Amateur; Field Reduced to 32 for Match Play

Williamstown, MA – After two days of grueling stroke play at Taconic Golf Club, the 2004 Massachusetts State Amateur field has been reduced from 144 to only 32 players. Those 32 low scorers from the first two rounds have now earned the right to compete in the Match Play portion of the event, which begins on Wednesday morning. The first match will commence at 7:00 a.m. with all matches to follow at nine-minute intervals.

Leading the charge of low scorers was the 2001 champion of this event, Brendan Hester (Pleasant Valley CC), who turned in a two-day total of 5-under par 137 to claim medalist honors. Hester started off his second round on fire with an eagle on the 475-yard, par 5 1st hole. He then went on to post one birdie and one bogey to make the turn at 2-under. On the back nine, Hester posted two bogeys (on the 11th and 16th holes), but finished strong with a birdie on the 510-yard, par 5 18th hole. Incidentally, the last medalist to win this event the same year was James Driscoll back in 1998.

Finishing in a tie for second place at 3-under par 139 were defending champion Andy Drohen (St. Anne CC), Bill Drohen (Haverhill CC) and Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC). Other notable qualifiers include Jim Renner (Foxborough CC), the runner-up in this event in 2001, Steve Tasho (Thorny Lea GC), a two-time State Amateur champion whose first of such victories came in 1981 when it was last conducted at Taconic Golf Club, and Mike Welch (Furnace Brook GC), the 2003 New England Amateur champion.

While the leaders were able to bask in the glory of their advancement into Match Play, eight players found themselves on the bubble and were forced to compete in a playoff for the final Match Play spot. Joe Cunningham (The Country Club) stole the show when his drive off the 1st tee left him with 185 yards to the hole. Cunningham, who advanced to Match Play last year, sent his approach shot to six feet. He calmly sunk the eagle putt to claim the 32nd and final spot.

Highlights From Day 2:
- After shooting a relatively uneventful 3-under par 68 on Monday, D.J. Hynes (Wellesley CC) posted a roller coaster 1-over par 72 this morning. Hynes’ round included three two triple bogies (on the 10th and 7th holes), one bogey and eight birdies, six of which came on the front nine! Qualifying for Match Play also turned out to be a birthday present of sorts since Hynes, a sophomore at Harvard, is celebrating his 21st birthday today.
- This year’s cut line fell at 7-over par 149, which represents the fifth lowest cut-line score since the cut was established back in 1978.
- More than 750 entries were received for this year’s State Amateur. This Championship represents the most subscribed event on the MGA Championship schedule.

©2004 Massachusetts Golf Association.