News Release

For Immediate Release: October 14, 2004

Headline: Team Massachusetts Holds 9 ½ Point Lead Over Connecticut at 71st Tri-State Matches

Portsmouth, RI – The 10-person team from Massachusetts jumped out to a strong lead following the first round of play at the 71st Tri-State Matches, which is being held this week at Carnegie Abbey in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Team Massachusetts scored a total of 22 points this afternoon following today’s foursomes matches. Defending champion Connecticut stands in second place with 12 ½ points, while Rhode Island is in third place with 10 ½ points.

Leading the charge for Massachusetts was the duo of Doug Clapp (Walpole CC) and David Spitz (The Harmon Club), who notched the maximum 6 points in their matches. Finishing in second place overall for Massachusetts were the brother team of Andy Drohen (St. Anne CC) and Bill Drohen (Bradford CC) with 5 points. Also posting strong rounds today were Brendan Hester (Pleasant Valley CC) and John Gilmartin (Renaissance GC) with 4 ½ points and the senior team of Ed Fletcher (Quashnet Valley CC) and Tom Martin (TPC of Boston) with 4 points. Finishing with 2 ½ points on the day were Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC) and Cy Kilgore (Tedesco CC).

The players will return to Carnegie Abbey on Friday to compete in a second round of singles play, scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m.

About the Tri-State Matches:
The history of the Tri-State Matches dates back to 1907 when the team from Massachusetts was victorious at the Agawam Hunt Club in Providence, Rhode Island. Since that time, teams from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut have come together each fall to compete for the regional title. Individual amateur golfers are selected each year by the respective state golf associations. The team from Massachusetts captured the event's first 21 Tri-State titles and still leads the way with 51 overall titles. Connecticut has been dominant in recent years with victories in three of the last five years.