News Release

For Immediate Release: May 25, 2005

Headline: Lapierre and Alminas Capture Medalist Honors at Second Day of State Open Qualifying

Chicopee, MA – Despite frigid temperatures and sporadic rain, a handful of players found a way to weather the elements and advance to the Massachusetts Open Championship this afternoon during the second day of qualifying which was held at Chicopee Country Club.

Leading the field of qualifiers were local professional Daniel Lapierre (Springfield CC) and amateur Steve Alminas (Elmcrest CC), who posted a medalist score of even par 71. Both Lapierre and Alminas registered identical splits of 36 and 35 en route to their low scores.

Last month, Alminas paired up with his younger brother Peter to capture the 2005 Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship. As a result of Steven’s qualifying performance today, the Alminas family will be well represented at this year’s Massachusetts Open Championship as Peter is exempt due to his 2004 Massachusetts Junior Championship victory.

Other notable qualifiers include former amateur standouts Jim Salinetti (Lee, MA) and Larry Nuger (Crestview CC) as well as amateur veteran Alistair Catto (The Orchards GC).

The Massachusetts Open Championship debuted in 1905 when Donald Ross captured the inaugural title. Since that time, some of the greatest golfers in the history of the game have earned this prestigious Championship including Walter Hagen, Jesse Guilford, Francis Ouimet, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson and Paul Harney.

The Massachusetts Open represents the only event on the MGA Championship schedule that is open to both amateur and professional golfers. Competitors for this year’s event must have an up-to-date MGA/USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4.

Massachusetts Open Qualifying - Day 2 Notes:
• Today’s qualifying round at Framingham Country Club was postponed due to severe weather in the MetroWest area. The Framingham qualifying round will now be held on Thursday, June 2nd.
• Four more days of Massachusetts Open qualifying will take place on the following days: May 26 (Quashnet Valley CC); May 31 (CC of Halifax ); June 1 (Turner Hill G&RC) and June 2 (Framingham CC).
• More than 450 applications, including 41 exemptions, were received for this year’s Massachusetts Open Championship. Following the qualifying rounds, 150 golfers will compete at the Championship, which will be held at Vesper Country Club on June 20-22. Championship pairings and tee times will be faxed out prior to the event.