News Release

For Immediate Release: July 11, 2005

Headline: Veteran Keller Jumps Out to 1-Stroke Lead at Massachusetts Amateur Championship

Manchester, MA – Playing under hot and humid conditions, a wily veteran named Joe Keller (Hyannisport Club) managed to top the field during the first round of play at the 97th Massachusetts Amateur Championship, which is being held this week at Essex County Club in Manchester.

Keller, the 1993 Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year, fired a blistering 3-under par 67 to jump out to a one-stroke lead heading into Tuesday’s second and final day of 18-hole stroke play.

Following Tuesday’s final round of stroke play, the starting field of 144 will be cut down to the low 32. Only those players will advance to the match play portion of the event, which begins on Wednesday with the round of 32 and the round of 16. The quarterfinal and semifinal matches will take place on Thursday, while the 36-hole final match will be contested on Friday.

On this day, however, Keller was king as he posted five birdies, one eagle, two bogies and one double bogey en route to his low score. The 55-year old who will celebrate a birthday next week rebounded from an early bogey on the 623-yard, par 5 3rd hole with a timely eagle on the 457-yard, par 5 5th hole. He added one more birdie on the 8th hole to make the turn at 2-under par 34. Keller looked like he was on his way to a record-setting round as he made birdie on four of his next five holes, but he soon cooled down and finished with bogey and double bogey on the 16th and 17th holes, respectively.

Sitting at 2-under par 68 is Mark Dwyer (Ponkapoag GC), who posted a near flawless round today. After making birdie on the 3rd and 5th holes, Dwyer cruised through his final 13 holes at even par with one birdie and one bogey.

Jordan Burke (Marshfield CC) and Tim Tunstall (Worthington GC) sits one stroke back of Dwyer at even par 70, while a host of players turned in scores of 1-over par 71. Included in that group are defending champion Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC) as well as former State Amateur champions David Brilliant (Belmont CC) and Flynt Lincoln (Longmeadow CC). While Brilliant won this event back in 1978, Lincoln holds claim to the last State Amateur title contested here at Essex County Club which was back in 1993. Lincoln defeated Jason Kissell that year in a record-long 40-hole final round here in Manchester.

Also well within striking distance at 3-over par 73 are - among others - 2004 Massachusetts Public Links Champion Bill Drohen (Bradford CC), two-time George M. Cohen MGA Senior Player of the Year Jim Ruschioni (Oak Hill CC) and 2002 New England Amateur Champion Kevin Quinn (Charles River CC).