News Release

For Immediate Release: August 7, 2005

Headline: Starting Times, Pairings Now Available for 9th Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship

Pittsfield, MA – The 2005 Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship will be contested this week at Berkshire Hills Country Club in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The Championship will take place on August 8-9. As a prelude to the event, the MGA released starting times and pairings for the first day of the event.

Two-time defending champions Jim Ruschioni (Oak Hill CC) and Paul Nunez, Jr. (Longmeadow CC) will be looking to claim the title for a third year in a row. One year ago, the duo finished at 7-under par 133 at Marshfield Country Club to sneak past the second-place team of Bruce Allman (Segregansett CC) and James Irving (Segregansett CC) by two strokes. Ruschioni and Nunez have won this event every year that they have been eligible… they both turned 55 years old during the 2003 season.

This year’s field will compete in 18 holes at Four-Ball Stroke Play on Monday and Tuesday. The field will tee off on both the 1st and 10th tees. The first tee time of the day is scheduled for 7:00 a.m.

Berkshire Hills Country Club & the MGA:
This year marks the second time in the event’s nine-year history that Berkshire Hills Country Club has hosted the State Senior-Four Ball Championship. The course last hosted this event in 2000 when Fred Walker and Bob Coffey captured the title.

A Look Back at the 2004 Championship:
The team of Jim Ruschioni and Paul Nunez, Jr. are batting 1.000 when it comes to the Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Championship. The duo was victorious in this event in 2003 during their first year of eligibility and made it a two-peat by capturing the 2004 title at Marshfield Country Club. Ruschioni and Nunez, who both turned 55 years old in 2003, sealed their victory with an impressive final round score of 3-under par 67 for a two-day total of 7-under par 133. Ruschioni and Nunez finished the first day of play in a tie for first place with Richard Coville, Jr. (Hyannisport Club) and Mark Connolly (Winchester CC), but the pair was dominant down the stretch. Ruschioni, in particular, shifted into high gear on the back nine, making four birdies on the final eight holes. He tapped in his par putt on the 18th green to seal the victory.