News Release

For Immediate Release: September 6, 2005

Headline: Vana & Drohen Brothers to Represent Massachusetts at USGA State Team Championship

Norton, MA – The MGA today announced that three local amateur golfers – Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC), Andy Drohen (St. Anne CC) and Bill Drohen (Bradford CC) – will represent “Team Massachusetts” at the 2005 USGA State Team Championship, which will be held on September 27-29 at Berkeley Hall (Bluffton, SC).

The three golfers earned the right to compete at this biennial event after accumulating the highest State Team points – a variation of the MGA ’s Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year Points System – as of August 2, 2005 . Vana led the way with 2,386 points, while Andy Drohen and Bill Drohen finished with 1,435 and 1,125 points, respectively. Although Jim Renner (Foxborough CC) finished third in the points standings after a season in which he captured the Ouimet Invitational and New England Amateur Championship, he is not eligible as he is a collegian and participation in the USGA State Team Championship is prohibited by NCAA bylaws.

While Vana will be making his record sixth appearance at the USGA State Team Championship, this year marks the first time that the Drohens have represented Team Massachusetts. Upon arrival at Berkeley Hall, Vana will be in select company as two years ago he was one of only seven players nationally who had competed in all five USGA State Team Championships. That elite list is sure to shorten this time around following team announcements that will soon be made by other state golf associations.

All three players are coming off another strong local amateur golf season. Vana, who earlier this year captured his second straight Massachusetts Amateur title, and Andy Drohen were two of only five players to advance to this year’s U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships. Bill Drohen, who advanced to match play at the 2004 British Amateur and 2003 U.S. Amateur Championships, advanced to the semifinal round of match play at the Massachusetts Amateur Championship and came up one shot shy of advancing to the U.S. Amateur Championship following local qualifying.

Since its inception in 1995, Team Massachusetts has never won the USGA State Team Championship. Two years ago, Vana competed alongside Kevin Quinn (Charles River CC) and Brendan Hester (Pleasant Valley CC) at Charles River Country Club and led his team to a sixth-place finish. Following the second round of play in which the trio had posted a 36-hole scoring record, Team Massachusetts could not keep up with the surging Tennessee team that prevailed for the victory.

The three female representatives from Massachusetts will be decided upon and announced shortly by the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts (WGAM).