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For Immediate Release: July 12, 2008

Headline: Elite Field of Amateurs Poised for 100th Playing of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship

Norton, MA – Following 105 years and 99 competitions, the 100th playing of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship will take place next week at The Kittansett Club in Marion. This year's much anticipated event is set for July 14-18.

In preparation for this year's 100th event, here are some event news and notes of interest.

Click here a complete copy of the 2008 Media Notes (PDF)

Par & Yardage
The field will compete on The Kittansett Club’s 18 hole layout. The course is set at 6,754 yards and will play to a par of 70.

The Kittansett History File
The course has played host to the Massachusetts Amateur Championship five times... in 1958, 1978, 1990, 1999 and 2008. In addition, The Kittansett Club has opened its doors to the Massachusetts Senior Championship (1971).

Who Can Enter
Entries are open to amateur golfers who hold membership in an MGA Member Club and have an up-to-date MGA/USGA GHIN Handicap Index not exceeding 4.4, or who have completed their handicap certification as defined on the Entry Form.

Exempt Players
A total of 20 golfers are exempt and are competing as part of the 144-player field this year. Here is a list of the exempt players — Darren Bolton, Alistair Catto, Doug Clapp, Doug Crawford, Andy Drohen, Bill Drohen, Todd Ezold, Antonio Grillo, John Hadges, Brian Higgins, John Hogan, Burgess Houston, Joseph Keller, John McNeill, AJ Oleksak, Matt Parziale, Kevin Quinn, Philip Smith, Benjamin Spitz and Frank Vana, Jr.

History of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship
- This year marks the 100th playing of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship.
- The first Massachusetts Amateur Championship was played in 1903, at the Myopia Hunt Club, and was won by Arthur Lockwood.
- The event was not played in 1917-1918 or 1942-1945 due to the two World Wars.
- In the past 15 years, five Massachusetts Amateur Champions have turned professional: Trevor Gliwski, Flynt Lincoln, James Driscoll, Jim Salinetti and Rob Oppenheim. (Please note that Flynt Lincoln has since been reinstated as an amateur and is competing in this year’s event.)
- Other past winners who have gone on to professional careers include: Bruce Douglass, Ed Polchlopek, James Hallet, Fran Quinn, Jr. and Kevin Johnson.
- The last back-to-back winner of the event is Frank Vana, Jr. (2004-05)
- The youngest players to win the Massachusetts Amateur Championship are Ted Adams (1939) and James Driscoll (1996), who were both 18 at the time.
- The oldest player to win the Massachusetts Amateur was Ed Fletcher, who at the age of 53, won the title in 1995 at Concord Country Club.

Miscellaneous
- This year marks the 100th playing of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship.
- In celebration of the historic playing of this event, Past Champion Bill Foley (1964) will be hitting the event’s first tee shot on Monday morning.
- A total of six past champions are in the field — Steven Tasho, Flynt Lincoln, Andy Drohen, Frank Vana, Jr., Ben Spitz and Burgess Houston.
- There are three sets of brothers competing in this year's tournament - Andy & Bill Drohen; Jon & Carter Fasick and Kevin & David Velardo.
- A total of 779 applications were received this season
- The Massachusetts Amateur Championship is the most subscribed event in the MGA Championship program.

A Look Back at 2007
In one of the most grueling tests of golf skill and endurance, Burgess Houston (Wellesley - Maplegate CC) prevailed over eight-time Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year Frank Vana , Jr. (Boylston – Marlborough CC) by a score of 1 Up in the finals of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship. The two finalists played a combined 272 holes of golf over a five-day period at Concord Country Club.

The final test was a 36-hole match that lasted more than eight hours. It ended when Houston drained a four-foot par putt on the 18th hole. It had been just one year before when Houston knocked off Vana in the quarterfinals only to be defeated by Ben Spitz in the final match. It marked the first time in the 24-year-old’s career that he had won an MGA Championship event. It marked the fourth time that Vana had made it to the finals of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship. He lost in 2003 to Andy Drohen at The Country Club and then returned to capture the Commonwealth Cup in 2004 and 2005 at Taconic Golf Club and Essex County Club, respectively.

 

©2004 Massachusetts Golf Association.