May 4, 2022

Competitive corner

U.S. OPEN 2022 TRACKING: In rapid fashion, local qualifiers are being held around the country to determine who marches on in a bid to fill the spots that are still available into the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline (June 16-19). Some notable names from various sites:

* Raw spring weather and a period of dreary rain greeted golfers at Foxborough CC Monday where Cooper Griffin of Weston shot 2-under 70 and Sean Fitzpatrick of Walpole posted 71 to lead the list of qualifiers. They were joined by four others who had 72s and got through a playoff – Jake Shuman, Kevin Gately, Mark Purrington, and Ben Spitz. The player ousted in the five-way playoff at 72, Peter French, will be first alternate. Now 63, Andy Morse, who in 1996 went through two stages of qualifying and finished T-67 at the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills, did not get through after shooting 81. Also failing to advance were a pair of assistant pros at The Country Club – Connor Mulcahy of Milford (83) and Jake Ducharme of Norfolk (81).

* At Wee Burn CC in Darien, Conn., Ben James of Milford, Conn, was among those to move on after his round of 73. James sits No. 1 or 2 depending on which national junior poll you refer to and he’s No. 98 on the World Amateur Golf Rankings. The list of those who failed to get through include Shane Bacon (77) of The Golf Channel, as well as Andrew DiRamio (77) of Duxbury, Ryan Riley (83) of South Easton, and Harvin Groft (80) of Berwick, Maine, who made it into match play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur last fall on Nantucket. Another name who failed to advance from this site: Arthur Ouimet of Bloomfield, Conn. He has the name, of course, but unfortunately didn’t have the score (78) to move on.

* At Grand Prairie, Texas, Noah Goodwin, a fifth-year senior at SMU and No. 31 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, shot 67 to advance to final qualifying.

* The medalist with 65 at the site in Boynton Beach, Fla., was Anthony Brodeur, son of legendary NHL goaltender Martin. Olin Browne Jr. (71) and Brendan Hester of Northbridge (74) were among those who failed to advance.

* At Kerrville, Texas, former U.S. Amateur champion Nick Flanagan of Australia was medalist with 68.

* At Fountaingrove Golf & Athletic Club in Santa Rosa, Calif., onetime PGA Tour member Spencer Levin shot 69 to lead the list of qualifiers.

* At Hollywood GC in Deal, N.J., University of Oklahoma redshirt senior Chris Gotterup put up a blistering 64 to easily take medalist honors. Xavier Marcoux of Concord, a junior at Rutgers, had 78 and failed to advance.

* At Worthington Manor CC in Urbana, Md., Rhode Island native Brad Adamonis shot 74 and did not move on.


COLLEGIANS: As they prepare to help their teams in the upcoming NCAA Regionals, Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley (Stanford) and Patrick Welch of Providence (Oklahoma) are 25th and 73rd, respectively, in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking . . . . . The season ended with some quality individual efforts for Holy Cross, which finished sixth in the Patriot League Championship at the Steel Club in Hellertown, Penn. Christian Emmerich, a junior from Swampscott who was named first team All Patriot League, shot 71-74-73 and was fifth, while Winchester’s Owen Egan finished T-10 and was named second team. Senior John Bowen of Hobe Sound, Fla., hit every green and every fairway in a closing 71 that lifted him into a share of 16th.


QUALIFIERS: Burgess Houston, the onetime Mass. Amateur champion who is an assistant golf professional at Wellesley CC, shot 1-under 71 to lead a parade of 12 through a Massachusetts Open qualifier at New Seabury. Former BC golfer Nicholas Pandelena (74) and Mike Calef (75), the former two-time State Amateur champ, also got into the field for the Mass. Open, which will be held June 8-10 at Longmeadow CC.