Berberian wins fourth NEPGA Championship

Rich Berberian joined elite company when he won his fourth NEPGA Championship in a style that his competitors have become accustomed to seeing. Having stumbled to the turn in 1-over in the final round at Worcester CC, Berberian had squandered his outright lead and found himself in a battle with Dan Venezio of Portland CC and Robert Bruso of Blackstone National.

That’s when the Vesper CC pro turned it on; he made four birdies on the inward nine, came home in 31, shot 67 – 203 and at 8-under claimed a three-stroke win over Venezio (67 – 206), with Bruso (69 – 207) finishing third.

Adding to his NEPGA victories in 2014, ’15, and ’18, Berberian is grouped in with three Hall of Famers who won at least four – Les Kennedy, Bob Crowley, and Dana Quigley.

With Berberian leading the way, 13 NEPGA members qualified for the upcoming Professional National Championship by finishing in the top 10. Venezio and Bruso qualified, and so did Eric Barlow of Winchester CC, who was fourth at 212; Todd Scarafoni of Bass Rocks (213); Jeff Martin of Wollaston (214); David Bennett of the Country Club of Vermont (215); Kirk Hanefeld of Salem and Danny Kish of Atkinson Resort & CC (tied at 217); and a group who shared 10th at 218 – Matt Arvanitis of Southern New Hampshire University, Dan Gillis of Nabnasset Lake, Brendon Ray of Point Judith, and Shawn Warren of Falmouth CC.

Another Mass Golf title for Johnson

Speaking of fourth championships, Shannon Johnson of Thorny Lea GC rallied in dreary, wet weather to successfully defend her crown in the Massachusetts Women’s Mid-Amateur. One shot behind the first-round leaders, Megan Buck of Thorny Lea and Pam Kuong of Charles River CC, Johnson withstood steady rain at Berkshire Hills CC to shoot 75 – 147 and edge Buck (77) by one and Kuong (78) by two. Johnson also won the title in 2016, ’18, and ’20 . . . . . Johnson will be the only woman in the 120-player field when the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship begins Thursday at Weston Golf Club. It’s the second time she has qualified for this championship.

James continues his brilliant summer

Ben James’ robust summer of 2021 continued in style when the Milford, Conn., golfer stormed to victory in the prestigious AJGA Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. James shot 69-71-68 – 208 to prevail by four. It’s his third AJGA win of the year and he also won a second New England Junior Amateur . . . . . In the Challenge Cup Great Horse Invitational, Ryan Downes shot 65 to win a spirited battle over John Broderick of Wellesley and Max Jackson of Rhode Island, both of whom shot 67 in the one-day event.

Uihlein regains PGA Tour status for 2021-22

Peter Uihlein finished T-48 in the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship, which was enough of a push to regain his PGA Tour card for 2021-22. He finished 24th in the KFT Finals points list and the top 25 got cards. The New Bedford native and former U.S. Amateur champion had a season when he played well in spurts on both the PGA Tour (12 tournaments, a third-place finish in the Zurich Classic team event) and KFT (21 tournaments, with one win, one second, and two other top 10s), but it wasn’t till mid-summer that he pretty much focused on regaining his status through the KFT. While it was close, consider it mission accomplished.

Thimble, Organisak advance in Q School

Seven Korn Ferry Tour pre-qualifiers are in the books and a couple more local competitors got through – Ian Thimble of Hyde Park, the 2014 Massachusetts Open winner, shot 71-70-70 to finish 5-under and in fifth place to advance at a site in Prattville, Ala.; and Matthew Organisak of Sudbury, the 2020 State Amateur champ, shot 73-74-74 to get into a tie for 32nd and make it on the number in Bermuda Run, N.C. In Lincoln, Neb., Steve DiLisio of Swampscott, the ’19 State Amateur winner, shot 69-74-71 and missed the cut by four. Next up: Seven different First Stage sites.

Sweet home, Alabama (for a few days, that is)

Five Massachusetts competitors are at The Lakewood Club in Point Clear, Ala., for the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur, which begins Friday. Pam Kuong of Charles River, Sue Curtin of Boston Golf Club, Kristen Henderson of Bed Rock GC, Danielle Lee of Renaissance, and Tracy Welch of Winchester CC will play two rounds of stroke play and try to advance into match play for the low 64 scores.

Colleges: BC men, women get going

Boston College got the 2021-22 golf season off to a decent start with tournaments at Penn State (women) and in Verona, N.Y. (men). Nathalie Irlbacher, a senior from Germany, shook off an opening 76 with crisp efforts of 69-68 to finish at 3-under 213, good for sixth place in the Nittany Lion Invitational. Another teammate, Angel Lin, finished joint 15th as the Eagles were fourth of 14 teams. At the Turning Stone Intercollegiate, Nick Cummings, a junior from Weston, shot 73-69-71 for 3-under 213 and eighth place. As a team, the Eagles were seventh out of 16 entries.

More colleges: Welch back in OU lineup

Struggling to get his game back to a higher level, Patrick Welch shot 75-72-71 to finish T-27 and help the University of Oklahoma to a runner-up position to arch-rival Oklahoma State in the Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach. Welch, a senior from Providence, had a rough end to last season, so there’s hope that this is a positive sign for his fortunes . . . . . Notre Dame (seventh) and Northwestern (eighth) finished in the middle of a 17-team field at the Marquette Intercollegiate. Andrew O’Leary of Norfolk closed with 68 – 215 to finish T-34 and help the Notre Dame effort, while fifth-year senior Davis Chatfield of Attleboro shot 223. Brookline’s James Imai shot 216 for Northwestern. Jack Boulger of Walpole, a senior transfer, made his debut for Southern California and shot 226.