It?s been a banner year for golfers from our region and it seems to only get better.
For instance, just last week Thorny Lea?s Matt Parziale won the prestigious Francis Ouimet Memorial Tournament in unusual fashion and 15-year-old Megan Khang of Rockland advanced to the semifinals of the US Girls? Junior Championship in Indiana.
Parziale, survived a five-hole playoff to win the rain-shortened championship last Friday at Woodland GC in Newton. It?s not his first Ouimet title. Parziale, 24, won the Ouimet in 2009 before he gave pro golf a whirl.
As for Khang, it?s not her first dance at the Junior Prom and won?t be her last..
She was the youngest player ever to qualify in 2009 when she was 11. She is a veteran of the Girls Junior, making her fifth straight appearance and in the tournament?s 65-year history, only 38 players have played in five or more.
?It's a huge event and I love playing in it,? Khang told reporters in Indiana. ?I just want to keep coming back. Even if I'm too old, I want to keep coming back ? but I know I can't.?
Unless the championship is moved off its traditional late-July date, Khang will be eligible for two more US Girls' Juniors Championships before she turns 18, meaning she is on pace to tie Margot Morton's record of seven appearances.
Khang, who is ranked among the top girls in the nation by Golfweek magazine, should walk away with this championship trophy someday soon.
But Khang and Parziale are not the only golfers having a great summer.
Golfers for the region have been piling away hardware.
John Hadges of Easton won the Norfolk County Classic and the Hornblower Memorial to start the year.
Marshfield pro Geoff Sisk won the Cape Cod Open in May. But that was only the beginning. Sisk made headlines by surviving two qualifying tournament to play in the US Open at Merion (Pa.) GC in June.
West Bridgewater native and Brockton Country Club member Mike Calef, who now calls Texas home, captured the State Amateur for the second year in a row.
And you cannot forget Doug Clapp of Old Sandwich GC in Plymouth. He finished second to Hadges in the Norfolk County Class and in the Hornblower. Clapp also made the cut at the State Open; went deep into match play at the State Amateur; and had a respectable finish at the Ouimet Memorial last week.
His efforts have him in first place for the Massachusetts Golf Association?s Player of the Year standings. Clapp has 566 points. Parziale is chasing him in second play with 470 points while Calef has 350 points and Hadges has 325.
Another player who will be making headlines is Easton?s Ryan Riley, the 2011 State Amateur champion. Riley is one of the few locals who earned a berth in the upcoming US Amateur at The Country Club.
And there is Brendan Ridge of Hanover and the Harmon Club. He was the youngest competitor at the State Amateur. He also fashioned the best qualifying round (a 3-under 69) for this week?s State Junior Championship at the Essex County Club in Manchester-By-The-Sea, where he has to be considered one of the favorites.
Of course, on the women?s side, Tara Joy-Connolly dominated the Edith Noblit Baker tournament, a WGAM major, winning by a whopping 10 strokes. To be fair, they played it on her home course, Cohasset. But it was her sixth Baker victory since 1997.
And there are others, such as Norwell native Ben Spitz earned low amateur at the State Open; Herbie Aikens, who advanced to the USGA Public Links Championship in Lorton, Va.; and Blue Hill CC?s Isabel Southard, who is one of the rising juniors.
It?s been a good summer.
Parziale is a great story. [In full journalist disclosure, he is a friend who caddied for us when he was a junior. I still feel bad for the time he was fore-caddying and one of my errant shots headed in his direction. In an attempt to elude my missile, he smashed his face into a tree, leaving an awful bruise. I still haven?t gotten over it.]
He gave the pro tour a whirl and realized how difficult it was and has his amateur standing reinstated.
At the Ouimet last week, the first two rounds were played at Wollaston GC and Wellesley CC; the final round is always played at Woodland ? Ouimet?s home course ? but last Friday?s rain made that impossible.
Parziale was tied after the first two rounds with Cody Paladino of Wethersfield (Conn.) CC and John Flaherty of TPC River Highlands, also in Connecticut. The three were knotted at 3-under par 139. Seeing that there was only a short window of good weather, tournament officials decided to cancel the final round, but have the competitors tied for the lead play a three-hole aggregate playoff on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes. Parziale took an early lead after hitting a 9-iron to five inches on the 17th, but three-putted from 44 feet on 18 to extend the playoff against Paladino. Flaherty bogeyed 18 to drop out, and the playoff then went to sudden death. It ended on the 17th after Paladino drove out of bounds and eventually double-bogeyed while Parziale made a routine par.
??This was very special to win here again. I?m feeling good about my game, and feel that if I can get in contention I have a chance,? Parziale told Becky Blaeser of the Massachusetts Golf Association.
As for Khang, eventual champion Gabriella Then of Upland, Calif., beat her, 2-and-1, in the semifinals.
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Aimola will
be missed
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Dolph Aimola, 87, died last Saturday at 4 o?clock in the morning, which was about the time he would rise every day to prepare for his position as starter at South Shore Country Club. He was as much a part of South Shore Country Club as the greens and the tees and is fondly remember by all of its members.? Even before his death, South Shore Country Club was going to pay special tribute to their longtime starter by bestowing his name on the SSCC Four-Ball tournament, scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday. Everyone there is heart-broken he cannot be on have to savor the celebration as was planned.
Dolph was involved in the founding of the old South Shore Two-Ball Championship some fifty years ago until the tournament expired when South Shore CC went dark in 1985. Eventually, Hingham took the land by eminent domain and restored the golf course. Three years ago it was Dolph who was a force to revive the tournament. In his youth, Dolph was a talented athlete, playing football (semi-pro ball for the old Quincy Manets) and golf. He received an award from the Massachusetts Golf Association for his dedicated work with the old two-ball tournament and also received the Executive of the Year Award from the Tournament Players League.
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Fairways
and greens
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Jake Shuman of Blue Hill CC in Canton advanced to match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in Truckee, Calif., before bowing out in the first round . . . Nate Davis of Taunton won the Rockland Open on Sunday for the third straight year with a 7-over-par 115 at Rockland Golf Course. D.J. Arsenault, playing with a prosthetic left leg, captured the overall low net title at 1-over 109. In the Rockland Junior Open played earlier in the week, Chris Flipp (61) won the boys? title and Christine Cutting (72) was the girls? champion . . . Only a few positions remain to be a part of a unique volunteer experience at the Aug. 28-Sept. 2 Deutsche Bank Championship. The deadline to register is Aug. 15 or until all of the positions are filled to work with the PGA Tour professionals at TPC Boston in Norton..Available committees include: Marshals, Premium Access, Shotlink Scoring, Spectator Experience, Cart Services, Fan Information, Kid Zones and Monsterboard Scoring. For more info to register as a volunteer for the Deutsche Bank Championship simply visit www.DBChampionship.com and scroll down and click the volunteers tab. Call Davis Trosin or Kristina Hillinger at 508.285.8333 if you have any questions about the available committee options.
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Got a good golf story? A tournament result? Photo? Please forward to Paul Harber at pharber@wickedlocal.com
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