There’s nothing like your first time.
After scraping together a round of even-par 72 in the final qualifier at Renaissance Golf Club in Haverhill last week, St. Mary’s star and Swampscott native Aidan Emmerich punched a ticket to his first-ever Massachusetts Amateur Championship.
“To be honest, I wasn’t totally sure that 72 was going to get it done,” said Emmerich, an incoming junior at St. Mary’s. “I really didn’t have my best stuff and I was kind of just knocking it around, so I was pretty shocked when I found out that I qualified.”
But while qualifying came as a surprise, it also gave Emmerich a boost of confidence.
“I think it kind of helped me to qualify after playing like that, because now I know I have what it takes,” said Emmerich. “To know that I can not have my best and still shoot 72 in tournament conditions, that’s a confidence booster.”
Emmerich is coming off another stellar fall season which saw him win Catholic Central League co-MVP honors as he helped the Spartans win their third straight Division 3 state title as a team. Emmerich finished tied for seventh in the individual state championship, and he hopes that this year he can make more noise in Division 3.
“I think as a team we have a chance to win it all again, we have some great players,” said Emmerich. “Hopefully I can win as an individual as well, that would be really great.”
It makes sense that Emmerich would want to win the individual state championship. After all, his older brother and former teammate Christian, now playing at Div. I Holy Cross, won two straight individual titles when he was at St. Mary’s.
Now, the two will tee it up together in the Amateur for the first time as Christian was exempted into the tournament after playing in the US Amateur last summer.
“It’s pretty cool that we both get to play in this tournament together,” said Aidan Emmerich. “We’ve both been working hard for this, so it’ll be fun.”
The 112th edition of the Massachusetts Amateur will be hosted at both The Kittansett Club and The Bay Club at Mattapoisett from July 13-17. The Kittansett Club was set to be the lone host initially, but The Bay Club stepped in at the last minute to help alleviate the crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second site was added to accommodate the 144-player field, as each player must start from the first tee. After the first round, the players will swap courses for the second and final round of stroke play. Any playoff needed to determine the final match play spots will take place Wednesday, July 15 at Kittansett, which will host all the match play from July 15-17 to determine a winner.
Emmerich played a practice round at Kittansett back on Tuesday and had great things to say.
“I really liked the course, it’s a tough and beautiful course,” Emmerich said. “I think it fits my eye a little bit and I had a decent round there, so I think that just adds to the confidence.”
Confidence is key for Emmerich, who is still building up his profile as an amateur player. Now that qualifying for his first Mass. Amateur is out of the way, he hopes to continue to build that confidence as he goes.
“I’ve been playing well lately and that’s really given me a lot of confidence,” Emmerich said. “Now I’m just trying to continue to feed off that and keep pushing forward.”
Emmerich will tee off in the first round of the 112th Massachusetts Amateur Championship on Monday (11:30 a.m.) at The Bay Club at Mattapoisett.