As a golfer, it’s not very often that you get to play in a big amateur tournament on your home course. But for a group of five members at Gannon Golf Club, that’s exactly what they’ll be doing as the 39th Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Championship gets set to tee off Monday morning.
“I’m extremely proud to be playing in this tournament and I’m proud that our course has been chosen to host it,” said John Boland, a Gannon member for 35 years. “I think the course is going to be a great test and we’re going to have a great tournament.”
The Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Championship is open to amateur golfers who are bona fide public course players at a public Mass Golf member club (a course/club that provides playing opportunities for the general public seven days a week) and maintain an up-to-date Mass Golf/GHIN Handicap Index not exceeding 12.0.
The five Gannon members who qualified for the Public Links are Rob Thomas, Jon Gagnon, Alex Fiste, Dave Stevens and Boland — the Gannon men’s club champion. Four of them — Boland, Fiste, Stevens and Thomas — qualified at Sandy Burr Country Club on June 30, while Gagnon qualified after making it as an alternate at The Meadow at Peabody Golf Course on June 22.
Boland, who won the club championship at Gannon a couple weeks ago, qualified with a score of 79 at Sandy Burr. He opened the round with six straight pars before making bogey on the seventh and eighth holes en route to shooting 38 on the front nine. He struggled a bit on the back nine with two more bogeys and a triple-bogey on the par-3 13th hole, but he recovered to finish up with a 79 and make the cut by one stroke.
Thomas, the runner-up in the Gannon club championship, also shot a 79 at Sandy Burr. Similar to Boland, Thomas went through the front nine in 38 with two bogeys. But Thomas’ back nine was much more adventurous, as a bogey and three double-bogeys were offset by two birdies to allow him to finish with a 79 and make it through to the championship.
Fiste shot a score of 79 at Sandy Burr as well, making bogeys on the sixth and eighth holes before making a birdie on the ninth hole to finish the front nine in 37 strokes. Things got a little hairy on the back nine with two bogeys and two double-bogeys, but his five pars kept his score low enough to make it through.
Stevens rounded out the group of Gannon qualifiers at Sandy Burr, shooting a 79 to make the cut on the number. Stevens played consistent golf throughout the day, making five bogeys and a birdie on the front nine to shoot a score of 40 and then making four bogeys and a birdie on the back nine to finish with a 79.
Gagnon, the only Gannon qualifier to make the cut at a place other than Sandy Burr, actually made it through as an alternate after shooting a score of 77 at The Meadow at Peabody Golf Course. Gagnon opened the day with one birdie, two bogeys and a double-bogey to make the turn in 39 strokes before evening off on the back nine, making three bogeys and six pars to shoot a 77.
“It’s a little surreal to be playing in this tournament at my home course,” said Gagnon, who played junior golf at Gannon in the 80s and has been a full-time member there for two years. “It’s a really cool feeling and I’m excited to just get out there and play.”
With the championship proper now set to begin, all five competitors are excited both to compete and also to see how their home course stacks up against a field of great players.
“It’s not an easy course, it’s tight and tricky in a lot of spots,” said Fiste, who has been a full-time member for three years after playing there as a junior. “You don’t necessarily need to play driver out there very often, so it’ll be interesting to see how guys play it.”
“It’s going to be interesting,” said Stevens, who has been a full-time member for five years and used to work the grounds at Gannon as a teen. “There’s a lot of blind shots and the greens can be very tough if you don’t know them. A little home-course knowledge will definitely be an advantage.”
“I think the course deserves to be on this stage, it’s a classic layout that can play very challenging,” said Gagnon.
“I’m excited to see how everyone plays the course, it’ll be fun to watch,” said Boland. “There’s a lot of talent coming to this tournament and Gannon hasn’t been able to have a showing like this for a long time, so it’s a very exciting feeling.”
The 39th Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Championship begins Monday at Gannon Golf Club at 7:30 a.m., with players starting from the first and 10th tees. Fiste will tee off at 7:30 a.m. from the 10th tee, Thomas will tee off at 7:41 a.m. from the first tee, Gagnon will tee off at 8:25 a.m. from the 10th tee, Boland will tee off at 9:09 a.m. from the first tee and Stevens will tee off at 12:30 p.m. from the 10th tee.