It looks like the home-course advantage might be paying off a bit.
After shooting a score of 1-over 71 at Gannon Golf Club Monday, Gannon member and Saugus native Rob Thomas currently sits in a tie for sixth place at the 39th Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Championship.
Thomas got off to a great start Monday, making a birdie on the second hole and then making seven straight pars to finish the front nine in just 33 strokes. He stumbled a bit on the back nine, making double-bogey on the 11th hole and triple-bogey on the 16th hole, but he made up for those gaffes with an eagle on the par-5 15th hole and then a closing birdie on the 18th to shoot a 71. He currently sits three shots behind leaders Daniel Falucci (Cyprian Keyes GC) and Steven Ferraro (The Ledges GC), who both sit at 2-under.
But Thomas isn’t the only Gannon member who played well Monday. Jon Gagnon, who made it into the field as an alternate, shot a score of 2-over 72 and currently sits in a tie for eighth place. Gagnon actually made four birdies on the day — on the third, fifth, 16th and 18th holes — but he offset those with four bogeys and a double-bogey to finish the day at 72. Still, he is only four shots behind the leaders going into the final round.
John Boland, who won the Gannon club championship two weeks ago, opened his tournament with a 6-over 76 to sit in a tie for 31st place. Boland got off to a slow start with five bogeys on the front nine and never got into a rhythm, making a lone birdie on the 17th hole to finish his day at 76.
Other local players who fared well in the opening round included North Shore Amateur champion Jared Mscisz, who shot a score of 4-over 74 and sits in a tie for 16th place. Three members of The Meadow at Peabody also made the cut at the championship, with T.J. Vose shooting a score of 7-over 77 and Church Waesche and Michael Malley each shooting scores of 8-over 78. Gannon members Alex Fiste (15-over 85) and Dave Stevens (16-over 86) did not make the cut.
The final round of the 39th Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Championship will begin Tuesday morning (7:30) back at Gannon Golf Club, with all groups beginning on the first tee. Malley will tee off at 7:40 a.m., Waesche will tee off at 8 a.m., Vose will tee off at 8:20 a.m., Boland will tee off at 9 a.m., Mscisz will tee off at 9:50 a.m., Gagnon will tee off at 10:20 a.m. and Thomas will tee off in the penultimate group at 10:30 a.m.