TOWNSEND — Swampscott’s very own Aidan Emmerich placed second in the 104th Massachusetts Junior Amateur Golf Championship on Friday.
In his best showing at the event yet, Emmerich reached the championship round before falling to John Broderick of Dedham Country and Polo Club 3 & 2. The two happen to be good friends and were rooting for each other to make it to the championship. “We were kind of joking in stroke play, ‘We have to be on different sides of the bracket or else that’d just be a total bummer,’” Broderick joked.
After falling in the round of 16 last year, Emmerich had unfinished business coming into the week.
“I’ve felt good about my game all year,” Emmerich said. “I’ve gotten a lot better since last year.”
The tournament’s format involved players participating in two rounds of stroke play over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday. The top 16 finishers would then make it to the match play part of the tournament, where players were seeded into a bracket based on stroke play standings. The round of 16 took place Thursday morning, followed by the quarterfinals in the afternoon. The semi-finals and finals took place Friday morning and afternoon, respectively.
Emmerich, who was representing Kenwood Country Club, came into this week’s tournament looking to build off of his performance the week prior at the U.S Junior Amateur, where he was a top 32 finisher.
Emmerich started off stroke play with a bang as he eagled the fifth hole, a 460-yard par 5, to go two under par. However, he ran into some trouble on the next hole, scoring a bogey to go back to one under.
Yet Emmerich remained unfazed. That bogey was the last one seen from the North Shore golfer for the rest of stroke play as he went on to birdie holes eight and 12, posting a score of three under for the first round. He picked up right where he left off on Wednesday, racking up a total of four under par between the fifth and 13th holes. Emmerich went even par on the rest of the back nine to post an impressive score of seven under par, six shots in front of second place. That performance earned him medalist honors for stroke play and the number one seed for Thursday’s match play.
“I feel good,” said Emmerich. “The place is short, and my wedge game was the strength.”
While he blew away the field to open the tournament, Thursday’s match play tested Emmerich, to say the least. In the round of 16, he went up against Oyster Harbors Club’s Alan Rose. Emmerich went one up on Rose after the first two holes, but Rose got red hot, winning the next four holes to turn the tables on Emmerich and go three up.
Down three holes, Emmerich needed to remind himself how he earned medalist honors in this tournament.
And he most certainly did.
Emmerich went on to win holes seven, nine, 10, 12, and, in nail-biting fashion, he won the 18th hole to tie the match and force a playoff. Emmerich took care of business on the first playoff hole to advance to the quarterfinals. Just hours later, he found himself in the same predicament, this time against Markus Pierre of the Kittansett Club. In an almost exact replica of the first match, he went one up after the first hole before again conceding four holes to Pierre. Yet Emmerich pulled off the impossible again. He won holes 12, 13, and 14 to tie the match. Pierre attempted to shut down the comeback by winning the 15th. Emmerich matched him on the 16th, and the two continued to trade blows, with Pierre again going one up on the 17th. Though Emmerich refused to be denied. He tied the match on the final hole to force another playoff. Quick work on the first playoff hole sent Emmerich to the semifinals.
“I thought I was going home early, but then I just kind of battled, which is what I’ve been doing all year,” Emmerich said after his victory in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
After two exhausting comebacks, Emmerich made sure he would not have to sweat it out in the semifinals as he cruised to a 5 and 3 win to reach the championship match.
The rising star’s run would ultimately come up just short, however, as the number two seeded Broderick won the championship match after taking the 16th hole. Even with the runner-up finish, Emmerich took a huge leap in the tournament this year as he was knocked out in the round of 16 last August. While he may have been looking to win it all, Emmerich still took away many positives from his incredible run.
“I didn’t even think I was gonna be here after the early stages of yesterday,” Emmerich said. “ I keep getting reps in match play and just keep going, I guess.”
Emmerich signed a national letter of intent with Michigan State back in January and will be playing for the Spartans this fall.