This week saw three qualifying events take place for the 113th Mass Open. A total of 39 players advanced in qualifiers held at Foxborough Country Club, Kernwood Country Club in Salem, and The Ridge Club in Sandwich.
There are two more qualifiers remaining for the Mass Open, which is taking place at TPC Boston in Norton for the first time June 12-14. The championship is open to professional golfers, plus amateurs who have an active Handicap Index® not exceeding 2.4 (at the time of registration).
Nicholas Pendelena from Atkinson, New Hampshire, enjoyed the sunnies skies and warm weather at Foxborough on Monday as he carded the low round of the day with a 3-under 69. Five birdies was enough to earn him medalist honors by one stroke. Chris Congdon (Country Club of New Bedford), the low amateur, had a bogey-free back nine as he finished 1-under 71 to snag one of 13 spots up for grabs.
After bogeying the 17th hole, Connecticut Golf Hall of Famer James Becker (Bloomfield, CT) needed a birdie on the 18th to secure a spot in the Championship. Becker, 67, did just that as he birdied the 518-yard, par-5 and punched his ticket to TPC Boston. Other notables to qualify include Kevin Gately (Harmon Golf), who advanced to U.S. Open Final Qualifying last week, as well as the 2023 Mixed Four-Ball co-champion Doug Clapp (Old Sandwich Golf Club), who made it in on the cutline at 3-over.
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The winds were up Monday at Kernwood Country Club with gusts as high as 20mph in the mid afternoon. Challenging conditions led to higher scores as nobody in the field posted a round of even par or better. Sam Grindle (Stoneham, MA) and low amateur Hunter Stone (Tedesco Country Club) were able to navigate difficult conditions and share co-medalists honors with a 1-over 71. After opening with a 3-over front nine, amateur Sean Daley (Kernwood CC) used his local knowledge to his advantage and fired a 1-under back nine to qualify at 2-over 72.
The intricate par-70 Donald Ross golf course proved to be a good test. A total of 14 players successfully qualified for the Mass Open with scores of 3-over 73 or better. Amateur Matt Casavant is no stranger to qualifying at Kernwood. In 2018, he qualified for the Mass Open at Kernwood on the number with a score of 72.
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Eight of the 13 who qualified Tuesday at The Ridge Club were amateur golfers from Massachusetts. URI standout Aidan O’Donovan (Cummaquid Golf Club) and former pro Matt Cowgill (Granite Links Golf Club) shot 2-under 69, splitting top honors with Colin Andrade, a member at The Ridge Club. After starting with 10 straight pars, Cowgill made birdie on holes 12, 13, 15 and 16 to surge up the leaderboard and clinch his first Mass Open spot since 2019. Andrade bookended his round with birdies, two of his four total.
NC State freshman Joey Lenane qualified with a 1-under 70, while UConn freshman Colin Spencer was one of seven players to get in at even-par 71. Spencer made key birdies on 15 and 18 to get in above the cutline.
But the day truly belonged to cancer survivor Mike Mottola (Andover Country Club), who went from 3-over to even-par with birdies on holes 13, 16, and 18 to qualify for his first Mass Open. After a long challenging battle with central nervous system (CNS) cancer and undergoing intense physical therapy and rehabilitation, Mottola qualified and played in the 2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship with Dan Koerner. And now he’ll get his first shot at the Mass Open.
HERE IS THE COMPLETE LIST OF QUALIFIERS AND ALTERNATES FROM THIS WEEK’S MASS OPEN QUALIFIER:
MONDAY, 5/8 QUALIFIERS
Foxborough CC (Par 72)
Nicholas Pandelena, Atkinson, NH; 69
Kyle Souza, Santa Rosa, CA; 70
*a-Chris Congdon, Country Club of New Bedford; 71
Jason Gobleck, Madison, CT; 71
Brian Keiser, Longmeadow Country Club; 73
*a-Cooper Griffin, Woodland Golf Club; 73
*a-John Pagano, Worcester Country Club; 74
*a-Kevin Gately, Harmon Golf; 74
*a-Jordan Amorin, Crestwood Country Club; 75
Mark Purrington, Dartmouth, MA; 75
James Becker, Bloomfield, CT; 75
*a-Casey Mills, John F Parker Golf Course; 75
*a-Doug Clapp, Old Sandwich Golf Club; 75
ALTERNATES
Jacob Hollander, Peterborough, NH; 76
*a-Herbie Aikens, Old Sandwich Golf Club; 76
*a-Ronan Mooney, Oak Hill Country Club; 76
*a-Patrick O’Leary, Wollaston Golf Club; 76
*a-Kolby Simmons, Foxborough Country Club; 76
Peter Ruymann, Oyster Harbors Club; 76
*a-Will Englander, Cohasset Golf Club; 76
Artie Wilson, West Warwick, RI; 76
*a-Mathew Gover, Renaissance ; 76
*a-Dan White, Vesper Country Club; 76
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Kernwood Country Club (Par 70)
*a-Hunter Stone, Tedesco Country Club; 71
Sam Grindle, Stoneham, MA; 71
*a-Matthew Johnson, Charter Oak Country Club; 72
*a-Sean Dully, Kernwood Country Club; 72
Chris Anderson, Norfolk Golf Club; 72
Jay Rocha, Beverly, MA; 72
*a-Jeffrey Weishaar; Renaissance; 73
*a-Jack Pepin, Plaistow, NH; 73
*a-Henry Hall, Weston Golf Club; 73
*a-Mike Hersey, Harmon Golf; 73
*a-Jake Peer, Winchester Country Club; 73
*a-Matthew Casavant, Meadow Brook Golf Club; 73
*a-Chris Houston, Gilford, NH; 73
*a-Jordan Burke, Needham Golf Club; 73
ALTERNATES
*a-Stephen Quillinan, Renaissance; 74
*a-Nick Leblanc, Wayland Country Club; 74
*a- Ian Rourke, Ferncroft Country Club; 74
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TUESDAY, 5/9 QUALIFIER
The Ridge Club (Par 71)
*a-Aidan O’Donovan, Cummaquid Golf Club; 69
*a-Matt Cowgill, Granite Links Golf Club; 69
Colin Andrade, The Ridge Club; 69
*a-Kevin Blaser, Fall River Country Club; 70
*a-Joseph Lenane, George Wright Golf Course; 70
*a-Ryan Brown, Cape Cod National Golf Club; 71
Bobby Gage, Blue Hill CC; 71
Brady Allbritton, Easton, MA; 71
Cliff Kresge, Knoxville, TN; 71
*a-Colin Spencer, Cummaquid Golf Club; 71
*a-Michael Mottola, Andover Country Club; 71
*a-Harry Dessel. Rhode Island CC; 72
ALTERNATES
*a- Henry Smith, Edgartown Golf Club; 73
Shamus Landers, Boston Golf Club; 73
*a-Carson Erick, Boston Golf Club; 73
Austin Baker, Nashua, NH; 73
*a-Zachary Kovat, Sharon Country Club; 73
*a-Thomas Hurley, Student Member/MIAA; 73
*a-Jonathan Hill, Granite Links Golf Club; 73
*a-Shuvam Bhaumik, Thorny Lea Golf Club; 73
*a-: denotes Amateur
Qualifying for the Mass Open will continue next week. Here are the remaining dates and locations on the schedule:
May 18 – CC of Pittsfield (Pittsfield)
Starting Times | Player Information
May 30 – Pleasant Valley CC (Sutton)
Starting Times | Player Information
For the latest updates on all Mass Golf events, visit MassGolf.org or follow Mass Golf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @PlayMassGolf.
