MARLBOROUGH, Massachusetts (October 13, 2026) – A year after hosting the Men’s Team Matches Championship and finishing one place short of the title, Willowbend returned with a chance to finish the job. Even in Tuesday’s misty, wet conditions at Marlborough Country Club, all three pairings found their way well under par.
With Evan Abbott leading the squad, Willowbend combined for a net score of 13-under to win the season-ending title by five strokes. Abbott and Aaron Gannon led the way with a net 6-under 65, while Charlie Abbott and Barry Adler added a 4-under 67. David Wood and David Rowe rounded out the winning effort with a 3-under 68.
“It feels good to get the job done for the club,” Abbott said. “We played really well all season. We only won our region by a single shot, so every shot matters.”
Eighty teams of six men representing Mass Golf Member Clubs competed in monthly regional matches from June through September, using net four-ball match play against three other clubs. The top 20 teams advanced to the championship.
There was considerably more breathing room on Tuesday’s final leaderboard as Ferncroft Country Club, Old Newbury Golf Club, Wahconah Country Club, and Wollaston Golf Club shared second place at 8-under.
Ferncroft and Wollaston received second- and third-place honors, respectively, following a matching-scorecards tiebreaker (back nine scores. Wollaston’s Andy Baker & Rick Baker had far and away the lowest score among pairings with a net total of 12-under-par 59.
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Willowbend’s path to the title began last year, when hosting the championship helped spur the club to assemble a team. Captain Brendan Rowe, who was unable to attend Tuesday’s final, helped guide that group to a runner-up finish and laid the groundwork for another run this season.
The damp conditions required some adjustments, particularly on the greens, but Abbott said Marlborough’s conditioning gave the team plenty of confidence once it settled into the round.
“You play the first couple holes, and then you kind of make slight adjustments,” Abbott said. “The downhill putts were rolling pretty true. So I think, safe to say that our team was able to figure it out.”
Starting on hole 11, Abbott got things going with a birdie on the long par-5, the first of two in the round. Gannon then caught some fire with a deuce on the par-3 18th, followed by a birdie on the 1st hole. After firing it well down the hill on the par-4 10th, he made one last birdie to cap off the round.
For the final, the format shifted to net four-ball stroke play, with each club’s three pairing scores combined to determine the champion. For Abbott, the season offered a welcome series of opportunities to put his game to the test alongside his clubmates. It also is a promising sign for the club, which will host the 119th playing of the Massachusetts Amateur in July 2027.
“I think competitive golf is the best,” Abbott said. “Mass Golf does it really well.”
Entries for the 2027 Men’s Team Matches will open in the winter, with official registration and competition dates, as well as the championship site still to be announced.
Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged and inclusive community around the sport.
With a community made up of over 145,000 golf enthusiasts and over 360 member clubs, Mass Golf is one of the largest state golf associations in the country. Members enjoy the benefits of handicapping, engaging golf content, course rating and scoring services along with the opportunity to compete in an array of events for golfers of all ages and abilities.
At the forefront of junior development, Mass Golf is proud to offer programming to youth in the state through First Tee Massachusetts and subsidized rounds of golf by way of Youth on Course.
