By Tori Schuller
ANDOVER, Massachusetts (September 9, 2025) – Turner Wegener (Bradford Country Club), like many other players in the 42nd Massachusetts Mid-Amateur field, did his four years of collegiate athletics, just six years later.
Wegener, the low scorer among Tuesday’s morning round and tied for the low score in the field in Round 2 at Andover Country Club, spent his first six years out of high school on the seas. The six-year Navy veteran spent his first two years of college eligibility at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, then transferring to the University of Hartford.
“I played on a couple different all-Navy teams, which is an annual tournament,” Wegener said. “I started getting really good at playing golf when I was in the service, which is usually backtracking what people do. So I was pretty happy to do that, but I got the opportunity to play golf in college.”
Wegener currently sits T8 in this year’s Mass Mid-Amateur as he’s among 34 players who made the cut for the final round Wednesday (low 30 and ties). Former champion Nick Maccario (GreatHorse) knocked down four birdies to move into the lead at 1-under-par total. That puts him one stroke ahead of fellow past champ Matt Parziale (Thorny Lea Golf Club) and 2025 Mass Four-Ball co-champion Ben Balter (Weston Golf Club).
Originally from Tomahawk, Wisconsin, Wegener has lived in many different cities since leaving for college. Attending school in South Carolina for his first two years of college, Wegener relocated for his last two years of collegiate eligibility to Hartford, Connecticut. Graduating from the University of Hartford in the spring of 2024 and recently moving to Haverhill in June to be closer to his fiancee’s family, Wegener is still relatively new to the post-grad, mid-amateur golf world, as well as the Mass Golf scene.
“This my first year with Mass Golf,” Wegener said. “I was with Connecticut before this, and I just moved up from Hartford in June, so I was pretty excited for that.”
Wegener ended his Monday round with a 78, but turned his game around Tuesday to lower his score by 10 strokes. But not the way you might expect.
“I was talking to my fiancée last night about how nothing felt good, and then I showed up late today and didn’t get a good range session in,” Wegener said. “So I don’t really know how golf works, but a 10-stroke difference makes me feel a lot better than how things went yesterday.”
Starting Tuesday morning at 7-over-par, a round of 2-over-par or better was necessary for Wegener to secure his spot for Wednesday. The Mid-Amateur newbie did one better, with 34-34 matching nines. Wegener ended his round with a chip and putt for birdie on 16, a lengthy birdie putt on 17, and an easy par save on 18.
“I was battling for the cut today, and then those two birdies happened. I made the putt on 17, it was screaming towards the pin so it was lucky,” Wegener said. “But after that, it was easier to swing hard instead of trying to guide something on 18 fairway, and I was able to two putt and lock it up.”
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Ben Balter (Weston Golf Club) posted matching rounds of 71 to earn a spot in one of the final pairings on Wednesday. However, not all even-par rounds tell the same story. On Monday, Balter described the round as a grind where he focused on staying in contention. By contrast, on Tuesday, the former Wake Forest letter-winner felt more confident over the ball, made two birdies, and played a steadier, more controlled round.
“I was just proud of myself for hanging in there and not trying to figure out how to hit the ball better, but just trying to put a score together,” Balter said of the opening round. “I hit the ball really well today. I had a ton of really good looks, but out here, it’s really hard to put yourself in a position to have a putt that you can be aggressive with.”
“My goal was to shoot under par today, so a little bit short of that, but to kind of get it to even with some holes left, felt really good.”
Although he missed some short chances on the front nine and lipped out on the par-4 12th, Balter finally got another birdie putt to go on the 13th using his long putter, thanks to a solid read from his caddie, Mass Four-Ball co-champion Ben Knott. Balter had other chances to go under par, even when he drove into the greenside bunker on the par-4 16th, but he has still set himself up to contend in the final round.
Like fellow competitors Parziale and Jake Ratti (Wollaston Golf Club), Balter will also be competing in the U.S. Mid-Amateur starting this Saturday at Troon (AZ).
“We’re having a blast,” Balter said of Knott. “He’s a great golfer, so he’s really good at talking through shots with me, making sure I have the specific target and a picture in my mind. On 13, he had a better read than I did. I went with his, and it’s obviously a great putt.”
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