By: Rich Rapp
rrapp@massgolf.org
KINGSTON, Massachusetts (July 24, 2024) – Despite a large and varied field, the atmosphere around Indian Pond Country Club was tempered to a gentle simmer on Wednesday morning. Sitting well below the level of the nearby 18th green and 1st tee, at the foot of an expansive, modern clubhouse, the putting green was packed with representation from the Championship, Women’s and Lowery divisions, but all was constrained to a quiet bustle.
Minimal wind and low overcast skies that hovered like a dome added to the muted tone. The occasional thwacks of tee shots and claps of greenside daps echoed with wince-inducing force, before quiet quickly reinstated itself. On the course, people seemed hesitant to raise their voices above a whisper, which was beautiful in its own right.
One player who’s pulse never seems to rise, let alone his voice, is Frank Vana Jr. (Marlborough Country Club), who rolled in a twentyfive foot birdie putt on his last hole to hold a one-shot lead in the Lowery Division.
The Championship Division was more of a log jam, with 13 players finishing within three strokes of the 5-under lead, which is shared by Jack O’Donnell (Boston Golf Club), Owen Egan (Winchester Country Club) and Alan Rose (Oyster Harbors Club).
As the afternoon wave navigated the undulating, tight fairways, a fog began to creep in it. Gently at first, making the dense green tree lines surrounding each hole look like images developed on overexposed film. Then, all at once, the whole property was awash.
The ever-declining visibility didn’t stop some players from attacking the course, particularly in the Women’s Division. Morgan Smith’s (Vesper Country Club), rangefinder stopped working in the fog, but she managed to get the right number on her 16th hole of the day, when she made her first competitive ace, which was the exclamation point on a 5-under round.
And you’d think that’d be good enough for the lead, but it wasn’t, because Isabel Brozena (Indian Ridge Country Club) carded six birdies, all while refusing to concede a single bogey. Perhaps it was the fog that forced her into the zone. “My rangefinder kept saying nine yards for any distance. Honestly, it probably helped because I was focusing more,” said Brozena.
There will be no threat of a three-peat in 2024, as Ryan Downes (GreatHorse), the winner in both 2022 and 2023, was off competing in the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in Michigan. Speaking of the Great Lake State, University of Michigan Wolverine Jack O’Donnell (Boston Golf Club) set the benchmark early, firing a 5-under round of 67. He would later be joined at the top of the leaderboard by Owen Egan (Winchester Country Club) and Alan Rose (Oyster Harbors Club).
O’Donnell made his hay on the par-5s, birdieing 3 out of 4, helping to pad his whopping 8 birdie total for the day. “I had a couple bad bogeys in there, but I was making a lot of birdies, made a lot of putts. I took advantage of some of the easier holes, so that helped me out throughout the round and kept me steady,” said O’Donnell.
He looked poised to post 66, before a wayward drive into the trees on the 9th hole (his 18th of the day), put O’Donnell behind the eight ball. He managed to advance his second to a hill right of the green, hole high, then hit a stellar, 25-yard pitch from there to about 6-feet. But the putt didn’t fall.
It did fall for playing partner John Broderick (Dedham Country & Polo Club), who drained a 30-foot birdie putt to get in the house at 4-under. Broderick was coming off back-to-back bogeys, so getting that last one to drop surely buoyed his spirits for the rest of the afternoon. The third member of their threesome, Kevin Gately (Harmon Golf), wasn’t lagging far behind, with a 3-under 69. Though he’ll rue a short miss for par on the last, he’d do better to focus on his eagle-two on the 355 yard 14th, part of an impressive 31 on his opening nine.
Isabel Brozena played immaculate golf on Wednesday. Plain and simple. On her eleventh hole, when she looked like Sisyphus, battling valiantly to get her push cart up a slope near the green, I realized that I was probably witnessing the most difficult part of her day.
The whole executing golf shots part looked a good deal easier for the recent North Reading High School graduate, Xavier University bound Brozena.
“Yeah, I think today I was just really consistent. I was hitting fairways and greens,” said Brozena. “I’m just going to obviously try and keep that going tomorrow, but I don’t think my gameplan is going to change on this course. Obviously it worked one time, so hopefully it works again. Hopefully I can go low again tomorrow.”
Morgan Smith already had a fantastic round going when she put her tee in the ground on the 160 yard par-3 7th, her 16th hole of the day. Then, it went from fantastic to just plain silly when she hooped her tee shot for an ace to get to 6-under. It was a bit like watching someone continuously pepper the triples inner-ring of a dartboard, before deciding, why not, let’s toss one at the bullseye.
“That was towards the end of my round so it was a good way to finish it,” said Smith. “I haven’t had one in seven years, and I was playing by myself. So this was like the first official one in a tournament too, which is pretty cool. And we saw it. We thought it went in, but we weren’t sure. And then we got up there and it was in the hole, which was cool.”
Smith was a quick 3-under through her first five holes, and never really took her foot of the gas. After making the turn in 34, she stuck her approach on the 1st hole (her 10th) to about three feet, then bested that with an approach within a foot on the 11th for back-to-back birdies.
Smith recently transferred to the University of Georgia, as illustrated by the red-trimmed Uga the bulldog headcover resting atop her Georgetown bag (apologies to Jack, the Hoya Bulldog. Every dog has its day). On a day when several other players in the Women’s Division took it low, Smith needed every bit of that bulldog mentality. Annie Dai (MIAA) made four consecutive birdies on the back-nine, and five overall, without dropping a shot. The 5-under round of 67 has her in a tie for second with Smith.
Only two past champions were in the Women’s Division field. Defending champion Shannon Johnson (Thorny Lea Golf Club) is within striking distance after 2-over round of 74, while 2014 winner Julia Ford (Cyprian Keyes Golf Club) finished the day at 7-over.
Mass Golf Hall of Famer Frank Vana, Jr. has enjoyed a good deal of success in the Ouimet, notching five victories in the Championship Division (the first coming in 1998), and two Lowery Division wins. He’s off to a good start in his pursuit of a third Lowery title, leading the way with a 3-under 69.
Vana bogeyed his first hole of the day (the 10th), but he quickly made up for it with a birdie on the 11th, and settled into an unwavering groove after that. He punctuated his round with an incisive approach on the 385-yard 9th hole, which set him up with a good look at birdie going up the slope. “It was like 25-feet and I was just trying to get it close and made it and I was thrilled. I mean, to do that and end that way always, always makes the round feel better,” said Vana.
It takes a lot to phase a player with a resume as lengthy as Vana’s. Most players would be overjoyed to drain a large birdie to stake themselves a first round lead, but if the even-keeled Vana betrayed excitement about anything, it was the simple fact that he didn’t get rained on:
“Most important thing was we stayed dry the whole round today. I was most worried about that and it worked out perfect. It was nice, cool, a little breezy, not bad, just a little bit. And the course was in great shape. And, again, we stayed dry. So everybody’s happy in the morning anyways.”
The 1992 Championship Division and 2010 Lowery Division winner Jack Kearney (Westover Golf Course) trails Vana by just one, as he played his final eight holes in 4-under to mitigate some early bogeys.
Defending champion Scott Copeland (Old Sandwich Golf Club), will need a strong showing on Thursday if he is to make the cut after an opening 77.
Equal Setup On 15: While most tee boxes vary from division to division, everyone played the par-4 15th at 393 yards. It played as one of the four hardest holes on the course for each division.
The Eagles Have Landed: There were 5 total eagles, and oddly enough, only one of them came on a par-5.
What does the name Francis Ouimet mean to you?
“He’s obviously a legend, especially around here, a lot of history in Mass. So playing in this event is awesome, especially just because it’s named after him. And it’s super fun to be in it.” Jack O’Donnell
“I mean, he’s a local legend and he’s, you know, well respected and was a great player and all great stuff. And we’re lucky just to have this tournament.” Frank Vana
“It actually means a lot. I am a Francis Ouimet scholar. I work at Mount Pleasant. Just what he did and what he was able to accomplish in golf is really awesome, and I really love that. He has started this whole thing to be able to pay it forward. And I’m really grateful for everything Ouimet has done for me and my family.” Morgan Smith
This year’s competition marks the 57th playing of the Ouimet Memorial Tournament. The first two rounds are played at a different course each year, this year Indian Pond CC plays host, before moving over to the traditional final day site, Woodland Golf Club. After two rounds, the field is cut down to the low 30 and ties in the Championship Division, and low 12 and ties in the Women’s and Lowery division.
One of the younger courses among Mass Golf Championship hosts, Indian Pond CC is located in Kingstown, MA, on the South Shore. The course was opened in 2001. Dense rows of trees make many of the holes feel quite separate from each other, and amplify the quiet calm of the property.
Visit MassGolf.org and follow @PlayMassGolf on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube for the latest information on Mass Golf championships and events. To join the conversation, use the hashtag #MassGolf.
