By Richard Rapp
rrapp@massgolf.org
BELMONT, Massachusetts (September 22, 2026) – On this, the fall equinox, crisp autumnal winds blew in right on cue. Even at the season’s onset, with temperatures hovering in the mid-60s and green leaves just starting to dull, fall ball begets a different style of golf. With drives not flying quite as far, and the greens firm and speedy, birdies are at a premium. After one round spent sparring in sweaters with Belmont Country Club at the 66th Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship, the leaders stand at 2-over and the cutline settled at 11-over.
A largely familiar contingent of players are clustered at the top of the leaderboard at 2-over, including 2026 Ouimet Memorial Lowery Division winner Chris Congdon (The Links at Mass Golf), Mass Golf Hall of Famer and two-time champion of this event Frank Vana (Marlborough Country Club), 2023 champion Scott Copeland (Old Sandwich Golf Club), and Gary Fornari (Plymouth Country Club).
Frank Vana has been in this position before. As the winds picked up during his second nine, his scorecard grew a bit more mercurial, but he buckled down and notched two birdies to combat four bogeys on the day.
“It definitely feels like the first day of fall, but it’s nice. The sun was out the whole time we played, and the wind was blowing, which was challenging,” said Vana. “The golf course is in perfect condition. Greens are fast, testy. A little, I don’t know, sheeny or crispy this afternoon.” Let’s go ahead and earmark sheeny for future fast green descriptors, lightning and glass are passé.
You’d almost assume that a player as prolific as Vana for so long would have a working course knowledge of pretty much every venue in the state, but Belmont was a blindspot. Unable to play a practice round, he cribbed some notes from a friend, and plotted his way around the course.
“The greens…it’s nice to see them once, right, because you hit to some spots that you’re not sure about. But the golf course is great, it’s challenging. I kind of just kept it in front of me. A couple of three putts which I’m not too thrilled about, but I made a couple putts too I guess, which helps.”
With some newfound course knowledge under his belt, and a wealth of experience in contention to draw on, watch out for Vana on Wednesday. For his part, he’s looking to keep it simple: “You know, just play 18 holes, I’ve been playing 14 or 15 all season. I’d just like to get it all in tomorrow, mentally be tuned in. I’ve been hitting it pretty good, it’s time to putt better. So you know, just hopefully one good shot at a time tomorrow and don’t do anything stupid.”
He’ll have to contend with Chris Congdon, who felled Vana in a playoff for this year’s Ouimet Memorial Lowery title. When he won that title, Congdon mentioned that he hadn’t been playing much recent tournament golf. But he’s had his fill in 2026, including a trip to the round of 64 at the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at Baltimore Country Club.
Congdon got off to a tough start, after bogeying his first two holes (10 and 11), he stood on the 18th tee at 4-over. But he made the turn in better spirits after a birdie on the downhill par-4 18th, and tallied another three birdies on his final nine to ultimately finish the day in a tie for the lead.
Scott Copeland also started his day on 10 and got off to a tough start with a 3-over 38. But after a bogey on the difficult third, he played his remaining holes in 2-under. Since Copeland won in 2023 at Hopkinton Country Club, he has finished T-9 in 2024 and T-22 in 2025. Guy Fornari, who has no recent history at this event, rounds out the group of co-leaders.
Nine players are within three shots of the lead, including 2020 champion Don Foberg (Plymouth Country Club) at 5-over.
Belmont Country Club’s history dates back to 1908 when Willard E. Robinson purchased an almost 90-acre site and old Colonial house in the sleepy suburban area between Belmont and Lexington, west of Boston. Originally known as Belmont Springs, the club expanded by purchasing more land, enough to enlarge the course to a full 18. Donald Ross came in to design the course, and many of his old-school features exist today, such as blind tee shots, punch bowl greens, and short holes up the hill.
Belmont has been the host site for numerous national golf championships, including the 1916 U.S. Women’s Amateur, the 1937 Men’s PGA Match Play Championship, and most recently, the Constellation Senior Players Championship in 2015. It has also served as the home course for Belmont High School, the Belmont Hill School, Buckingham, Browne and Nichols School, and Tufts University for several years.
As legend has it, in 1920, about 7,000 people, estimated at that time, watched English professionals Harry Vardon and Ted Ray play the leading U.S. amateur team of Francis Ouimet and James P. Guildford. English and Ray won, 4 and 2, in a 36-hole exhibition match.
In 2005, the course shut down for a year for a restoration under Craig Schreiner, who also restored Ross classics such as Oak Hill and Country Club of Buffalo. In 2022, the course closed again for six months to replace all its green surfaces and bunkering, under the supervision of architect Brian Silva. According to Michael Rose, who has worked the grounds at Belmont for 35 years, the course’s heralded Greenwich Velvet greens were replaced by 007 Creeping Bentgrass. Developed at Rutgers University, 007 is known for its fine texture, tolerance to low mowing, and adaptability to warm summers and cold winters. It was also the type of surface used for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. – By: Steve Derderian
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