BOYLSTON, Massachusetts (September 3, 2025) – For nearly a year, Steve Tasho (Thorny Lea Golf Club) carried the sting of last October’s near miss at the Mass Super Senior Amateur. A chip that looked destined to drop and force a playoff never did, and a shaky second round haunted him. “That bothered me,” Tasho admitted. “That second round last year wasn’t very good, so it sort of sat with me for almost 12 months, and I had this on the calendar circled.”
On Wednesday at The Haven Country Club, Tasho got his redemption. He stuck to his plan, keeping his head down and refusing to glance at the scoreboards. “I just said, ‘I’m going to play, and whatever I shoot, if it’s good enough, it is. If it isn’t, it isn’t. There’s nothing else I can do.’”
It was more than good enough. Powered by reliable driving and two towering four-irons into the par-5s 12 and 14 that set up birdies, Tasho shot a composed round, giving very little ground to the rest of the field. Despite missing the front of the green on the up-hill par-3 17th and taking bogey, he was able to secure the title with a well-struck drive to the fairway on the 18th. Even though a buzzing bee overhead forced him to step off his birdie bid, he was able to tap-in for par and earn his first Mass Golf individual title since winning the Ouimet Memorial Tournament (Lowery Division) in 2021.
“Driving was key today,” he said. “I drove the ball well, hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. It was just a good, solid 36 holes this year, where last year the second round was not.”
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After taking the overnight lead by one stroke, Tasho struggled to get going early on, as several competitors were nipping at his heels all afternoon.
Among them was his Senior Four-Ball partner, Keith Smith (Franklin Country Club), the 2023 winner, who shot a 3-under, bogey-free back nine for a round of 70, finishing 1-over overall. That put him in the hunt should the leaders fall off, until Douglas Parigian (Long Meadow Golf Club) turned on the jets late. Parigian also shot 70 with four birdies on the back nine. He was tied with Tasho for much of the front nine, but missed the green wide left on the 9th and wasn’t able to get up and down for par.
Meanwhile, Tasho used the 9th as a turning point, as his sliding birdie putt dropped in the left edge of the cup. Tasho collected his ball, exhaled deeply, and finally allowed himself a small release.
“Nine was a big putt,” he said. “It got me back to even, where I bogeyed it yesterday. Today I hit the right club, and it got me back to even for the tournament. I was playing good, it was just a matter of hopefully having a good back nine.”
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At 66 years old, Tasho adds the Super Senior Amateur to an already decorated resume: two Mass Amateurs, a Mid-Amateur, a Senior Amateur, multiple four-ball titles, and three Father-Son crowns. All these victories are displayed at Thorny Lea Golf Club, home to many Mass Golf winners, including Matt Parziale, Shannon Johnson, and Megan Buck.
“This is big,” he said. “[Being] 66 years old and playing good, and to capture this is very important to me.”
Robert Linn (Franconia/Veterans Golf Course), the 2020 Super Senior Amateur winner, had already left The Haven and stopped at a local shop when he got a call to come back. Turns out his final round 77 was good enough to earn a spot in a playoff for the Legends Division, deciding the best of the field over the age of 70. After Andy Horvitz (Allendale Country Club) and Anthony Carra (Sterling National Country Club) closed with a 78, all three headed back to the 18th tee.
After a three-way draw the first time down 18, all three went back to the same tee. Linn’s drive found the left fairway bunker, but with a trusted 8-iron hit it right on line within 10 feet of the hole, and he made the decisive putt to earn his second trophy in this event.
Linn, who birdied the 1st and 10th holes on Wednesday, becomes the first person to win both the Super Senior and Legends Division since the latter division was introduced in 2020.
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