Rookie Ball

Scarafoni, PGA leads Senior Championship Field through Day 1

-Ludlow, VT

Todd Scarafoni, PGA (Bass Rocks GC) had a four-under par score of 66 to finish as the leader after the first day of the Senior Championship at Okemo Golf Club in Ludlow, Vermont on Monday. He’ll be joined by John Hickson, PGA (Sebasco Harbor GR) and Chip Johnson, PGA (Hatherly GC) in the final grouping in Tuesday’s Championship round.

“66 was awfully fun round. I had never seen this golf course before, so all I tried to do was make sure I kept the ball in front of me and didn’t take too many risks. When you play back and are able to play relaxed, it’s so much easier to do well,” said Scarafoni.

His front nine definitely reflected a more conservative style of play. He made consecutive pars until a birdie on the seventh put him at one under at the turn. On the back, Scarafoni started to pick up birdies. He made three consecutive from the 11^th to the 13^th and another on 15. With just one bogey on the day on the sixteenth, he finished at four-under par with a 66.

According to Scarafoni, he left a few putts within 10ft. short and could have finished much lower too. 

Arvanitis Leads Strong Showing from NEPGA at NH Open

-Bedford, NH

On a course that saw red numbers throughout the tournament, four New England PGA professionals had very strong showings in the 84^th New Hampshire Open held July 26-28^th at Manchester Country Club. The 54-hole championship had competitors from all over the country to boast a very strong field for some of New England’s top golfers.

Leading the pack was Matt Arvanitis, PGA (Southern New Hampshire University) who finished tied for seventh, shooting a six-under par 207. Using local knowledge to his advantage, Arvanitis jumped out to a strong start in both rounds one and two, shooting four-under 67 and three-under 68 on the first two days to earn a spot in the final pairing. However, Arvanitis struggled out of the gate in round three, going four-over through the first five holes. He did regroup his game to finish out the final round with a one-over 72, five shots out of the playoff.