HAVERHILL, Mass. – There was simply no catching Shawn Warren, PGA, on Tuesday.
Warren, the assistant professional at Falmouth CC, entered the final round of the New England PGA Assistants Championship at Renaissance Golf Club with a three stroke lead after posting the only under-par round on Monday, a 3-under 69, and followed it up with a 6-under par 66 on Tuesday, the low round of the day by four strokes. Warren’s two-day total of 9-under par sealed a seven-stroke win and his fourth NEPGA Assistants Championship, adding to his 2011, ’16 and ’17 titles.
Every hole at Renaissance, by design, offers up a series of strategic challenges that will test the best and delight the rest. How you score will depend on your skill, your strategy, your creativity—and your tolerance for risk. The Renaissance course is renowned for its classic design features, straight from golf’s Golden Age of Architecture.
It’s not easy being an assistant PGA Professional in 2020. From early spring course shutdowns to constant golf cart sanitization and sunup-to-sundown play throughout the summer, it has been the most stressful season many golf professionals can remember.
POCASSET, Mass. – The wind picked up and the hole-outs were going down in the final round of the National Car Rental New England PGA Assistants Championship at Pocasset Golf Club. When it was all said and done, Greg Kelly, PGA (Myopia Hunt Club) shot 2-under par 70 in the final round to post 3-under for the tournament and pick up a two-shot win.
Kelly overcame a windy afternoon to make five birdies in the second round. He got off to a fast start with birdies on his first two holes, and turned in 3-under 33 with another birdie on the ninth.
“I started off on the short Par-5 and I was on the green in two and hit a solid eagle putt that just missed the hole, so I had a tap-in birdie,” he said. “I hit a solid drive on two, and a close approach to about five feet and knocked that in and kept trucking all the way through that front nine there. Luckily I birdied the ninth hole so it was a good start on the front so that got me going.”
Kelly gave two strokes back with a double-bogey on the 12th hole, but played the last six holes one-under par to shoot 70 and get to -3 for the 36-hole tournament.
“The wind picked up on the back nine a lot,” he said. “I laid off a few clubs and I hit my driver really well so I trusted that in my hands which was great. I had a nice low ball-flight with that. It was tough putting on the back there but I was lucky enough to hit some solid putts and get through.”
Kelly outlasted four players who finished tied for second at 1-under par for the tournament. That group included Jeff Seavey, PGA (Samoset Resort), Peter Weatherby, PGA (Ekwanok CC), John Paesani, PGA (Bay Club at Mattapoisett) and Zac Temple, PGA (Hanover CC).
Year | Winner | Year | Winner |
1997 | Scott Trethewey | 2009 | Jeffrey Martin, PGA |
1999 | Matt Hall | 2010 | Rich Berberian, Jr. |
2000 | Jeffrey Martin | 2011 | Shawn Warren |
2002 | David Grygiel | 2012 | Brian Owens, PGA |
2003 | Peter Maki | 2013 | Jeff Seavey, PGA |
2004 | Brian Owens | 2014 | Matt Baran, PGA |
2005 | Troy Pare, PGA | 2015 | Michael Baker, PGA |
2006 | Brian Spitz | 2016 | Shawn Warren, PGA |
2007 | Brent Amaral | 2017 | Shawn Warren, PGA |
2008 | Marc Spencer, PGA | 2018 | Bob Bruso, PGA |
2019 | Greg Kelly, PGA |
ELIGIBILITY
The Assistants Championship is a National event open to all A-8’s and Associates.
NATIONAL CAR RENTAL ASSISTANT PGA PROFESSIONAL QUALIFIER
6 spots & 4 alternates in the National Car Rental Assistant National Championship will be awarded.
MANDATORY DIRECT DEPOSIT
To participate in NEPGA Tournaments, it is now mandatory that NEPGA Professionals have ACH Direct Deposit (for purse payment) set up prior to registration of the event. This is a one time process. Please note, if you have already set up direct deposit, you do not need to take any further action. CLICK HERE TO ENROLL.