MANCHESTER CENTER, VT. – On Monday, August 12th, The Vermont Chapter of the NEPGA welcomed 15 Chapter Professionals and 40 junior golfers to Manchester Country Club for the 2024 Vermont Pro-Junior. With Professionals teaming up with as many as three different juniors in the 1 BB of 2 Net competition, there was no shortage of excitement in determining who could help their Pro to a team victory.
Ultimately, It was the duo of Michael Amendola (Williston GC) and Lucas Tressor who were firing on all cylinders en route to a 2-shot victory. Despite coming out of the gates cold at even par through 4 holes, Amendola and Tressor finished the day better than they started it, rattling off two birdies and two eagles in their last four holes to post an impressive 12-under 60.
The team of David Jankowski (Golf Garage VT) and Nick Norris needed a flurry of birdies on the closing stretch themselves, as they made a valiant effort with a back nine of 6-under 30, firing a 62 to finish in solo second place.
Concurrent with the team competition was an individual professional battle that came down to the wire. Kellen Peery (Golf Garage VT) and Kevin Bennison (Burlington CC) were steady all day, each carding 4-under 68’s on their own ball to grab a share of the individual title. Peery had one blemish on his card against five birdies, while Bennison avoided mistakes on his way to signing a clean scorecard with 14 pars and four birdies.
Close behind were the familiar names of Amendola and Jankowski, whose individual efforts paid dividends on the team leaderboard. Amendola finished in solo third place at 3-under par, a round that included an impressive 4-under 32 on the inward half. Jankowski shared fourth place with Brennan Earls (Vermont National CC), as both competitors shot Even-Par 72’s around the Geoffrey Cornish design.
On behalf of the Vermont Chapter, thank you to Jon Mandala, PGA and Manchester Country Club for their hospitality. Additionally, a big thank you to our generous sponsors, Ping and Gonzo’s HD Sports, for their support of this event! Next up on the VT Chapter schedule is the Pro-Senior Championship at the CC of Barre on Monday, August 19th.