WORCESTER, Mass. – Rich Berberian (Vesper CC) and Bob Bruso (Blackstone National GC) sit atop the leaderboard after the first day of the 101st Section Championship. Each player shot a two-under 69 at Marlborough CC to share the lead.
Five players sit one shot back of the leaders at one-under par, with four of those scores coming from Marlborough CC.
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The 1975 and 1982 Section Champion, Joe Carr, kicked off the tournament with a ceremonial tee shot on the first hole at Worcester CC, blasting a driver down the middle of the fairway.
At Marlborough, Berberian carded an eagle on the par-5 8th hole to move back to even on his day, then added birdies on holes 9, 10, and 12 to move to -3. A bogey on hole 17 brought the Vesper CC professional back to -2 where he finished.
Bruso got on the par train early and posted birdie on holes 8, 10, and 13 to get to -3 on the day. A bogey on hole 17 brought him back to -2 where he finished with 69.
Matt Arvanitis (Southern New Hampshire University) bogeyed his opening hole and carded another on hole 3 to make the turn at two-over. From there, Arvanitis birdied the short 10th hole and eagled hole 13 to get back into red figures and finish at 70.
Auburn Driving Range’s Rick Karbowski began his round with four pars before a bogey on hole 5. Karbowski then birdied hole 8, 9, and 11 with a bogey on 10 to move to -1 and finish with 70.
Mike Farrell (Boston GC) had a steady day at Marlborough with seven pars and two birdies on the front nine. Farrell kept the pars coming on the back with a lone bogey on hole 17 to finish with the pack at one-under 70.
Danny Kish (Atkinson Resort & CC) had one of the more eventful days for the leaders. The Atkinson pro bogeyed the opening two holes at Marlborough and finished the front with birdie on holes 4 and 7 before another bogey on hole 9. On the back, Kish posted birdie on holes 12, 13, and 18 with a lone bogey on hole 14.
Patrick McDole (Wachusett CC), the lone competitor atop the leaderboard to play at Worcester CC, made the turn at one-over par with birdie on hole 2. On the back, McDole carded seven pars with consecutive birdies on holes 16 and 17 to finish at one-under 69.
Six players are tied for eighth with scores of even-par: Eric Barlow (Winchester CC), Dave Bennett (CC of Vermont), Mark Gammons (Black Rock CC), Patrick Kowker (Portland CC), Brett Smestad (Rochester CC) and Dan Venezio (Portland CC). All six of these players were at Marlborough for round 1 and will play Worcester CC tomorrow.
Two-time defending Champion Shawn Warren played his first round at Marlborough CC, where he played both the front and back at +1 for a two-over 74. Warren eagled the par-5 13th hole and added a birdie on hole 8.
The current cut line sits at +4 with 62 players at or below that number. The top-60 players plus ties following tomorrow’s round will play in the final round at Worcester CC on Wednesday.
Marlborough CC posted a scoring average of 76.88 in the first day of the Championship, nearly one full shot better than the average at Worcester CC, 77.61.
Shawn Durocher (Cyprian Keyes GC) holds the lead in the inaugural Women’s Section Championship after an opening round 79 (+8) at Marlborough CC. Durocher enters tomorrow’s final round at Worcester CC with a four-shot lead over Amanda Davis (Essex County Club).
The Championship resumes tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. at both Worcester CC and Marlborough CC.
The 101st Section Championship is presented by Cadillac, Club Car, and Rolex with support from Titleist, Footjoy, Golf Channel, TaylorMade, Nike, the PGA TOUR, Avidia Bank, Dormie Workshop, and Mohegan Sun.