Manchester, VT – The 2024 Match Play Championship fields the top 16 pros in the state, playing bracket match play to see who comes out on top. Hosted by the beautiful Ekwanok Country Club, it is one of the top events the pros look forward to during the year. With perfect golf weather in the forecast, the golfers were ready to play.
Day One Recap – A one hour fog delay held things up on Wednesday morning, creating a perfect environment for the first tee. The first group teed off with the whole field watching intently. Kellen Peery (Golf Garage VT) topped Patrick Berry (Dorset Field Club) in the first match 3&2, Todd Trono (Williston Golf Club) topped Tom Mackey (Ekwanok Country Club) 6&5, Mike Zaranek (Brattleboro Country Club) topped Roger King (Sugarbush Golf Club) 4&2, Kevin Bennison (Burlington Country Club) topped Susan Fasoldt (Dorset Field Club) 6&5, Curt Goldsberry (The Quechee Club) topped Sean Toof (The Club at Spruce Peak) 6&5, Reece Deliare (Williston Golf Club) topped Dustin Ribolini (The Quechee Club) 2 Up, Alex Sheehy (Country Club of Vermont) topped John Cleanthes (Haystack Golf Club) 5&4, and Josh Upson topped Brennan Earls (Vermont National Golf Club) 6&5. The highlight of round 1 was Bennison’s hole-in-one on the par 3 11th.
After the first round the players got ready and went right back out on the course. Kellen Peery topped Todd Trono 6&4, Kevin Bennison topped Mike Zaranek 3&2, Curt Goldsberry topped Reece Delaire 1 Up, Josh Upson topped Alex Sheehy 5&4.
Day Two Recap – The Semi final matches teed in perfect weather Thursday morning. Kellen Peery topped Kevin Bennison in 17 holes 2 & 1, Curt Goldsberry topped Josh Upson 6 & 5. The Final Match between Kellen Peery and Curt Goldsberry, the one seed vs. the two seed, teed off at 12:30 PM. Peery was leading the match on the first few holes until Goldsberry brought it back to even through 10 holes, he won 11 to go 1 Up, heaved 12 with birdies and 13 with pars. Goldsberry drove 14’s green to put the pressure on and made the birdie to go 2 up through 14, and then made 3 pars in the next 3 holes to hold on to the win on 17 2 & 1 over Peery.
The Vermont Chapter would like to thank everyone who played in the 2024 Match Play Championship at Ekwanok Country Club. Thank you to our title sponsor for this event W&B Golf Carts and Cobra Puma Golf. Finally a big thank you to Ekwanok Country Club and Tom Mackey PGA, and his staff for making this event possible.