DEDHAM, Mass. – The Patriot 128 Junior League All-Stars are the 2019 PGA Junior League New England Section Champions after taking down the Barnstable Town League All-Stars in the Championship Match at Dedham Country & Polo Club on Thursday.
Barnstable Town and Patriot 128 both clinched spots in the PGA Junior League Regional Championship at Cranberry Valley Golf Course in Harwich, Mass., Sept. 14-15 by virtue of semifinal match victories in the morning. From Cranberry Valley both teams will compete for a spot in the PGA Junior League National Finals at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., Oct. 11-14.
Patriot 128 reached the Championship match after a 7-5 victory over the Lakes Region team. It will be the second consecutive year Patriot 128 has reached the Regional.
“They’re experienced. We have a lot of flexibility to move around players because the team is really deep,” Said Todd Cook, PGA, Captain of the Patriot 128 All Stars. “We’ve been doing this for a while. Every year we’ve been in postseason play the team has gotten a little bit better. Now we’re just starting to breed better players across the board. We have 10 players this year who can play.”
Barnstable Town, meanwhile, escaped the morning match with a narrow 6 ½ – 5 ½ win over Rhode Island South.
“The kids are very excited, they can’t believe that they made it through again,” said David Donnellan, PGA, Captain of the Barnstable Town League All-Stars, after narrow victories in the Section Qualifying tournament and Semifinal match. “Everybody is very excited. Getting down to Cranberry Valley, we’re one step away, one step closer. I’m really proud of them. They practice and they’re having fun. It’s what we do all year with this goal in mind, so this is just awesome. They’re excited. I don’t know who’s more excited, me or them.
Patriot 128 and Barnstable Town will be part of the four-team regional at Cranberry Valley, joining one Connecticut Section team and one Northeast New York Section team. Nationally, 48 teams will compete at 12 different regional sites, and the winners of each will move on to Arizona for the National Championship.
“I will mention it every practice, just so they can create that belief system,” Donnellan said of what’s at stake at Cranberry Valley. “They’re not talking about it but they are aware that if they’re fortunate enough we can move on.”