CANTON, Mass – Nearly 200 NEPGA Professionals gathered at Blue Hill Country Club on Monday, as the annual Fall Meeting provided a platform for a year in review of the Section. Despite chilly temperatures, 80 meeting attendees stuck around to compete in the concurrent MA Chapter Pro-Pro. With daylight fading fast, it was a sprint to the finish line to see who could take home the final Pro-Pro event of the year.
Curt Goldsberry (The Quechee Club) and David Jankowski (Golf Garage VT) took advantage of the par 5’s in their search for a victory, making birdie on three of the four en route to their score of 5-under 67 in the team fourball format. This mark was good enough to secure a piece of third place, a spot that was shared by Tom Giffin (Mass Golf) and Todd Anzlovar (The Foundation). Giffin and Anzlovar were not deterred by their slow start of 1-over through nine, and proceeded to catch fire coming down the home stretch. Six birdies in the final nine holes helped them to reach 5-under total and resulted in a big vault up the leaderboard.
Liam Friedman and Jeff Martin of Wollaston Golf Club bested the pack at 5-under by one, taking silver with their 6-under 66 total. It was a balanced attack for Team Wollaston, as Friedman carded four birdies and Martin sank two birdies and an eagle. Martin ended the front nine on a high note with his eagle on the Par 5 9th, and Friedman carried the momentum into the inward half, making all four of his birdies in the last eight holes.
Despite the impressive play of the aforementioned teams, they were no match for the dynamic duo of Ed Kirby (The Aquidneck Club) and John Rainone (North Kingstown Golf Course), who signed for a blistering 8-under 64. Their blemish free scorecard included eight birdies, with a stretch of three in a row on holes 5, 6 and 7 as the highlight. This was the exclamation point on Kirby’s dominant 2024 season, as he downed seven birdies in an 11 hole stretch on his own ball to lead his team to victory. Congratulations to Ed and John!
On behalf of the Massachusetts Chapter, Thank you to Blue Hill Country Club and Stephen Clancy, PGA for being such great hosts of the Fall Meeting and Pro-Pro. Additionally, thank you to Redvanly and Clem Lamarre for their generous support of this event. It was a great season for the Massachusetts Chapter, and we’re looking forward to 2025 already!