Latest news with #MassAm
Boston Globe
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Ryan Downes a teenage sensation again in winning his second MassAm title — this time on his home course
Downes defeated Patrick Kilcoyne, 7 and 6, to win the 117th Massachusetts Amateur in a 36-hole championship match Friday at GreatHorse. The Vanderbilt star sophomore, who previously won as a 17-year-old teen sensation in 2023 at Essex Country Club, became the 21st player in the tournament's illustrious history to capture at least two championships. Downes represents the tenth player to win at his home course in tournament history, and the second consecutive after Matthew Neumac took home the crown at Framingham Country Club last year. Advertisement 'I grew up playing here and it worked out pretty well to my advantage,' said Downes. After falling two years prior in the Massachusetts Juniors semifinals at GreatHorse, he tuned out the pressure to earn his share of redemption. Downes wasted no time getting off on the right foot, winning the first and second holes. With birdies on the par-5 second and par-4 fifth, he sprung to a commanding 4-up advantage through seven holes. He never looked back. 'I got much less nervous as the week went on,' said Downes. 'Even today, I didn't really feel many nerves because I was able to get up to an early lead.' The 7,228-yard track at GreatHorse presented a unique challenge as the longest courseof any MassAm tournament venue since 2015. Well-bunkered holes with narrow fairways and undulating greens didn't faze the steady-handed Downes, who showcased his exemplary course management. When he did miss, he picked the right side. Advertisement His father, Billy Downes, works as the head golf professional at GreatHorse. He wore black sunglasses and a teal GreatHorse golf polo and observed his son's play from the fairways edge or behind the greens, keenly monitoring his son's every moment as his swing coach. 'It's really special to win at the place that he's a head pro at,' said Ryan. Billy Downes lauded his son's 7 a.m. workouts and unwavering passion for the game, honing his craft every day. At Longmeadow High, Ryan won back-to-back MIAA Division 1 championships, winning his second-consecutive title as a senior at a familiar venue – GreatHorse. 'You saw it at 2 or 3 years old when we put a plastic club in his hand,' said Billy. 'When the course was being built, he was hitting bunker shots at 5 or 6 years old. It's a passion. You can't teach the passion that he has for the game. ' You could throw him down in the short game area and he didn't want to come home,' Billy continued. 'I had to go get him when I was done with a shift.' Ryan remained confident during the championship match, staying in lockstep with his caddy. After he struck a stellar 7-iron over the trees from the left rough, sending it 207 yards on the par-4 fifth hole, Ryan offered a fist pump after two-putting for par and holding off a surge from Kilcoyne in the afternoon session of the 36-hole championship match. Advertisement It was a rare display for Downes, who remained cool as a cucumber. Downes proceeded to turn the screws with birdies on the seventh and eighth holes to go 7 up. On the 569-yard par-5 eighth, Downes striped his tee shot down the middle of the fairway. He walloped a fairway wood onto the center of the green, taming the lengthy, bunker-laden monster of a hole with a putt to within 2 feet. Downes understood the pin placement on the par-3 202-yard 12th hole equated to a probable up-and-down par. Downes dropped his tee shot on the fringe of the hole. He left himself a shoe-in par putt to cap the victory, fittingly, on the 12th. Kilcoyne, 21, of Belmont, who will be a senior on Gettysburg's golf team, had never won in match play at the MassAm— until this year. Seeded eighth in the field, Kilcoyne ripped off four victories to make the final. 'I'm really excited for next year,' said Kilcoyne, a member at Woodland Country Club in Newton. 'Just to make it this far into match play is huge for my confidence.' A two-time Globe All-Scholastic during his time at Belmont High, Kilcoyne made his presence felt with his booming drives. 'It's definitely bittersweet,' he said. '[You] lose today, but I'm proud of what I was able to do through the first four days.'
Boston Globe
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Patrick Kilcoyne and 2023 champion Ryan Downes reach Massachusetts Amateur final
Downes, the 18th seed, reached the semifinals by defeating Jake Ratti 6 and 5 in the quarterfinals. Downes is the youngest Mass Am champion in history, winning the 2023 title at Essex County Club when he was 17. Lenane, the No. 3 seed, advanced to the semifinals by defeating fellow George Wright member and 2006 champion Ben Spitz 3 and 1 in the quarterfinals. Kilcoyne, a two-time Globe All-Scholastic pick from Belmont who plays at Gettysburg College, defeated No. 13 Billy Walthouse of GreatHorse 3 and 2 in the morning quarterfinals before holding off Aiden Emmerich 2 and 1 in the semifinals. Advertisement Kilcoyne, the No. 8 seed who plays out of Woodland Golf Club, was 3-up after 11 holes but he bogeyed Nos. 14 and 15 to see his lead cut to 1-up. Kilcoyne clinched the match with a birdie on the par-4 17th.
Boston Globe
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Host GreatHorse well represented at 117th Massachusetts Amateur
Downes, who became the youngest Mass Am champion in history with his 2023 title at Essex County Club at just 17 years old and followed that up by winning the MIAA Division 1 title at GreatHorse, picked up 3 and 1 victories over Ben Balter and Reese Jensen to reach the quarterfinals. Walthouse is the 16th seed and Downes is 18th, putting them in opposite sides of the draw, keeping the possibility of an all-GreatHorse final in play for Sunday. Advertisement The morning saw the top two seeds bounced as Valois bounced medalist Matthew Johnson, 3 and 1. Jensen, who won the ISL title as a senior at Milton Academy and will be attending Harvard in the fall, knocked out GreatHorse member and defending champion Matthew Naumec, 1 up. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday morning with the semifinals in the afternoon before a 36-hole final on Friday. The winner will earn an exemption to next month's US Amateur. In the top half of the draw, Walthouse will face No. 8 Patrick Kilcoyne and No. 13 Aiden Emmerich gets No. 5 Trevor Drew. Downes faces No. 23 Jake Ratti and 2006 champion No. 11 Ben Spitz faces No. 3 Joey Lenane in the bottom half. Advertisement Keith Pearson can be reached at
Boston Globe
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Two straight 68s gives Matthew Johnson medalist honors at 117th Massachusetts Amateur at GreatHorse
'I obviously played well [Monday]. You're definitely thinking about trying to just keep it going,' said Johnson, who started Tuesday with birdies at Nos. 1 and 2. 'Hit a good drive on one, right down in front of the green, and then definitely got settled in after the chip shot. Hit like a really good little spinner up to a couple of feet for an easy birdie.' Advertisement Defending champion Matthew Naumec of GreatHorse and Joey Lenane of George Wright Golf Course and a rising senior at North Carolina State were tied with Johnson for the lead after the first day, but each carded 72s and will be the second and third seeds, respectively. A 10-for-8 playoff to fill out the 32-man match play bracket was suspended by weather shortly after it began. GreatHorse owner Guy Antonacci birdied the first hole to claim the first of those spots just before the horn sounded. The playoff will resume at 7 a.m. with the first round scheduled to start at 8 a.m. The round of 16 is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon with the quarterfinals and semifinals on Thursday before Friday's 36-hole final. The winner will receive an exemption to the US Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco next month. Advertisement Among the former champions to advance to match play was Ryan Downes, a rising sophomore at Vanderbilt whose father Billy is the head pro at GreatHorse, fired a 70 to finish stroke-play qualifying at 3 over. The Longmeadow High grad won the 2023 Mass Am at Essex County Club and then won the 2023 MIAA Division 1 title at GreatHorse on his 18th birthday. Downes's Vanderbilt teammate, John Broderick of Wellesley and Dedham Country & Polo Club, will be the fourth seed after a 73-69. Matt Parziale, the 2017 US Mid-Amateur and Mass Am champion, qualified for match play for a 13th straight year and is seeded 10th. Keith Pearson can be reached at
Boston Globe
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Defending champion Matthew Naumec right back in hunt for Mass Amateur title
After snagging the final spot in match play last year before rolling to the title, Naumec is trying to make his life easier this summer. He wrote five birdies on his card, including three on the first four holes, and finished with a tough par. Lenane, the 2023 New England Amateur champion and winner of the Mass Amateur Public Links last year, rolled in a 17-footer on the par-3 third hole to start well. He actually got to 5-under with a birdie on 15, but three-putted the 18th for bogey. 'I feel like my game's in a really good spot, and I just hit it really well off the tee and into the green, and gave myself a lot of looks,' said Lenane, who just finished his junior year at North Carolina State. Advertisement Johnson meanwhile found all 18 greens in regulation en route to his 68. 'It feels really good that everything kind of clicked on the same day,' Johnson said. 'Still got tomorrow before you move on, but it feels good to have a good first round and be able to build on that.' Advertisement One shot behind the leading trio is Trevor Drew (Long Meadow GC), the rising Western Kentucky sophomore who was bogey free through 12 holes. Recent Fordham graduate Jake Mrva (Worcester CC) rode the GreatHorse rollercoaster: bogeying three of the first six h holes, but rallying with a birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle stretch around the turn. He finished at 2-under 70. Two other former MassAm champions are in the top 10, with Matt Parziale (Thorny Lea GC) and Ben Spitz (George Wright) tied for ninth at even par. The second and final round of stroke play is Tuesday, and if there's a tie for the 32nd and final match play spot, there will be a sudden-death playoff after stroke play ends.
