North Shore Golf Summer 2021 web

22 >>> SUMMER 2021
Chris Francoeur
watches the flight
of a chip shot in
his state amateur
semifinal match
at Brae Burn
against Michael
Thorbjornsen.
PHOTO: DAVID COLT/
MASS GOLF
Francoeur's quest for a state title ends in semifinals
BY ANNE MARIE TOBIN
Chris Francoeur’s ride in the 113th
Massachusetts Amateur came to an end July
16, losing in the semifinals 3 & 2 to former
U.S. Junior Boys champion and No. 2 seed
Michael Thorbjornsen (Wellesley CC). The
championship was hosted by Brae Burn
Country Club in West Newton.
Thorbjornsen went on to win the 36-hole
Mass Amateur Championship the next day
in impressive fashion, 8 & 6, against Matt
Parziale (Thorny Lea), a former U.S. Mid-
Amateur and Mass state amateur champion.
Thorbjornsen opened up a giant lead early
by making birdie on 12 of the first 16 holes,
including his first five of the match, to
finish with 6-up through the first 18 holes.
Though Parziale shot 5-under-par through
the first 18, Thorbjornsen shot a course
record 62 to build a commanding 6-up lead
at the break.
Against Thorbjornsen in the semifinals,
Francoeur was 2 down at the turn. Both
birdied the par-5 10th, then Francouer
birdied the par-4 11th to cut the deficit to
one. After play was suspended for a short
time, Thorbjornsen closed out the match
with birdies on the 14th and 16th holes.
In the quarterfinal match, Francoeur was
1-up at the turn over No. 11 seed
Weston Jones (Charter Oak CC). He
bumped the lead to 2-up with a birdie on
the par-3 12th and eagle on the par-5 14th
sandwiched around Jones’ birdie on the par-
4 13th. Jones sliced the deficit to one with
a birdie on the par-4 15th but that was as
close as he came.
“I didn’t get to the end result, but I played
well,” Francoeur, a member at Amesbury
Golf and Country Club, said. “I really
started to putt well. It feels good, and will
use this as momentum going into the rest of
the events for the summer.”
Francoeur, a graduate of St. John’s Prep and
the University of Rhode Island, will take his
talents to the University of Louisville this
fall for a fifth year as he pursues a graduate
degree.
Francoeur had qualified for the tournament
easily with an even-par 144 on rounds of 74
and 70, earning the No. 14 seed. In the first
round against Ryan Downes (GreatHorse),
Francoeur jumped out to a hot start with a
5-under 30 on the front nine and closed out
the match with back-to-back eagles on 10
and 11 to coast to an 8 & 7 win. Francoeur
remained hot in the round of 16, recording
five birdies in a 2-up win over Kyle Tibbetts
(Framingham).
Christian Emmerich (Kernwood CC)
started slowly with a 2-over 74 in the first
round, but rallied with a 67 to grab the
No. 6 seed. He eked out a 19-hole win over
Sean Fitzpatrick (George Wright GC)
in round one, clinching the match with a
birdie. Emmerich lost in the round of 16 to
Jones, 2 & 1.
Peabody’s George Zolotas (Tedesco) had
a hot hand on day one, playing the first six
holes in 6-under. He ended up at 68, tied
with Andy Luther for low round. After
posting 79 in round two, Zolotas survived
a sudden-death playoff to make the cut
only to lose 2-down to Ricky Stimets
(Worcester) in the round of 32.
Boxford resident Frank Vana, Jr.
(Marlborough CC), a two-time champion,
qualified with 146 (71-75). The No. 24
seed, Vana defeated Jonathan Hill (Granite
Links) in round one, 3 & 2, but was
eliminated in the round of 16 by Parziale 5
& 4.
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
At the June 7 Mass Amateur qualifier
at Tedesco June 7, Mark Turner (Bass
Rocks) shot the only subpar round to earn
medalist honors with a 1-under 69. Joe
Cunningham (Essex), Brad Tufts (Tedesco),
John Gilmartin (Indian Ridge), Joseph
Iacona (Vesper), Tedesco’s Hunter Stone
and Zolotas, Jake Peer (Winchester), Zack
Ungvarsky (Bradford), Church Waesche
(The Meadow at Peabody) all qualified.
Ryan Connelly (Salem) and Roger Tufts
(Tedesco) were alternates.
At Vesper CC on June 21, Mac Lee
(Andover) tied for medalist honors, a
1-under 71. Ryan Daly, Jonathan Scano
(Vesper) and James Robbins (Renaissance)
also qualified. Alec Hurd (Bass Rocks)
qualified at Wellesley CC June 10.