There’s unfinished business for Cody Booska at today’s 110th Massachusetts Amateur Golf Championship.
The 22-year old Turners Falls resident reached the quarterfinal round a year ago in his sixth career trip to the tournament. It was Booska’s second time reaching the match play portion of the Mass Am, and his furthest-ever march through the bracket at the prestigious event.
Fast forward a year and Booska leads the local contingent when the annual five-day event begins play today at William J. Devine (Dorchester) and George Wright (Hyde Park) Golf Courses near Boston. Today’s opening round will take place at Devine, before action shifts to George Wright on Tuesday for the second of two stroke play rounds. After those two days, the top 32 golfers will reach the single elimination match-play portion of the event. All match-play contests will be held at George Wright.
“It’s nice to look at it and say I want to get back to where I was, at least back to where I was last year, but with a tournament that is this long, you literally have to take it one day at a time,” explained Booska, who will tee off for his first round this morning at 8:03. “My main goal is to get back to match play again. That’s still really hard to do in a tournament with so many good players. We’ll see what happens.”
In last year’s tournament, Booska qualified for match play as the No. 16 seed in the field following the two days of stroke play. After a first-round win over Chris Francoeur, he upset top-seeded Steven DiLisio to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. His journey came to a close with a tight 2 and 1 loss to Billy Walthouse.
“To beat the No. 1 seed in that tournament, that in itself gave me a lot of confidence,” explained Booska, who plays out of the Country Club of Greenfield. “(DiLisio) beat everyone in qualifying and I beat him in match play so that shows anyone can beat anyone in that tournament. For confidence purposes, I realized I can hang with the top guys in Massachusetts.”
Entering today’s tournament, Booska said he’s hoping to get his summer rolling after what he called a slow start. He made a putter change for the first time in three years, but he said the different look has been successful thus far.
As for the courses he’ll be playing on, the rising senior at Johnson & Wales University in Miami has some experience, having played there in the 2015 MGA Four-Ball Championship with partner Troy Miller.
“I have a little experience there, but there were some things I’ve definitely forgotten about when I went back for a practice round,” he offered. “I do love the layouts of the courses. They both have really nice greens and for me, that’s a huge part. I’ve been feeling pretty confident with the putter.”
Booska’s summer slate picks up significantly with the start of today’s Mass Am. He’ll try to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Championship with qualifying on July 16 at Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown before playing in the New England Amateur July 17-20.
“I’m looking forward to the hefty schedule,” he said.
While Booska has the most experience in today’s event from the area, South Deerfield’s Jonathan Elkins is certainly someone who bears watching when he tees off at 12:37 p.m. The rising junior at Taft School in Watertown, Conn., Elkins punched his ticket for the Mass Am as the last man in the field at the qualifier held at Hickory Ridge Golf Club (Amherst) in June. Elkins shot 1-over 73 to earn one of 10 spots from that event into today’s tourney.
“I’ve been looking forward to this thing since I qualified for it,” explained Elkins, who will be making his Mass Am debut. “It’s the signature event of the Mass. Golf Association season. There are a lot of big names and some of the best players in the state. I’m looking to make some noise.”
Elkins, who competes out of Crumpin-Fox Club in Bernardston, played a round at George Wright last week in preparation, and he said the course, which will see all the tourney action with the exception of today’s opening round, sets up well for his game.
“They’ve put a lot of time and money into it and it’s in fantastic condition,” he offered of the course. “There are a couple blind shots, but the holes that are there for the taking really fit my eye. I’m hoping to put a couple solid rounds together and get into match play. Once you get into match play, anything can happen.”
Elkins is no stranger to match-play situations. He’s played in considerable matches during his prep school career, and feels comfortable in a potential one-on-one circumstance.
“I see myself as a pretty dangerous match-play competitor because of all the experience I have,” he explained. “I’ve learned a lot from matches over the years. I love being in that environment.”
Elkins said he’s hoping the Mass Am can help jumpstart his summer slate. He admittedly had a tough spring season with Taft after coming off a back injury, saying his winter rehab carried over a little longer into the school season than he would have liked.
“I’m trying to find my form a little bit right now,” he admitted. “I’ve posted a lot of scores that I think could’ve been lower but I’m hoping I can put things together and continue on with my summer in a positive way.”
Elkins qualified for the New England Amateur but said he will forgo that event, instead choosing to play in the Junior Golf Hub Championship at the Country Club of Halifax. Then it’s off to the Ouimet Memorial Tournament at the end of July, and a trip across the pond to participate in the Kerry Cup in Waterville, Ireland, before focusing in on the Massachusetts Junior Amateur in Belmont in August.
Before all those competitions however, Elkins hopes the opening round is the start of a big summer on the links.
“I don’t think I’ll be too uncomfortable,” he said of the atmosphere at the Mass Am. “I’ve played in some big events. And there are going to be plenty of places for me to compete and make some moves.”
Amherst’s Ron Laverdiere, who also plays out of Crumpin-Fox Club, tees off today at 1:10 p.m. Laverdiere, who finished second overall with a 4-under 68 in the qualifier at Hickory Ridge, shot a two-day total of 156 at last year’s Mass Am to finish in a tie for 91st place.
Defending champion Matt Parziale, playing out of Thorny Lea Golf Club in Brockton, tees off at 8:36 a.m. Parziale, who defeated Matt Cowgill in the 2017 championship match, has become a bit of a national celebrity after appearances at The Masters in April and last month’s U.S. Open. He was the low amateur at the U.S. Open.