In order to be successful in a 2-Ball golf tournament, competitors must compliment each other as each. Franklin County Technical School found just the right formula on Thursday.
Mike McGoldrick and Nate Pelletier played well together during Thursday’s PVIAC Championshps at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Feeding Hills and the duo tied for sixth place overall in the field of 27 teams with a 75.
Each team chose two golfers to compete in the tournament and the Eagles’ twosome got off to a fast start, shooting a 36 on the front nine, which was tied for the third-best score of the day. McGoldrick had two birdies at the end of that set, as he hit a 10-foot putt on the par-3 eighth, and followed that up by chipping in from 75 yards out on the par-4 ninth.
The two golfers combined to shoot a 39 on the back nine, which gave them the 75. Both players admitted to leaving some shots on the course on the day, but overall, each was happy with their play.
“Nate and me made a great team,” McGoldrick said. “We work together a lot, get along pretty good, and are good buddies. Usually, when one of us is playing bad, the other person picks the other up. … I think we did pretty good for playing against kids from Division 1 and Division 2.”
Pelletier said that playing with McGoldrick, as well as being paired with the two players from Minnechaug, helped produce a quality score.
“We definitely have a little competition between ourselves, and when you compete against someone who you know is good, it makes you better,” he explained. “And playing with Minnechaug, that really helped to play against a good team. The competition was there.”
Monson won the championship with a 70, while Southwick and Minnechaug tied for second with a 72. Greenfield’s duo of Ryan Cote and Gabe Larouche took 13th with an 81 as they shot a 40 on the front and a 41 on the back, and Frontier’s Mikey Corduff and Bryan Baumann tied for 15th as they shot 41 on both the front and back nine to finish with an 82. Mahar’s Tucker Ninteau and Andrew Finch tied for 22nd with a 90.
Greenfield 21, Easthampton 3 — After playing in the PVIAC Championships in the morning, Ryan Cote showed up in the afternoon and fired a 35 to take 3½ points and Greenfield knocked off Easthampton, 21-3 at the Country Club of Greenfield.
Hunter Roberts shot a 43 and took three points at No. 3, and Cam Baird and Danny Provost each shot 50 at No. 5 and No. 6 and swept four points. Gabe Larouche, who also played in the morning, shot a 51 at No. 2 and took three points, and Jake Cote shot a 53 at No. 4 and took 3½ points.