GREENFIELD — Tradition says the defending champions at the Country Club of Greenfield’s Invitational Four-Ball earn the No. 1 seed in the Championship Flight of match play, regardless of their performance on Day 1 qualifying.
Holyokers Chris Ferriter and Joe Wilson certainly didn’t need the automatic bid on Thursday.
Last year’s champions earned medalist honors during qualifying-round action at the 74th Invitational, firing a 9-under round of 63 to top the field under bright and sunny skies.
“Having won last year, I think now we feel like we can be in the mix here,” said Ferriter, who plays out of The Orchards in South Hadley. “We played well today, but neither of us by any means feel it’ll ever be easy with the level of competition here.”
Ferriter and Wilson were 3-under through four holes, 5-under at the turn, and closed well with birdies on their final three holes of the round. They’ll be the No. 1 seed, and will open Round of 16 match-play action in the Championship Flight against 16th-seeded Joe Groth and Jared Goss (69) this afternoon at 1:12 p.m.
“When you can get the early holes at Greenfield, you definitely figure you have the opportunity to go out and do something low,” Ferriter said.
Ferriter and Wilson finished one shot ahead of No. 2 seeds Nate Burdick and Dave Kennedy, who showed their Four-Ball mettle with an impressive 8-under 64. The duo, which won titles together in 2013 and 2015, went on a birdie run on the back nine. Beginning on No. 10, Burdick and Kennedy rattled off five birdies over their next seven holes to snag a solo runner-up finish in qualifying.
“The only green we both missed was 14,” explained Kennedy. “We never talked about putting up a number; the objective is to just go out and get into the Championship (Flight) and then go from there.”
Burdick has been sidelined for the past two weeks with a back injury, but didn’t show much in the way of rust on Thursday. He rolled in a 30-foot birdie on No. 5, and added birdies on Nos. 8, 12, 13 and 15.
“The course was gettable today,” said Burdick. “There was the equation out there for low numbers. People are going to have to make birdies going forward to advance. And the one thing about this tournament is you can play good today but you can’t take that with you tomorrow.”
Scoring was indeed low, with 3-under 69 being the cut to get teams into the Championship Flight. Burdick and Kennedy will meet 15th-seeded Aaron Wheeler and Pat McGuire (69) in the Round of 16 today at 12:27 p.m.
CCG’s Chris Bourbeau and Garrett Cousineau were among three teams that finished in a tie for third place after shooting 7-under 65. Like Ferriter and Wilson, the tandem got off to a stellar start with three birdies in their first four holes. They were 5-under at the turn and added birdies on Nos. 11 and 12.
“We got off to a good start. That was definitely key,” Cousineau said. “Chris hit a lot of great shots today.”
Bourbeau, who has reached the semifinal round before with Cousineau in this event, said the pair balance each other nicely over the course of 18 holes.
“We’re good about reminding each other not to get lost in the moment,” he said. “If we have to keep each other in check sometimes, we know how to do it.”
Bourbeau and Cousineau earned the No. 5 seed and will play the 12th-seeded tandem of Dennis Booska and Brodie Conant (69) in the Round of 16 this afternoon at 12:45.
Playing together in the Invitational Four-Ball for the first time ever, Booska and Conant, who have seven titles combined under their belts, had three bogeys on their card during Thursday’s qualifying round. But an eagle on No. 7 helped spur the duo to a spot in the Round of 16.
It was Booska’s first appearance in the Four-Ball, which he has won five times, since 2014. When Conant’s old partner, Max Major, turned professional, he managed to wrangle his partner out of retirement.
“I’m not going to lie, that first tee shot was a little nerve-wracking,” said Booska, who last won this event in 2012. “We missed some shots on the front nine and were trying to get chances so I think we were pressing a bit.”
Conant was pleased with his new partner during their first round together, pointing to Booska’s wizardry on the putting green as something that hasn’t gone away from his game.
“He’s a gamer,” lauded Conant of Booska. “He’s never out of a hole.”
Brian Foley, a Four-Ball runner-up in 2017, teamed with new partner James Ryan to post a 7-under 65. The team is the No. 3 seed in the Round of 16 and will meet No. 14 Connor Piecuch and Jack Phelan (69) at 12:09.
Lee Albertson and Kevin Slyne also shot 65 and are seeded fourth. They’ll tangle with 13th-seeded Mike Johnson and Max Wolanske (68) at 12:54.
Four teams shot 6-under 66, including 2014 champions Cody Booska and KC Finley. Also shooting 66 were the teams of Jake Willis/Reece McLeod, Scott Martin/Jeff Walker and Jamie Crocker/Jason Kelton.
Tom Herzig and Matt Matroni shot 4-under 68, as did the team of David Donoghue and Sam Wolanske.
The Championship Flight will be whittled down to eight teams at the end of the day. Quarterfinals and semifinals are set for Saturday, with the finals on Sunday.