GREENFIELD — There’s never a dull moment in the Invitational Four-Ball.
The finals of the Championship Flight in the 74th annual event on Sunday at the Country Club of Greenfield had it all. After momentum shifted sharply against his team on No. 17, Dave Donoghue and partner Sam Wolanske were hustled off the course with their match against fifth-seeded Chris Bourbeau and Garrett Cousineau suddenly all-square with just one hole remaining.
Mother Nature made her presence felt in Sunday’s final, delaying play nearly 30 minutes with one impressive downpour that sent fans in attendance scrambling for cover and had both teams deep in thought with the title up for grabs. Donoghue rose to the occasion, drilling a birdie putt on No. 18 when play resumed to give he and Wolanske a 1-up victory and the 2019 title at the historic event.
“It felt awesome,” explained Donoghue of draining the tournament-clinching birdie. “Honestly, I owed it to (Wolanske). I kind of killed our momentum on 12 with a three-putt. (No. 18) was my first birdie of the day so I had to get that one for him.”
Minutes earlier, the final was very much in doubt. As the skies darkened and clouds rolled in over CCG, Bourbeau and Cousineau walked onto the 17th green — home to many a dramatic moment in this tournament over the years — down by one hole. With the rain beginning to fall, Bourbeau pulled his team back all-square thanks to a 20-foot birdie from the back corner of the green that elicited a celebratory yell and fist pump.
“He made an awesome putt,” Donoghue said of Bourbeau’s birdie.
The cheer was short-lived however, as CCG professional Kevin Piecuch informed the caravan of golf carts that play was being suspended due to inclement weather.
“Maybe the rain kind of helped us because it slowed their momentum a little bit,” said Donoghue. “I don’t know but it was pretty cool. It was a great putt.”
Both teams tried to dry off and refocus during the brief delay, the championship now at the mercy of Mother Nature.
“[We talked about] how we were going to come down and win it on 18,” said Wolanske of time spent during the delay. “That was pretty much the only thing we said was going to happen.”
Late-round heroics aside, the shot of the final came on the par 5 14th. In good position along the right side of the fairway, Wolanske decided to take a chance and attack the green with his second shot. He got all of it, dropping the approach to about 12 feet. He sank the eagle putt that followed, regaining a 1-up advantage after Bourbeau and Cousineau had won the previous two holes to pull the match all-square.
The teams halved Nos. 15 and 16 with pars, setting up Bourbeau’s big roller on 17. On the 18th hole, Donoghue put the pressure on with his approach and sealed the deal with his timely birdie.
“He called it coming out of 18,” Wolanske said of Donoghue. “He said he was going to hit this birdie to win.”
“It was great,” Donoghue said. “I can’t even describe it.”
The win capped a wild four days for Donoghue and Wolanske. The duo had never met before Thursday’s opening day of competition, but they went out and shot a qualifying round of 4-under 68 to earn the No. 11 seed in the Championship Flight. Donoghue, a Greenfield native who graduated from GHS in 2005, and Wolanske then snagged wins over No. 6 Scott Martin/Jeff Walker and third-seeded Brian Foley/James Ryan to earn a spot in the semifinal round. There, they beat former champions Dave Kennedy and Nate Burdick, punching a ticket to Sunday’s final.
“We learned how each other plays after Day 1 and we made it very easy for each other,” Wolanske said. “We played well and played to each others’ strengths.”
The Wolanske name was already prominently featured on the Invitational board at CCG. Nine years ago, Sam’s father Max won the Four-Ball title with partner Mike Johnson, and now Sam, who lives in Texas, will join his dad as a champion. It was a big performance for the family as Max Wolanske and Johnson also won the First Flight Consolation final on Sunday.
“My dad won it nine years ago so it’s nice coming back here and getting another Wolanske on the board,” he offered. “Coming out and getting your name on the board in general is something that means a lot and goes a long way. Now we have to be back next year. It’s kind of a haul (from Texas) but it’s well worth it for stuff like this.”
It was another deep run in the Invitational for Bourbeau, a Turners Falls High School alum, and Cousineau, who graduated from Mohawk Trail. The CCG members became the first team in the past two tournaments to defeat Holyokers Chris Ferriter and Joe Wilson when they ended the defending champions’ reign in the semifinal round on Saturday. Bourbeau and Cousineau opened Round of 16 action with a win over Dennis Booska and Brodie Conant before upending Lee Albertson and Kevin Slyne in the quarterfinal round.
Foley and Ryan edged Albertson and Slyne for a 1-up victory in the Consolation Final on Sunday.