It’s officially fall in Franklin County, which means the 23rd Annual Franklin Cup is set for competition this weekend.
The annual Ryder Cup-style event pits the Country Club of Greenfield against Crumpin-Fox Club, and this year’s tournament will be played at CCG on Saturday and Sunday.
Match play begins on Saturday morning when golfers will compete in a four-ball format, followed by afternoon foursomes (alternate shot). Sunday features 12 singles matches to close out the event, with 24 points up for grabs in total.
CCG leads the all-time series 13-8-1, including a rare road victory in last year’s event at Crumpin-Fox. Tied going into Sunday singles, Greenfield won seven of the 12 matches to score a tight 13-11 victory — the club’s third in a row. CFC’s last win came back in 2019 on home soil.
Host CCG boasts the more experienced side in this year’s event, buoyed by veteran Dave Kennedy who has played in every single Franklin Cup dating back to its founding in 2000. Kennedy has scored the most points in tournament history, boasting an impressive 34-19-7 all-time record.
Club champion Andy Lesenski will serve as captain for this year’s team, and he’ll be making his ninth appearance in the event — sixth as a CCG member. He’s 15-7 all time in the tournament between stints with both clubs.
While Kennedy leads the way in terms of experience, Nate Burdick isn’t far behind, as he’ll be competing in his 20th Franklin Cup this weekend. Burdick has a 32-19-3 mark in his tourney tenure.
Other vets for the home club include Jason Kelton (8th appearance), Wil Conant (8th), Jake Willis (5th) and Scott Cote (4th). Steve Jones and Tom Herzig also bring Cup experience to the roster, while rookies Clint McCloud, Mike Duclos Jr. and Sam Clarke all look to make their mark immediately in the rivalry. Willis has lost just once in 12 career matches (8-1-3).
The visitors from Bernardston are led into the weekend by captain Keith Burch, who won the club championship at CFC earlier this month via a wire-to-wire victory. It was the second club title in three years for Burch, who also won in 2020, and he’ll be making his 14th appearance in the Franklin Cup (19-11-3 record).
Championship runner-up Justin Dion, who was just two strokes back of Burch in early September, is also on the roster and will be competing in his ninth Cup. Veteran Mark Waskiewicz is making his 10th appearance here as a CFC member (18-7-2 record), while Dave Donoghue (9th), Chris Stoddard (7th) and Brett Barnes (5th) are other seasoned pros in this format.
Rounding out the roster for the Foxes are John Parsons (2nd appearance), Seth Rosenbloom (2nd), Bob Bergeron (3rd), Michael O’Connell (rookie), Brendan Creagh (3rd) and Tim Brandl (2nd).
Temperatures should be comfortable for the weekend festivities, with just a slight chance of rain. The tournament marks the unofficial end to the Franklin County tournament season.