GREENFIELD — After Thursday’s qualifying round, the 80th Invitational Four Ball at Country Club of Greenfield heated up on Friday during the opening round of match play.
Despite earning an automatic spot in the Championship Division as the 2024 champions, Sam Wolanske and Dave Donoghue still fired a 4-under 68 on Thursday to get in a rhythm before match play.
The defending champs looked the part on Friday as the top seed, taking on 16th-seeded Jeff Robidoux and Robbie Haigh. Wolanske and Donoghue went 2-up after nine, went 3-up on 12 and closed things out by taking No. 15 to go up 4-up and close out the match to advance to the quarterfinals.
Donoghue and Wolanske won the title in 2019 but the following year fell to Robidoux in match play. They were determined to not let that happen a second time.
“Jeff got us last time we won it in the first round so that was in the back of the mind,” Wolanske said. “We played well.”
Having won the tournament before, the duo understand how hard it is to come out victorious. They are taking it one round at a time and started on the right foot Friday.
“There’s always pressure,” Donoghue said. “You never want to lose early as the No. 1 seed. Now we’re back in the rhythm.”
Donoghue and Wolanske are seeking other become just the fifth pair in the 80 years of the tournament to win it three times together. If they play the way they’ve been playing, they have a great shot of doing that.
“It’s a really good group and there’s a lot of really good teams that have done it,” Wolanske said. “It’d be awesome to add our name to that one. If we keep playing our game we can make a run for it.”
The quarterfinals and the semifinals will take place on Saturday, with Wolanske and Donoghue facing off with ninth-seeded Sam Conant and Will Conant, that duo taking down Joe Wilson and Ryan Ferriter, 2 and 1, on Friday. That match is scheduled for 7 a.m. Saturday.
“We just have to play some good golf these next few days,” Donoghue said. “We have a double round tomorrow so we just have to keep shooting good scores and catch some breaks. That’s what it usually takes.”
No matter how it goes on Saturday, the Invitational Four Ball is an event Donoghue and Wolanske say they look forward to competing in every year.
“There’s such an amazing history at this event,” Donoghue said. “It’s fun to come back every year and be part of it.”
What makes this tournament so hard to win? The match play format is one where upsets can happen to anyone and that was true on Friday.
Chris Shover and Cliff Osborne entered Friday as the No. 15 seed and had to match up against second-seeded Andy Lesenski and Justin McCloud, Lesenski and McCloud shooting a tournament best 7-under on Thursday.
“We were just hoping to get past 15 and on the other side of the tracks,” Shover said.
Despite being the heavy underdogs, Shover and Osborne were down just two after nine holes on the back nine. They fought back on the front nine, tying things up on No. 5 but Lesenski and McCloud regained the lead on No. 6.
Shover and Osborne tied things up on No. 8 to force a playoff on No. 10. Despite a tough start, Osborne parred No. 10 to force a second playoff hole, one they won to pull off the upset and advance to the quarterfinals.
“We were out of position big time off the tee on No. 10,” Shover said. “I was over on 11 between the trees and Osborne was between the trees. I duck hooked one and was out of the hole and Osborne had his third shot just hang up on the fringe and he rolled in a 20-footer for par. [Lesenski] had 40 yards, chipped it and put it in the bunker. Justin made the par so we went to 11. They both bogeyed and I parred.”
The win embodied the rollercoaster that is match play, one where you can lose despite shooting a good round like Lesenski and McCloud did.
“It feels awesome,” Shover said. “I don’t think anybody in the clubhouse thought we would win. I bet the odds were pretty big against us. I know anybody can win any day. That’s match play. I wouldn’t say they played bad. They shot a 67.”
“We just hit the right shots at the right time,” Osborne added.
Shover and Osborne will take on No. 7 Chris Bourbeau and Cody Booska, that pair taking down No. 10 Jacob Willis and Reece McLeod, 3 and 1. That match will tee off at 7:16 a.m. Saturday.
“We have to lock back in and stay focused,” Shover said. “That’s all we can do.”
Dave Kennedy and Nate Burdick have won the tournament twice together and as the No. 5 seed on Friday, took down No. 12 Dan Lapierre and Joe Groth, 3 and 2. Kennedy and Burdick will face No. 13 Benjamin Westerman and Tyler Boissonneault on Saturday, Westerman and Boissonneault upsetting No. 4 Andrew Loney and Justin Larock, 1 up, on Friday. That match is set for 7:08 a.m. Saturday.
Third-seeded Jarrod Goss and Michael Regan will play in the final quarterfinal match on Friday after beating 14th-seeded Clint McCloud and Wally Fitzpatrick, 4 and 3, on Friday. Goss and Regan will take on the 2020 and 2021 champion duo of Paul DeNofrio and Matt Grayson, DeNofrio and Grayson — the No. 11 seed — beating No. 6 Chris Varilly and Steve Jones 2 and 1 on Friday.
That quarterfinal match will tee off at 7:24 a.m. Saturday.