After breaking through to win the event for the first time in his career last year, Brodie Conant knows how difficult it is to successfully navigate the treacherous waters that make up the Invitational Four-Ball at the Country Club of Greenfield.
Along with first-time partner Max Major, the duo won four difficult match-play contests, ultimately standing alone as the final pair in the Championship Flight when all was said and done. Fast-forward a year, and the 72nd edition of the prestigious event — one of the biggest and last of its kind in the region — kicks off on Thursday morning when the first groups tee off at 7 a.m. with 18-hole stroke play qualifying. The event runs through Sunday
“The four-ball is kind of a funny thing,” began Conant of the host club, who along with Major, playing out of Rutland (Vt.) Country Club, will be the top-seeded team as defending champs in the Championship Flight when match-play begins on Friday. “You can play great golf and still get beat. It happens every year. We were fortunate enough last year in that we survived four really tough matches. We got a few breaks, made some big chip-ins. Anything can happen and anybody can beat anybody regardless of seed. That’s what makes it great.”
Conant and Major tee off at 12:06 p.m. Thursday in what is essentially a practice round for the duo. Regardless of their finish in the first round, they’ll still be the No. 1 seed when match-play begins on Friday. The rest of the twosomes will look to go low on Thursday in hopes of compiling the rest of the 16-team Championship Flight.
“Qualifying last year was extremely difficult,” recalled Conant, as he and Major shot 68 and got into the main draw right on the cut number. “Obviously being the No. 1 seed takes a lot of pressure off. We’ll go off and try to play well but our tournament really begins on Friday.”
While Conant and Major enter as the latest champs in the event that dates back to when Carl Reed and John King won the inaugural title in 1946, they will most certainly have their hands full with a number of talented teams if they want to try and defend their title.
Many in the field point to the tandem of Cody Booska and KC Finley, the 2014 champs, as favorites to get their names on the wall this week. Booska has enjoyed a breakout summer, reaching the quarterfinals of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship earlier this month, while adding a top 25 finish at the New England Amateur. He also won the club championship at the Country Club by nine shots. The tandem reached the finals a year ago, falling to Conant and Major, 3 and 1, in the championship.
“I get that there’s a bit of pressure and understand that we’re probably one of the favorites, but it is what it is. We all still have to go out and play golf,” explained Booska, who tees off with Finley on Thursday at 11:03 a.m. “Anything can happen in this format. But I will say that I would love to somehow meet up with Brodie and Max again for a rematch from last year.”
Many eyes will be on the Finley-Booska tandem, as they boast not only strong recent results, but a solid pedigree historically along with deep knowledge of the course. Finley has won the title twice, as he also teamed with Cody’s dad, Dennis, to win the 2012 edition. Finley tied for fourth place at the club championship earlier this month.
“Cody has taken his game to another level in the last 12 months,” offered four-ball veteran Nate Burdick, who will play once again with partner Dave Kennedy. The pair won the 2015 and 2013 championships. “He’s a young man who has the desire and the drive and the talent.
“And oh, by the way, his partner is KC Finley,” he continued of the eight-time CCG club champ. “And he’ll quite possibly go down as greatest player in the history of the Country Club of Greenfield. As good as Cody is right now, KC is the second-best player on his team. But he’s also probably the second-best player in the entire field.”
Conant echoed Burdick’s sentiments on the Finley-Booska tandem.
“No question, Cody has been as hot as anybody,” he commented. “And KC, historically, is one of the best players ever there. They’re a team that obviously will make a run.”
Burdick and Kennedy will likely have a say in the matter before all is said and done. The pair, both of the host club, enter with solid results of late. Kennedy, a five-time winner of the Invitational, was the runner-up at the club championship behind Booska, while Burdick qualified and played in the New England Am. The pair tee off at 10:54 a.m. Thursday.
“For myself and Dave, we’ve played together for four years now and have been able to be competitive,” Burdick said. “There was a point in time where Dave and I were the young guys out here and now we’re kind of the older guys. We have to rely on experience and knowing the golf course. Dave’s been one of the best players at the club for years so I just try to help him out the best that I can.”
Two players who also performed well at the club championship are teamed together, as Mike Johnson and Don Foberg tee off at 11:21 a.m. Thursday. Johnson was third at the club championship behind Booska and Kennedy, while Foberg tied with Finley for fourth place. Johnson won the four-ball title in 2010 with partner Max Wolanske, while Foberg is a three-time winner (2002, ‘03, ‘09) with Kennedy as his partner.
Crumpin Fox Club’s Troy Miller and Scott Serwa is another pairing that should be in the hunt. Last year’s semifinalists, Miller and Serwa shared medalist honors with a 10-under 62 and won a pair of matches before falling to Conant and Major, 2 and 1. The duo tees off Thursday at 11:03 a.m.
Another team to keep an eye on is the pairing of Greenfield native Paul Denofrio and Matt Grayson, which tee off at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. Denofrio was a quarterfinalist last year with partner Ron Laverdiere.
Local teams have claimed the title each of the past eight years, with the last non-local team winning the event coming in 2008 in the form of 17-year olds Jake Skole (Longmeadow) and Dan Fanion (Westfield).
While he and Finley are considered favorites this week, Booska, who competed in the U.S. Amateur qualifier on Tuesday at Crestview Country Club in Agawam, said just playing in this event is special. He once again chose to forgo participating in the 50th Edition of Ouimet Memorial Tournament to take to the local track with his fellow members and friends.
“This tournament has meant a lot to me for as long as I can remember,” began Booska, who will play in the Invitational for the fifth time. “I remember growing up watching my dad play in it. I just loved watching him play and knowing I could grow up and get out there and play with those guys one day.”
Count Burdick as another in a long line of Four-Ball boosters.
“The best part for me now is just being able to be with the people and the friends,” he explained. “There’s 180 guys in the field. It’s the only four-ball left in Western Mass. that is still supported by so many people. And it’s a great way to honor (former CCG pro) Bucky O’Brien, who was such a great part of this tournament for 40-something years. It’s about carrying out the tradition.”
After Thursday’s qualifying round, the Round of 16 matches in the Championship Flight will take place on Friday. Quarterfinals and semifinals are slated for Saturday, with an 18-hole championship match set for Sunday.
For Thursday’s tee times and past champions of the Invitational Four-Ball, check Page D2.