Easy does it for Broome
He cleans up at N.E. Amateur
Matt Broome had visions of shooting another round of 66, but Mother Nature saw to it that he didn't have to.
With torrential rain washing out the third round, Broome's Tuesday effort proved good enough to squeeze out a one-stroke victory in the New England Amateur at Charles River CC. "It's not the way I wanted to do it," Broome, of Barrington, R.I., said yesterday. "I would rather have gone out there for another 18 to shoot 66, but it's not the way it played out."
Having gotten to 3-under 137, Broome was at home early yesterday morning as half the field returned to Charles River to complete their second rounds. At one point, Broome's good friend from Barrington, David McAndrew, pushed to 4 under and into the lead, but he failed to birdie either of the par 5s coming home, Nos. 15 and 16, then double-bogeyed the par-3 17th to shoot 71. It left McAndrew and first-round leader Keegan Fennessy (72) tied for second at 138, which is where they remained.
"I felt bad for David, but he was the first one to shake my hand, just as I was the first one to shake his hand last week," said Broome, a sophomore at Furman. It was a reference to the semifinals of the Rhode Island State Amateur in which McAndrew beat Broome before going on to win the title.
Last year's champion, Cody Paladino of Kensington, Conn., shot 72 - 139 to share third with Evan Beirne of New Haven (68) and Cody Larson of Castleton, Vt. (72). The top Massachusetts finishers were Larry Rentz of Hingham and Brian Higgins of Franklin, tied for ninth at 142.
WGAM Championship - This morning's state amateur final at Salem CC will come down to a woman who was introduced to competitive golf just one year ago (Pam Kuong) and one whose résumé is lengthy and impressive (Marion McInerney).
"I'm thrilled to have the chance to play her," said Kuong of McInerney, the 1987 state amateur champion and 1992 US Women's Mid-Amateur winner. "Either way, I know Charles River will claim the winner." Kuong, who won a back-and-forth affair with Tara Joy Connolly, 1 up, in yesterday's semifinal, is a member at Charles River, where McInerney belonged for years. McInerney earned her spot in today's final with a 4-and-3 decision over Kerri Connolly.
AJGA -They waited and waited, but officials had to cancel the third and final round of the Fidelity Investments Junior Classic at the Bay Club at Mattapoisett. Second-round leader Blake Morris (70-69 - 139) of Waterbury, Conn., was declared the winner over Kramer Hickok (70-71 - 141) of Plano, Texas. In a battle of California girls, Olivia Chang of San Lorenzo (73-71 - 144) prevailed by three over Joy Kim (73-74 - 147) of Pinole.
US Girls' Junior - Torrential rain forced postponement of second-round matches at Hartford GC in Connecticut. Officials will try again today, with 16 matches scheduled.
US Junior Amateur - Richard Werenski of South Hadley was 2 up through 14 before David Persons of El Paso birdied three straight holes to earn a 1-up victory in the second round of match play at Shoal Creek CC in Shoal Creek, Ala.
