As players in the New England Region of the NCCGA rolled out of their beds on Saturday, April 12th, they saw something different when they opened their window shades. They saw the sun.
For the first time in what has seemed years of playing in the NCCGA, the New England Region had an incredible forecast for the weekend’s weather. 70 and sunny…both days. The tournament began at Shining Rock Golf Club in Northbridge, Massachusetts, voted as a top 5 course in the state of Massachusetts. Extreme elevation change and long distances between holes prompted competition to be played from the blue tees. The course played at a rating of 71.7, with a slope of 133. Fast, sloping greens made the course a beast, rewarding those who hit the most precise shots off the tees and into the greens.
This weekend’s tournament consisted of four teams: Boston College, Boston College B-team, Central Connecticut State University, and Southern Connecticut State University. The field also had four individuals playing from Holy Cross, as well as one individual player from Vassar College.
After one day of play at Shining Rock with tee times beginning at 12:00 PM, the spectrum of scores was quite high. New England Regional #1 medalist Andrew Hansen, of Boston College, was tied with Vassar College’s Niccolo Porcello after day one with scores of 75. Scores at the latter half of the field actually reached the mid 110’s, displaying the true difficulty Shining Rock presented to the players. Other notable scores were Mitchell Stevens of CCSU, who turned in a 77, and Boston College’s Stephen Pfeffer and Todd Havill who scored a 78 and 79, respectively. Boston College was leading by 24 shots aggregately after day one.
After another day of fabulous weather and a shotgun at 8:00 AM, everyone came into the clubhouse and the mod was tense. Rumors of low scores from CCSU made Boston College, who came into the second regional as the National Championship points leader, slightly worrisome. However, Boston College finished round two strongly. Scores from Boston College’s Stephen Pfeffer (78), Todd Havill (79), and New England Regional Coordinator Conor McCormack (79), separated Boston College from the rest of the pack. The medalist race came down to the wire, but the trophy was eventually handed to Boston College’s Andrew Hansen with scores of 75 and 80, making him the medalist of both regional tournaments in the Spring season. Niccolo Porcello finished with a second round score of 84.
Boston College was crowned the eventual champion of New England Regional #2, beating Central Connecticut State University by 43 shots total. With their second win of the Spring season, Boston College has booked their first trip to the NCCGA National Championship since the Fall of 2012.
The NCCGA New England Region sends our deepest thanks to the staff of Shining Rock Golf Club. Their gracious hospitality and support was second to none. They made the job of Regional Coordinator Conor McCormack even more enjoyable than it already is. The NCCGA will absolutely be returning to Shining Rock in the future.
***John McBride is the NCCGA New England Regional Coordinator. Hit him up on Twitter @NCCGANewEngland.
