Bryant Hall of Famer Thresher wins Massachusetts Open
Recap courtesy of MassGolf.org
HAMPDEN, Massachusetts – Bryant University men's golf alum Jason Thresher recorded a final-round 2-under par 70 Wednesday at GreatHorse to win his third straight Massachusetts Open Championship title.
Thresher, who carded an 11-under par 205 for the tournament, becomes only the fifth competitor in the 109-year history of the event to win three straight tournaments. The only other competitors to accomplish that feat dating back to 1905 were Dana Quigley(1982-84), Paul Harney (1967-1970), Harold McSpaden (1936-38) and Alex Ross (1906-10).
"Leading up to this week I was thinking about how many people have three-peated," said Thresher. "And now I am just thinking about the year before I first won and that if I had made a few more putts that year it would be four right now."
It is not surprising that Thresher was contemplating how difficult it is to win this title so quickly after signing his scorecard. After all, he had just endured more than four hours of a grueling and pressure-full round in order to secure his third title.
"This one was a lot different than the other two," said Thresher, who entered the final round with a two-stroke lead over John Stoltz of Middletown, New York. "I fell behind on the back nine and definitely felt the pressure."
Pressure was firmly applied all day long by a charging Evan Harmeling who posted the low round of the day – a 7-under par 65. Through the first nine holes on Wednesday, Thresher was 1-over par. Harmeling, meanwhile, was changing the entire complexion of the event by posting a score of 5-under par 31 on the front nine, which included an eagle on the 532-yard, par 5 8th hole.
"At the turn I asked what the scores were and I was surprised that I was tied at the time and I felt the pressure on the back nine," said Thresher. "I didn't get off to a great start. I wasn't hitting it that well and then on the last six holes I started to hit it well."
Harmeling made birdie on 382-yard, par 4 10th hole to pull even with Thresher at 10-under par. After making 10 straight pars beginning on the 2nd hole, Thresher finally found the red with birdies on the 12th and then 15th holes – both par 3s – to reclaim a one-stroke lead.
The two players remained deadlocked until the 17th hole where Harmeling – playing in the group just ahead of Thresher – dropped his fifth birdie putt of the day to the excitement of the crowd.
"I saw Jason stuff it in there on 15 and had a sense that I had to make one or two more coming in," said Harmeling, who attended Phillips Academy in Andover and currently resides in Burlington, Vermont. "I hit a couple of good shots. I had a 2 iron and gap wedge to about 12 feet. It was the best putt of the day really. My line was going end over end there so it was nice to look up and see that. It's always nice."
Thresher responded with his approach on that 383-yard, par 4 17th hole which set him up for a seven-foot birdie to regain a one-stroke lead.
"I heard the applause, but I didn't know for certain if that was for a birdie or saving par or something else," said Thresher, who was standing in the 17th fairway when Harmeling made his birdie. "But I left myself with a good yardage there. For some reason I had a lot of pitching wedges today so I hit that club four or five times during the round so it was a real comfortable shot."
Then, with Harmeling watching from a perch just above the 18th green, Thresher – from a side-hill lie – landed his approach to four feet to set up a victory-clinching par on the final hole.
"The first one was huge for my career," said Thresher. "This one is great. I haven't been back in New England for a long time. I am going to be back for the entire summer which will be great. This is a great way to kick off the summer and enjoy New England life again."
To learn more about Mass Golf, visit MassGolf.org and follow Mass Golf on Twitter.
Follow Bryant Men's Golf on Twitter for an inside look at the program.