{"id":693,"date":"2025-07-11T05:35:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T05:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/693\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T05:35:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T05:35:03","slug":"117th-mass-amateur-a-home-arena-final-for-goliath-awaits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/693\/","title":{"rendered":"117th Mass Amateur: A Home Arena Final For Goliath Awaits"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Richard Rapp
rrapp@massgolf.org<\/p>\n

HAMPDEN, Massachusetts (July 10, 2025) \u2013 On the 11th hole of his morning match, Ryan Downes (GreatHorse) was in a spot of bother. True, he was 5 up, but his driving iron from the fairway had ricocheted off a tree and caromed dead right into the fescue of an adjacent hole. As Downes eyed the shot at hand, his caddy ambled up towards the green. \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Downes asked, waving him off. \u201cI know what I need to do.\u201d He knocked it on the green and made his par.<\/p>\n

When Downes needs to do something, he has an uncanny way of making it happen. Winning his second Massachusetts Amateur on his home course is clearly something he covets. Something he needs to do. It was evident on the back nine of his semi-final match with Joey Lenane (George Wright). Lenane, a rising senior at NC State, struck an imposing wolfish pose all week. Stoic and deliberate. When he poured in a long birdie putt on the 9th hole to go 3 up on Downes, his face betrayed nothing. A sizable crowd of Downes supporters groaned.<\/p>\n

Down but not out, their local kid, who they\u2019d seen silhouetted on the practice green since boyhood, birdied 10, then 11, then 13 and 14 to pull even. They matched pars on 15 and 16, Lenane flashing his short game to stay in it. On 17, Lenane laid back a bit off the tee, a good 30 yards behind Downes, then put the pressure on by throwing a dart up the hill to 3 feet. Downes followed with a very proper three-quarter wedge to 12 feet. Behind the 8-ball? Maybe, but he buried it for his 5th birdie of the back nine, letting out a primal \u201cCome on!\u201d that notched a decibel above the gallery\u2019s roar of approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, I really want this one for everyone who supports me up here,\u201d said Downes. \u201cA U.S. Amateur exemption on the line. I just want to get my name on that trophy again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two matched scrambling pars on 18, sending the large crowd that had blanketed the hillside along the 18th shuffling their way towards one. Who wasn\u2019t thirsting for a little bit more of this match? The tee box was set way back on a neatly mown rectangle attached to the practice green. From that vantage point, it looks like you\u2019re driving off edge of a furry fescued earth.<\/p>\n

Lenane found the fairway, but pulled his downhill approach to the back left of the green, leaving a daunting putt through the heavily swaled heart of the green. Downes\u2019 drive was right of the cart path, but with a better angle to the center-right pin. His approach settled on a downslope, 14 feet past the hole. Lenane\u2019s first putt slid 7 feet by, and he couldn\u2019t hole the comebacker, marking the end of an all-timer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can say confidently, it was probably one of the best matches I\u2019ve ever been a part of. Joey and I were both playing really well. I made a couple mistakes on the front nine and kind of gave him a couple holes, but I just battled back really well,\u201d said Downes. \u201cCole told me on the bag, shoot 30 on the back nine, and you can win this thing. I shot 31, and we\u2019re going to extra holes. I feel bad, that should have been the final match is kind of how it felt like. I\u2019m looking forward to tomorrow. It\u2019ll be a fun match, but it\u2019s kind of hard to beat today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Online:\u00a0Match Play Bracket + Results<\/a> |\u00a0Photo Gallery<\/a> |\u00a0Competition Homepage<\/a><\/p>\n

Patrick Kilcoyne (Woodland Golf Club) awaits Downes for the 36-hole final. He\u2019s the Cinderella story of this championship, and that is not lost on him. \u201cComing into the week, I was just trying to make match play. Match play is just a bonus. I wasn\u2019t expecting to make it this far, but I\u2019m really excited to tee it up tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rising senior at Division III Gettysburg College has been a thorn in the side of the GreatHorse contenders all week. First, he felled the owner\/president Guy Antonacci in the round of 32, then in this morning\u2019s round of 8 he took down member Billy Walthouse. The crowd won\u2019t be openly hostile tomorrow, it\u2019s a classy bunch, but they\u2019ll certainly be pulling for the prodigal son of their Head Professional.<\/p>\n

Kilcoyne seized control of his semi-final match against Aiden Emmerich (Kernwood Country Club) with back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th.<\/p>\n

\u201c10 and 11 were really big for me. I hit the same pitch shot. I was right next to my divot on 10 this morning. My ball had traveled down the slope, so I took it a little further left and had a nice tap in birdie there,\u201d said Kilcoyne. \u201cAnd then the same on 11. I went for it in two and had a nice chip shot form over the green and made a nice four footer for birdie.\u201d<\/p>\n

The window for Emmerich opened a bit on 14 and 15, when Kilcoyne made consecutive bogeys. With his lead trimmed to 1 up, Kilcoyne rolled in a birdie putt to close out the match with conviction. The majority of the eyes will be on Downes tomorrow, that\u2019s for sure. But Kilcoyne ought not be overlooked. Nor should his headwear, which has varied from Red Sox rope cap to BBQ joint chic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just started buying hats, and if I see it and like it, I get it. I got this one from a BBQ place in Texas when we had a tournament down there (with Gettysburg). I saw the hat and I liked it. I think I\u2019ve run out, but maybe I can surprise you tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe he can.<\/p>\n

LIVE STREAM:\u00a0Mass Golf will broadcast the final match live on social media. Follow @playmassgolf on Instagram to access the stream.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Patrick Kilcoyne<\/p>\n

Hometown: Belmont, MA<\/p>\n

School: Gettysburg College<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Accolades:\u00a0<\/p>\n

2025 Centennial Conference Individual Champion
\nFinished T-40th at the 2025 Division III National Championship
\n2022-23 All-Centennial Conference Team<\/p>\n

ROAD TO THE FINAL
Stroke Play: 75-69\u2013144 (E)
R32: Def. Guy Antonacci, 4&2
R16: Def. Alan Rose, 2&1
Quarterfinals: Def. Billy Walthouse, 3&2
Semifinals: Def. Aidan Emmerich, 2&1<\/p>\n

Ryan Downes<\/p>\n

Hometown: Longmeadow, MA<\/p>\n

School: Vanderbilt University<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Accolades:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Youngest winner of the Massachusetts Amateur (\u201923)
\nTied Vanderbilt record for low competitive round (61)
\n\u201922 & \u201923 Mass Golf Junior Player of the Year
\nWins: \u201923 Massachusetts Amateur, \u201922 & \u201923 Ouimet, AJGA Justin Thomas Junior Championship<\/p>\n

ROAD TO THE FINAL
Stroke Play: 77-70\u2013147 (+3)
R32: Def. Ben Balter, 3&1
R16: Def. Reese Jensen, 3&1
Quarterfinals: Def. Jake Ratti, 6&5
Semifinals: Def. Joey Lenane, 19 holes<\/p>\n

Round of 8 Capsules<\/p>\n

8-Patrick Kilcoyne, def. 6-Billy Walthouse, 3&2<\/p>\n

Patrick Kilcoyne (Woodland Golf Club) knocked off yet another GreatHorse member, coming up with a clutch birdie on the 15th, and parring the 16th to put the match on ice. The match was back-and-forth, with just 5 of 16 holes halved. In a fun show of sportsmanship, both players agreed to go \u201cgood good\u201d on the par-3 9th, after they each hit a tee shot within three feet.<\/p>\n

13-Aidan Emmerich def. 5-Trevor Drew, 1up<\/p>\n

This match brought out some good golf, with eight holes won via birdie between the two players. Emmerich (Kernwood Country Club) walked in a 20 foot birdie putt on the 15th to tie the match, then took a 1up lead when Drew\u2019s (Long Meadow Golf Club) tee shot on 16 sailed out of bounds to the right.<\/p>\n

18-Ryan Downes def. 23-Jake Ratti, 6&5<\/p>\n

After going the distance against two difficult opponents in his first two matches, Ratti (Wollaston Golf Club) looked a little gassed, and the home course favorite pounced, winning three of the first four holes. The tee on the 13th was up, and with a 6 up lead, Downes flew his drive onto the green of the par-4. Ratti, for his part, got up-and-down from a difficult spot for birdie, but it wasn\u2019t enough, as Downes two-putted to seal it.<\/p>\n

3-Joey Lenane def. 11-Ben Spitz, 3&1<\/p>\n

Spitz (George Wright), always a grinder, was 3 down with 7 to play when Joey Lenane (George Wright) two-putted for birdie after a brilliant second shot into the par-5 11th. Spitz won the 12th with a par and stuffed a wedge within a few feet on 15th to get it to 1 down. But a miscue on his approach into 16 led to a hole losing bogey, and Lenane finished it off in style, knocking his approach on the 17th in tight.<\/p>\n

NOTABLE<\/p>\n

Here are some other tidbits from Day 4 at the Massachusetts Amateur Championship.<\/p>\n

Ryan Downes has appeared in the Massachusetts Amateur Final three of the last four years, the first player to do so since Mass Golf Hall of Famer Frank Vana, Jr.
\nDownes is bidding to be the second consecutive Mass Am Champion to win at his home club (Matthew Naumec, Framingham CC)
\nDownes would be the first player since James Driscoll to win two titles before the age of 21
\nKilcoyne\u2019s prior best finish in a Mass Golf event was T-6 at the 2024 Ouimet
\nAll four semi-finalists are active college players: Downes (Vanderbilt), Lenane (NC State), Emmerich (Temple), Kilcoyne (Gettysburg)
\nThe semi-finalists earn an automatic bid into 2026 U.S. Amateur Final Qualifying, as well as a spot in the 2026 Massachusetts Open (Oyster Harbors Club)<\/p>\n

Watch: Video Highlights From Day 4<\/p>\n

Stay Informed<\/p>\n

Visit MassGolf.org and follow @PlayMassGolf on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0YouTube<\/a> for the latest information on Mass Golf championships and events. To join the conversation, use the hashtag #MassGolf.<\/p>\n

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