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Fathers Shane MacDonald, left, and Jim Jankowski, second from left,
congratulate each other's sons, Andrew Jankowski and Nick MacDonald on
the 17th green.
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“Nick,” he said, “you had a hell of a weekend. How much do I owe you?”
The victory marks the fourth time in the past six years that at least one of the MacDonalds has won the tournament, held each year on the final full weekend in July.
Shane MacDonald, who teamed with Andy Hydorn to earn a share of the 2003 title, won it with Hydorn again in 2009 and with Nick in 2010. In 2012 Nick MacDonald, a former All-New England first-team and Division I PING All-Northeast Region standout at the University of Hartford, won it with DJ Lantz.
For the Jankowskis, who both played golf at Dartmouth, the match marked their first appearance in the Championship flight final.
“We’ve been in the semis a bunch of times,” Jim Jankowski said. “It’s good competition and to do it with Andrew is fabulous. He played very, very well all weekend long. It was a ton of fun to be there with him, and to play against Nick and Shane.
“There weren’t any surprises. We just didn’t make enough birdies to neutralize Nick. We know how good he is. He was just a little too strong for us this afternoon.”
The Jankowkis advanced to the final with a 2&1 win over Hydorn and Scott Peters in a rain-interrupted morning match. The MacDonalds, meanwhile, were moving on with a 1-up win over Mike Pollard and Doug Daniels.
After Nick MacDonald drove the green and birdied the par-4 third hole to put his team ahead in the championship match, Shane pulled out his putter and birdied 4 from about 10 feet off the green for a two-hole lead.
It was Nick MacDonald’s turn to perform a little magic of his own on 7.
“Nick was 30 feet away and I’m 20 feet away figuring Nick is going to help me with the line because we were on similar lines,” explained Jim Jankowski. “And Nick goes and drains it on me. I’m thinking maybe we are going to get one back and Nick puts them 3-up.”
A MacDonald bogey and subsequent birdie kept the difference at three until Andrew Jankowski’s lengthy approach hit the pin on 11 and he drained a three-footer for birdie.
After a MacDonald bogey on 15 and a Jankowski par the difference was one, although the Jankowskis may well have been even or ahead if not for some nifty putting by their opponents.
“What was impressive is when they got in trouble both NIck and Shane sunk 10-footers for par to keep them in position,” said Jim Jankowski. “They probably did that three times where we felt like we had a chance. Their short games were really solid.”
When neither team could convert birdie putts on 16 the match hung in the balance when long-hitting Nick MacDonald hit his third shot close on the par-5 17th hole.
“A lot of people try to hit sand wedges or lob wedges from where I was and fly it to the back tier,” he said. “I always take a 9-iron or pitching wedge and hit it low and land it on the front tier and let it run up there, so the spin doesn’t affect it as much.”
He made the short comebacker for birdie to clinch the win it surprised no one.
“NIck is so solid,” Jim Jankowski said. “He’s a national level amateur player. He’s that good.”
No one has to tell that to Shane MacDonald, who enjoyed playing against old friends and had a blast playing with his son, who is getting married in three weeks.
“It’s always fun to play with Nick,” he said. “I went home last night and I said, ‘You know what, I’m out there playing with NIck and I keep forgetting he’s my son. I just think he’s a buddy.’
“He’s such a good player that it’s easy. He knows I can play good or I can play bad. He spends more time making sure I don’t feel bad for not playing good and helping him. It’s almost like he’s the father now.”
DIVOTS
New Yorkers Josh Hilderbrand and Josh Wilson posted a 4&3 win over Torrey Viger and Matt Wood in the First flight final while the team of Tom Keane and Kevin Johnston took a 2&1 win over Joe and Mike Yukica in the Second flight.
Brothers Ben and Tom Peters won the Third flight.
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