Vermont Amatuer tees off this Tuesday
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Brian Albertazzi, right, looks over a putt with help of caddy John Fennick last July. PHOTO BY ALBERT J. MARRO |
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By BOB FREDETTE Staff Writer - Published: July 5, 2009
SHELBURNE — Cody Larson has yet to break out for the University of Rhode Island but here in Vermont he keeps rolling along.
The URI junior is enjoying another winning season at home and hopes to keep it going this Tuesday through Thursday at the Vermont Amateur men's state championship at Kwiniaska Golf Club.
In what shapes up to be a very competitive 72 holes, Larson joins a talented field that includes defending champion Brian Albertazzi and former champions Peter Metzler and Bill Hadden, and a bounty of promising players from college and high school ranks.
Most of them were present when Larson finished as runner-up to Albertazzi at Larson's home Rutland Country Club last year, that coming the month after Larson won the RCC member-guest with John Kelly.
Larson is at it again this year with Kelly, his roommate and URI teammate from East Longmeadow, Mass. They won the Vermont Four-Ball championship flight and repeated as Rutland member-guest champions over the Father's Day weekend.
But in little Rhodey, Larson has been very ordinary on the course in a limited role.
"For some reason I don't play well in Rhode Island," Larson said last week.
It's almost as though Larson plays golf in two different worlds. Right after coming home for summer break, he played with Kelly on two different Vermont courses and estimated he was 4-under par for the 36 holes.
"My roommate said, 'We must be back in Vermont,'" Larson said.
Now Larson tackles the Vermont Golf Association's top medal play tournament, hoping to get over the hump after finishing three shots back in 2008.
He trailed Albertazzi by six entering the 36-hole finale and was in great shape before making three straight bogeys in the final round. Even then, his 3-over par for the day total easily led the field in the tournament's most demanding day.
The par-72, 6,848-yard Kwiniaska layout (from the blue tees; it's unlikely the VGA will let it play that long) sets up well for Larson's game. He can go deep from the tee and hits a high ball that can take some of Kwinny's problem trees out of play.
Larson and Green Mountain National's Albertazzi have a playing rivalry dating back to when Larson played for Fair Haven and Albertazzi, now a junior at the University of Hartford, was at Division II rival Woodstock. They frequently battled for medals and were very evenly matched.
But there are too many good players in the Amateur field to focus on the competition.
"I'm just going to go out and take the same mindset as usual and not worry about anyone else," Larson said.
Good thing, too, because there are a lot of legitimate contenders.
Hadden is back after a two-year hiatus and there is no more of a hard-nosed player in the field. Even in his 50s, the 2002 winner can still strike it with the best here, has a wealth of experience in big amateur events and is a former New England champion.
Metzler, Albertazzi's clubmate at Green Mountain National, is quietly determined, sneaky long and plays competitive golf throughout the season. He could putt his way to another title, as he did at Burlington Country Club in 2003. He finished third last year, four shots back;
Home-course favorite Joe Bouffard almost always plays well in this event and has been a virtual regular since Kwinny hosted in 1994. Bouffard is a legitimate threat here;
Mount Anthony's Cory Jozefiak was tied for the lead through 36 holes in 2008 before tailing off to finish nine shots back and in a tie for fourth. In the proud tradition of MACC players, his game travels well. The Mount Anthony contingent also includes recent Mount Anthony High graduate Thomas Sennett, who enjoyed a stellar high school season that ended with an individual state championship at Ralph Myhre last month.
The much-celebrated Essex High team that has dominated D-I golf in recent years sends seven players to the tournament. Most notable in Am play so far is Evan Russell, who made a grand entry at Brattleboro at age 14 in 2007. Russell had a so-so high school season but recently qualified for the United States Amateur. Graduated teammate Dale Lee could be an even better darkhorse pick this year as a former Kwinny member. He played well all spring and went on to win the New England individual title.
Jon Lussier of Orleans is another recent grad with the game to get into contention and 2008 Burr and Burton graduate Devin Komline, smarting from a poor showing last year, returns after his first collegiate season at East Tennessee State. His stroke average for the Buccaneers was 75.3.
… All of which makes things very interesting to the laid-back Albertazzi, who has a balanced game and is not easily shaken.
"It's going to be an exciting year," he said. "I've definitely thought about (defending the title). I think we have a better field this year and I'm excited to see what happens."
"Excited" is not a word observers would have applied to Albertazzi while he was busy fending off Larson, Metzler and Jozefiak at Rutland. Albertazzi was having a steady third round when he completely botched the par-5 fourth hole, taking double-bogey as he made a quick swipe at a short putt and left onlookers gasping when he missed.
Unshaken, Albertazzi got right back to business.
The outcome was still very much in question on Thursday afternoon when, on the 13th hole, Albertazzi hit a gutsy little chip from above a treacherous pin placement and saved par where he easily could have made bogey or worse.
As of early last week, Albertazzi hadn't been to Kwiniaska since he was "11 or 12 years old. I think I shot 98 that day," he said with a little laugh.
Albertazzi hits a lot of fairways and is coming off a college season where he pared his stroke average from 76.46 to a team-leading 75. He was named to the Ping New England All-Regional team and medaled in the America Sky Championship.
Albertazzi's record in this event also speaks well for his chances to repeat. In the last three years he has a title and finished fifth twice.
"I'm just going to try play my game and not worry as much about the field," he said.
Easier said than done, but Albertazzi has done it before.
Divots: Twenty-five years after his second and last Am championship, Rutland Country Club's Art Bemis is in the field. … Ben Kortz of Neshobe will be playing his second Am since moving to Vermont from Ohio. He has a 0.9 handicap at his home club and tied for 18th in his debut in this event last year. … Also back is Brian Cain of the Country Club of Vermont, who was in the mix for the title in the final round when the tournament was at Kwinny in 1994 … The entire Essex team that won the Division I high school championship is in the field and will try, among other things, to give Links at Lang Farm its first McCullough Cup championship. Joining Lee and Russell on the team are Jake Orr, Steve Mone and Troy Goliver. "They all made it? That's good news for Vermont golf," Albertazzi said. "I think to have the whole team qualify (for the Am) is amazing," said Links at Lang Farm pro Steve Gonsalves, who had to chose a five-member McCullough team from his seven players. "I think they have a good chance because they have no fear." … The McCullough Cup is contested over the first 36 holes of the event. Rutland Country Club is the defending champion but expect the host course, Lang Farm and a strong GMN contingent to be right in the mix.
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