Round 1 Concluded at New England Amateur

​Concord, Massachusetts – Early Tuesday morning, the first tee shots were struck at Concord Country Club, marking the start of the 91st New England Amateur Championship. In total 144 players from all 6 New England states teed it up on a warm and sunny day. At the end of the day it would be UConn Huskies past and future atop the leaderboard.
 
Of the morning wave of players, it was former Husky, Timothy Umphrey (Tatnuck CC; MA) who set the pace with a round of 4-under par 66. Umphrey made 6 birdies in total and had a run of 4 birdies over 6 holes in the middle of his round. “I put myself in good spots on the greens and I got a few putts to go. In the middle of the round I had a good birdie streak and hit good wedge shots and made some putts.” said Umphrey.
 
In the afternoon, it was a future Husky, Caleb Manuel (Brunswick GC; ME) who fired a matching 66. Like Umphrey, Manuel made 6 birdies on the day. He credited his string of 3-stright birdies as being the key to his round “I birdied five, six and seven so that got me to 3-under, but I was just staying patient and knew that par would be a good score out there today.” Talking about Concord CC, Manuel said “It’s definitely firmer and faster than the courses up in Maine. I just kept it below the hole and kept it in play, hitting it in the right spots. I expected it to be a little tougher than the last couple of years.”
 
ONLINE: ROUND 1 SCORES | ROUND 2 STARTING TIMES | NEGA AMATEUR
 
Other top rounds from the morning wave included a 3-under par 67 by Christian Emmerich (Kernwood CC; MA) and 1-under par 69 by Andrew O’Leary (Pawtucket CC; RI). Emmerich and O’Leary both took care of business on the two par 5’s at Concord CC, making birdie on both. Emmerich made 5 birdies on the day while O’Leary made 4.
 
With the heat cranked up in the afternoon, only one player other than Manuel was able to shoot under par. Richard Dowling (Golf Performance Center; CT) finished strong with birdies on seven and eight (his 16th and 17th hole of the day) which helped him to 1-under par 69. Dowling, a longtime supporter of the NEGA Junior, presented by Junior Golf Hub, was the low amateur from Connecticut at the 2019 New England Amateur.
 

Timothy Umphrey shot a morning 66 to set the pace at the New England Amateur (David Colt)
 
Leaderboard After Round 1
T1 – Timothy Umphrey; Tatnuck CC (MA) (-4) 66
T1 – Caleb Manuel; Brunswick GC (ME) (-4) 66
3 – Christian Emmerich; Kernwood CC (MA) (-3) 67
T4 – Andrew O’Leary; Pawtucket CC (RI) 69
T4 – Richard Dowling; Golf Performance Center (CT) 69
T6 – Max Ferrari; Framingham CC (MA) (E) 70
T6 – James Sheltman; Alling Memorial GC (CT) (E) 70
T6 – Ryan Tomaso; Kohr Golf Center (MA) (E) 70
T6 – Jack Brown; Nashua CC (NH) (E) 70
T6 – James Imai; George Wright GC (MA) (E) 70
T6 – Cody Paladino; CC of Farmington (CT) (E) 70
T6 – Max Hutter; Weston GC (MA) (E) 70
T6 – Liam Gill; Marlborough CC (MA) (E) 70
 
The first New England Amateur was conducted in 1926 at Rhode Island Country Club and was won by Frank C. Newton of Massachusetts. The Championship has been held annually since then, with a four-year hiatus during WWII from 1942 - 1945. Over the years, the Championship has been won by some of New England Golf's greats including Brad Faxon, Bill Andrade, James Dirscoll, and Jim Renner. The event was contested as a Match Play Championship until 1971, when the format was changed to current model of 72-holes of Stroke Play.
 

 
Fun With The Pairings
As is the case in many championships, there were a number of fun and interesting pairings on day 1 of the 91st New England Amateur.
 
Two groups were comprised of past champions. At 8:14 off of hole 1, it was the group of Xavier Marcou (’19 Champion; MA), Reese McFarlane (’18; ME) and Bobby Leopold (’17; RI). At 1:43, off of hole 1 was the group of James Turner (’16; MA), Nick McLaughlin (’15; MA) and Matt Parziale (’09; MA). The other past champion in the field is Brian Higgins (’10; MA) who was paired with Timothy Umphrey.
 
One group was comprised of players whose father is the Head Professional at their member club. This group included Jacob Zaranek (Brattleboro CC; VT), Cooper Griffin (Woodland GC; MA), and Colin Spencer (Cummaquid GC: MA).
 
Play will resume on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. with the second round of the New England Amateur.
 
For more information, visit the NEGA web site at negagolf.org. Follow the NEGA on social media @NEGA_Golf.
 
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About the New England Golf Association (NEGA): negagolf.org
The New England Golf Association ®, established in 1926, is a 501(c)3 amateur golf organization comprised of leaders from the six New England golf associations – Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
In addition to serving the needs of golf in New England, the organization's primary purpose is to conduct the following premier tournament events: New England Amateur Championship ®, New England Junior Amateur Invitational, New England Girls’ Junior Amateur Invitational, and New England Senior Amateur Championship

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