Cody Paladino
MILTON, Mass. (July 24, 2013) -- Cody Paladino overcame a double bogey start with a spectacular stretch en route to a 67 to take the first round lead in the 46th Francis Ouimet Memorial Tournament at Wollaston Golf Club on Wednesday. Wollaston played at 6,575 yards and to a par of 36-36-72. The 54-hole amateur invitational continues today at Wellesley Country Club and concludes on Friday at Woodland.
Paladino is a 24 year old from Wethersfield Country Club in Connecticut who recently became the first person to win the Connecticut match and stroke play championships in the same year. Paladino has never played at any of the Ouimet courses. After losing his opening drive and suffering the double, he played the fourth through the tenth holes in six under par.
A trio was tied for second a shot back. Former (2009) Ouimet champ Matt Parziale of Thorny Lea, Doug Clapp of Old Sandwich, and John Flaherty of the TPC River Highland in Connecticut all shot four under par 68. The 26 year old Parziale, who turned pro shortly after the Ouimet win, has just received amateur re-instatement. Clapp is a 46 year old attorney who is enjoying one of his best years including reaching the quarter finals of the recent Massachusetts Amateur Championship and recording five other tournament runner-up finishes. Flaherty, a sophomore at the University of Connecticut, bogeyed his last two holes to settle for the 68.
Three players were knotted at 69.
Kevin Carey of Dennis Pines, the 2000 Ouimet champion, had a 70 to lead the Eddie Lowery senior division. Carey, a Ouimet Scholarship alumnus, is bidding to join Jack Kearney as the second person to win both the championship and senior divisions. Carey was the 2012 MGA Senior Player of the Year. Kearney, of Elmcrest, defending champ Dick King of Hyannis Golf Club, and 2012 MGA Senior Champ Joe Walker of Dennis Pines are tied for second at 74.
The Ouimet Memorial Tournament benefits the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund.
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ABOUT THE
Francis Ouimet Memorial
This 54-hole stroke play tournament honors
Francis Ouimet, considered America's First
Golf
Hero and one of the most important figures in
the history of golf. His victory in the 1913
U.S. Open in a stunning playoff upset of
Harry Vardon and Ted Ray is viewed as the
turning point in American Golf. The event, first
played in 1968, one year
after Ouimet's death, is held at
three top Boston-area courses, with the final round
always taking place at the 6,721 yard Woodland Golf
Club (Mr.
Ouimet's home course). The most notable winner to
date is Brad Faxon,
who captured the 1980 event. There are three
divisions: Men, Women, and Senior.
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