Cape Cod Amateur: Ryan Brown beats Sam Russell for impressive win at Hyannisport Club
Ryan Brown won the Cape Cod Amateur at the Hyannisport Club in Hyannisport, Mass with a 3&2 victory over
Sam Russell in the final.
The event is open to players who are full-time residents of Barnstable, Nantucket or Dukes County or a member of Hyannisport Club. The regional event straddles two weekends, as competitors play an 18-hole qualifier for 32 match play spots. On the senior side, there are 16 match play spots.
Hyannisport Club is known for its connection to the Kennedy family. John F. Kennedy used to play there and the Kennedy Compound is just around the corner from the club.
Brown, representing Cape Cod National, shot a 2-under 69 in the 18-hole qualifier last weekend to earn a four seed in match play. Russell was one better than Brown, firing a 68 for the No. 2 seed. 2024 MassGolf Player of the Year Ricky Stimets was the medalist with a 67, but he bowed out in the Round of 32 in a 22 hole match against Hyannisport’s Jeremy Peacock.
Incredibly, Peacock reached the semi-finals, winning each match in extra holes. He needed 20 holes to beat Aron Wegner in the Round of 16 and 20 more holes to beat Ben Catalano.
However, Brown was ready for Peacock, jumping out to a 3-up lead after six holes and ended up beating him 3&2 on a chilly Sunday morning.
Russell rode the momentum from his 68 in qualifying and won his Round of 32 match 5&3 over Tim Norton. In the next two matches on Saturday, he needed all 18 holes to close out Peter Hartmann and Brendan Shields 1-up. Russell was 2 down with six to play against Hartmann, but he won the 16th hole to tie up the match and then won the 18th with a birdie.
In the final, Brown and Russell each won just one hole on the front nine. Russell won the fourth, and Brown won the sixth. Russell took the lead with a par on the 10th. However, the tides would turn quickly on Nantucket Sound. Brown won four of the next five holes, including holes 13-15 to close out the match earlier than it seemed would happen after 10 holes.
Brown has a knack for winning holes in bunches. In three of his five matches, he won three or more holes in a row. He beat Tim Hall 3&1, Chad Bearce 7&5, and Matt George 5&4, and Jeremy Peacock 2-up en route to the final.
In the senior division, Plymouth CC’s Brian Secia beat Barry Jones 3&2 in the final. It was a back-and-forth front nine between Secia and Jones. They only tied two holes; Secia won four holes, and Jones won three. Jones won the ninth to cut the deficit to one, but it was the final hole he would win. They tied holes 10-12, and then Secia grabbed control with wins on holes Nos. 13 and 15.
Secia was the medalist in the qualifying with a 76. On his way to his win, Secia was rather dominant, only seeing the 18th hole once in his four wins. He beat Dan Packard 4&3, Richard Longeuil 1-up, Rui Lima 5&3 before defeating Jones in the final.
This marks Secia's second senior division championship. He also won two championship division titles and is right at home at Hyannisport, as he has also won three Seagulls titles, which acts as the bookend for the Cape Cod Amateur; it is held in April every year.
View results for Cape Cod Amateur
ABOUT THE
Cape Cod Amateur
Open to male amateur golfers. One round of
stroke
play determines the round of 32 match play
bracket
to be completed over two weekends. Senior
division
has a match play bracket of 16 players. MUST
be a full-
time resident of Barnstable, Nantucket or
Dukes County
or a member of Hyannisport Club.
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