Bill Drohen, Frank Vana Jr. to meet in Mass Amateur final

BROOKLINE -? For the second time in event history, it will be a Drohen and Vana final at the Massachusetts Amateur Championship. The only difference tomorrow will be that it’s a different Drohen brother.Five years ago, at the same site n The Country Club in Brookline n Andy Drohen captured this prestigious title with his brother carrying his bag. This time around, it will be the 2003 caddie, Bill Drohen (Bradford CC), who will take center stage on Friday and compete in his first-ever Massachusetts Amateur Championship final. Come 8 a.m., Andy will be carrying the bag and Bill Drohen will face off against the same foe who was defeated by Andy back in 2003, Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC).”It’s special because of what happened here in 2003,” said Drohen about his thoughts on making the finals and having his brother on his bag. “We have good chemistry? he knows my game and I know his game. Now he is returning the favor.”That chemistry was evident on Thursday as Drohen needed only 27 holes to advance through the quarterfinals and semifinals. Despite facing a very challenging layout at The Country Club, Drohen played flawless golf. His two-round totals were simply stunning n 21 pars, five birdies and one eagle.”That was my plan n to wear the opponents down,” said Drohen, who has twice lost to Vana in the semifinals of this event in 2004 and 2005. “I took the trouble out of it today. I think that I had one bad swing on the last hole and I managed to get up and down today for par. That was my worst swing of the day.”Another player who has enjoyed a relatively uneventful experience in match play thus far is Vana, who has not trailed in any of his four matches. On Thursday afternoon, he closed out a tough opponent in Scott Congdon (Foxboro CC) by a score of 3 & 1.”I have been pretty calm and focused for the most part,” said Vana, who rebounded well from his 2003 loss by winning the event in 2004 and 2005. “I feel very comfortable on the greens, which is key. I am leaving myself putts that I can handle.”Against Congdon, Vana made the shots he needed to at critical times in the match. Three straight bogeys by Congdon n on the 5th, 6th and 7th holes n provided Vana the opening he would need as he took a 3-up lead that he would not relinquish. He kept pace with Congdon and made three birdies down the stretch to maintain his lead and eventually close out the match on the 17th hole.Vana, for different reasons than the Drohens, is also looking forward to the rematch today. It will be his fifth final appearance at the Massachusetts Amateur Championship.”It’s almost deju vu except I know both of them much better this time,” said Vana. “Coming this far and not winning is not fun and I know that it will be a grind. Hopefully, I’ll be calm and I’ll have a good day.”The players will compete in a 36-hole final match beginning at 8 a.m.In the semifinals, despite already logging four rounds of golf heading into Thursday, Drohen appeared unfazed yesterday afternoon as he was the first off the golf course in both his quarterfinal and semifinal matches. In the morning, Drohen posted a 6 & 4 win over defending champion John Hadges (Thorny Lea GC) and then picked up where he left off against Bradley Kushner (Club at New Seabury) by making 10 straight pars to jump out to a 3-up lead. Kushner, the 2008 Massachusetts Junior Champion, who will head to Yale University in the fall, was unable to keep pace with Drohen as he made bogey on four of his first five holes.