MARBLEHEAD — The 78th annual Tedesco Invitational Fourball Tournament is off and running this weekend at Marblehead’s Tedesco Country Club, and so far things are going well.
Thursday and Friday provided two full days of great fourball action, and both Saturday and Sunday promise to be on par with the event’s start.
“It’s our flagship event,” Tedesco head professional Bob Green said. “Everybody’s having a great time. A lot of it is the social part of it, along with the competitiveness of the event. It’s great to see a lot of our traditional guests, people that I’ve known for years who continue coming to the fourball. It’s exciting for the club and our staff.”
The tournament is off to a great start through its first two days, much to Green’s liking. His only concern, Green said, is the questionable forecast for Saturday.
“It’s going great so far,” Green said. “The weather’s been good. Forecast is a little bit iffy for Saturday afternoon. We don’t have any wiggle room for time, if we’re off the golf course for lightning or flooding, puddling conditions on the greens.”
Green, who’s been the club pro for 39 years, was clear that the tournament will conclude on Sunday, one way or another.
“Sunday night, we’ll have a winner,” Green said. “One way or another, we’ll have a winner. It’ll be a great week. Sunday’s supposed to be a beautiful day and we could get lucky on Saturday, if we have these storms stay West of us.”
Green, who has been at Tedesco for 47 years, has seen his fair share of great fourball tournaments. Although he doesn’t point to any specific memories, the overall competitiveness and sportsmanship has always made the fourball tournament a special event.
“It’s a grind, that sixth round of the fourth day,” Green said. “People are pretty golfed out. However, you still see some great shots and terrific puts made. I think the biggest thing I’ve seen over the years is the sportsmanship between the competitors in the finals. Everybody’s on the same boat and nobody’s used to playing six rounds in four days.”
“I can’t look back and remember who made what shots or who played great,” Green added. “I think what’s most impressive really is that sportsmanship and the camaraderie shown between partners and opponents. That’s what fourball’s about.”
A total of 64 teams come into the fourball tournament, with six rounds of golf played over the course of its four days.
“It’s a real grind, very competitive,” Green said. “A lot of clubs have gone to 9-hole matches. We’re still one of the traditional clubs, Salem Country Club’s another one, that play 18-hole matches in a 64 team format for the weekend.”
