For the second week in a row, St. John’s Prep alum Nick Maccario came up just short.
This time, the 28-year-old golfer from Manchester fell to John Broderick (Dedham C&PC) on the second playoff hole to finish second at the 91st New England Amateur Championship Thursday at Concord Country Club. The tournament was supposed to play 36 holes on Thursday for the final two rounds, but it was shortened to just 18 holes due to weather delays.
The playoff was set to be played on holes 13, 14 and 18 if necessary. Both players made par on the 352-yard, par-4 13th to remain even. But on the 14th hole, a 417-yard par-4, Broderick was able to win the hole and take the championship.
Maccario (Bradford CC), who finished runner-up at the 112th Massachusetts Amateur Championship last week, opened his day on the 10th tee Thursday morning, notching three pars to start before making a birdie on the 13th hole. He followed that up with a birdie on the 17th hole to make the turn in 33 strokes, then made birdie on both the first and fifth holes to jump into first place all alone at the time. A bogey on the eighth hole was the lone blemish on the scorecard for Maccario in the morning session, as he shot a score of 67 for the second straight round. For the tournament, Maccario shot a three-day total score of 72-67-67-206.
Another local golfer who had a phenomenal finish at the New England Amateur was Swampscott native and Kernwood Country Club member Christian Emmerich, who placed fourth overall after shooting a three-day total score of 67-73-71-211.
Emmerich, who recently completed his freshman season at Holy Cross, teed off on the 10th hole to start his third round, and he got right to work with three pars and a birdie in his first four holes. He stumbled a bit with bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes to make the turn in 36, then he made another bogey on the par-4 second hole. He rebounded near the end of his third round with a birdie on the fifth and then four straight pars to shoot a score of 71.
Other locals finishing up their tournament on Thursday included St. John’s Prep alum Chris Francoeur (Amesbury G&CC), who finished in a tie for 28th place after posting a three-day total score of 73-72-730-218.
Francoeur opened his third round on the first tee and made a birdie on the first hole, but he was up-and-down from there. Bogeys on the second and third holes stalled his momentum before a birdie on the fifth, but then two more bogeys on the sixth and ninth holes led him to make the turn in 37. He was a bit more consistent on the back nine, making eight pars and one bogey to finish his third round with a score of 73.
Swampscott native and Salem Country Club member Steven DiLisio finished in a tie for 34th place after posting a three-day total score of 73-73-74-220.
DiLisio, who will be heading back to Duke University for his fifth year of eligibility in a few weeks, also made birdie on the first hole, but unfortunately lost all his momentum when he made a triple-bogey on the second hole. Two more bogeys on the fourth and eighth holes led him to shoot 39 on the front nine before he shot even-par on the back nine with one bogey and one birdie, finishing his third round with a score of 74.
