With the opening round of the 39th Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Championship at Gannon Golf Club just three short days away, Gannon head professional David Sibley can’t wait for the festivities to get started.
“We couldn’t be more excited to host this championship, it’s a real honor and a big deal for the club,” said Sibley, who is in the midst of his seventh year as head professional at Gannon. “We know we have a great course here and we’re ready to put our best foot forward. We’re glad that we get to share this course with some of the best players from around the state.”
The Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Championship is open to amateur golfers who are bona fide public course players at a public Mass Golf member club (a course/club that provides playing opportunities for the general public seven days a week) and maintain an up-to-date Mass Golf/GHIN Handicap Index not exceeding 12.0.
The idea of Gannon hosting a big Mass Golf tournament has been in the works for several years now. The course has hosted three qualifiers for the Public Links over the past four years, and that eventually evolved into an opportunity to host the championship proper in 2020.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to host a few qualifiers over the past several years, and it’s really helped us build a great relationship with Mass Golf,” said Sibley. “We figured we were a bit of a longshot to host the championship proper simply because the course is considered fairly short and we don’t have a driving range, but we were thrilled when Mass Golf came to us and offered a chance to host the championship proper.”
From the minute the club was given the championship, talk around the club started to bubble up.
“People were really excited when they found out we were hosting, I think it was really a point of pride that their course was chosen to host a big event like that,” said Sibley. “When you’re lucky enough to get to host an event like this, it’s always an honor.”
And not only that, but Gannon has a number of its own members who qualified to play in the championship on their home course. Five members — John Boland, Jon Gagnon, Dave Stevens, Alex Fiste and Rob Thomas — qualified at various sites around the state.
“We’re all so happy for them,” Sibley said of the qualifiers. “It’s definitely another point of pride for the membership when they see some of their own qualify to play. Not to mention, Gannon is a course where you need some local knowledge, so they might have a bit of an advantage.”
Sibley is also excited for players from all over the state to experience the course.
“I’ve been looking at the qualifying scores from all the sites this year and it looks like a lot of the top finishers were shooting near or under par, so I think there’s a chance we’ll see a few guys go low,” Sibley said. “At the same time, I think the course will hold up well. It’s a place that has a lot of uneven lies and some tough greens, so I think it’ll be a great test for everyone.”
The 39th Massachusetts Public Links Championship will begin Monday, August 10 at 7:30 a.m. at Gannon Golf Club. Golfers will be playing off of the first and 10th tees, with Gannon member Alex Fiste a part of the first group off of the 10th tee at 7:30.
