WEST NEWTON — With a pair of match play wins Thursday afternoon, former St. John’s Prep star and current University of Louisville golfer Chris Francoeur (Amesbury Golf & Country Club) punched his ticket to the quarterfinal round of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship at Brae Burn Country Club.
Francoeur had a dominant start to his day, rolling to an 8-and-7 win over Ryan Downes (GreatHorse) in the Round of 32.
After a par and a tie on the opening hole, Francoeur birdied four holes in a row to go 4-up after five. Two more birdies on the front nine extended that lead to a 6-up advantage as the two made the turn, then Francoeur birdied both the 10th and 11th holes to take home the victory with seven holes to spare.
In the Round of 16, Francoeur went up against Kyle Tibbetts (Framingham Country Club) and took home a 3-and-2 victory. Francoeur never trailed in the match, although Tibbetts battled back to tie three different times. But Francoeur kept the lead for the entire back nine, eventually going 3-up after 16 holes to take home the win.
Swampscott native and current Holy Cross golfer Christian Emmerich (Kernwood Country Club) also earned a win in match play on Thursday before falling in the Round of 16.
Emmerich had a completely different start to his morning, having to battle through 19 holes to take down his Round of 32 opponent Sean Fitzpatrick (George Wright Golf Course).
Emmerich birdied the first hole of the day and held a 1-up lead through four holes until Fitzpatrick tied things up on the fifth hole. The two traded shots through the next several holes, and the match stood all square through 10 holes. Fitzpatrick then went on a run to take a 2-up lead after 13 holes, but Emmerich never quit. The former St. Mary’s star won three holes in a row to take a 1-up lead to the 17th tee, but Fitzpatrick won the 17th hole and the two went to a playoff. After making the trek back to the first tee, Emmerich once again made a birdie on the short par-4 first and punched his ticket to the next round.
Emmerich took on Weston Jones (Charter Oak Country Club) in the Round of 16, falling 2-and-1. The two golfers tied 11 of the 17 holes they played, but Jones was able to make a couple of critical birdies to take home the win. After falling 2-down through 14 holes, Emmerich couldn’t make up the ground in time and fell on the 17th.
The only other local player who made it through to match play was Tedesco Country Club’s George Zolotas, who fell to Ricky Stimets (Worcester Country Club) in the Round of 32 by a score of 2-up.
In a back-and-forth match, Zolotas was 4-down through 12 holes before battling back to only 1-down through 17 holes. But with a chance to force extra holes on the 18th, Zolotas made a bogey and Stimets made a par to end the match.
Francoeur will now take on Jones in the quarterfinal round Friday morning, with the tee time set for 8 a.m. The winner will then move on to the semifinal round for a chance to play in the 36-hole championship match on Saturday.
