Following one of the best individual golf seasons in recent memory, St. Mary’s senior and Swampscott native Aidan Emmerich has been named the 2021 Item Player of the Year for golf.
It was an outstanding year for Emmerich, who was named Catholic Central League MVP for the third straight season this fall.
Emmerich had an incredible senior year, shooting an eye-popping 32-under par for the season and notching 10 straight rounds under par. But he saved the best for last, shooting a course-record 61 (8-under par) at Hillview Golf Course to win the Catholic Central League individual championship on Oct. 15.
Emmerich made nine birdies and one bogey over the course of his 18-hole round, tearing up the par-69 course ― which plays to 5,773 yards.
Emmerich wrapped up a stellar St. Mary’s career that saw him become a seven-year varsity starter, a member of three state championship teams, a three-time CCL MVP, a three-time CCL champion and a Division 2 North champion. He nearly came away with the Division 2 state championship this fall, but he finished one stroke behind fellow CCL all-star Max Hampoian (Austin Prep).
Also getting named as Item All-Stars for the 2021 golf season were Lynn Classical junior Brady Warren, Marblehead senior Matt Weed, Swampscott senior Lou Spellios, St. John’s Prep senior Alex Landry and Bishop Fenwick senior Tony Novak.
Warren, who was named co-Player of the Year in the Greater Boston League, went unbeaten in individual play this season, leading Classical to its second straight GBL title.
It was a stellar season for Warren, who competed on the New England Junior Tour over the summer and won an event in Rhode Island.
One of his marquee wins this high school season came against Somerville senior Aidan O’Donovan, who will be playing Division I college golf at the University of Rhode Island and who was named both GBL Medalist, for having the lowest total score, and co-GBL Player of the Year alongside Warren.
Weed secured medalist honors in every dual match that he played in this season as the No. 1 golfer for the Magicians, which was good enough to earn him a spot on the All-Conference Team in the Northeastern Conference.
Spellios was in the No. 1 spot for the Big Blue this year, helping lead his team to an 8-5 record and a berth in the Division 3 North Tournament. A member of the NEC All-Conference Team this year, his top performance came in the regular season finale, when he shot a 1-under 35 to help lead the Big Blue past Peabody. He also finished tied for eighth at the Division 3 individual state championship after posting a score of 14-over 86 at Renaissance Golf Club.
Landry was a key cog in the machine that helped lift the Eagles to their first Division 1 state championship in six years. A Catholic Conference All-Star selection, Landry fired a score of 3-over 74 to finish tied for fifth at the Division 1 individual state championship at Wentworth Hills Country Club.
Novak took home CCL All-Star honors after leading the Crusaders from the No. 1 spot this season, averaging nearly 30 points per match.
Area golfers who earned all-star honorable mention status for the 2021 season were Sean Mathers and Shea Newhall (St. Mary’s); Connor Cunningham and Leo Schroeder (Bishop Fenwick); Ryan Dugan and TJ Walsh (Lynn Classical), Alex MacMillan (Lynn English); Christopher Locke and Jacob Hershfield (Marblehead); Ryan Brunet (Peabody); Aidan Burke and Deven Henehan (Lynnfield); Brady Tremblay, Jon Wasserman and Jack Doyle (Salem); Ian Rourke, Nick DeVito and Terry Manning (St. John’s Prep); Jason Bouffard and Will Roddy (Swampscott); and Connor Murphy (Winthrop).
