Brendan Hunter had never made it to match play at the Massachusetts Amateur. He figured he really didn’t need to overpack last week as he prepared for the 108th playing of the state championship.
“I only brought three outfits,’’ Hunter told the MGA with a grin. “I was just happy to be here.’’
Then the 20-year-old from Groton advanced through stroke play and needed to make an emergency call home for wardrobe reinforcements.
Hunter, who plays out of Red Tail GC in Devens, upset John Kelly, the 2014 Mass. Am champ, 4 and 3, in the 36-hole final at Taconic GC in Williamstown on Friday.
Hunter gained some momentum at the par-3 ninth hole, the 27th of the finale, by draining a 15-foot birdie putt to go 2 up.
“I didn’t drop any putts all day long in the first 26 holes,’’ Hunter said. “On nine, I finally got one to lip in, and it got me on a roll. It gave me a little more confidence on the greens to two-putt most of them.’’
On the 12th, Hunter stuck his approach, made the 2-footer, and his lead was up to five.
Kelly, who plays out of Twin Hills CC in Longmeadow, said the match got away from him at No. 11, the 29th hole of the final.
“To make a double bogey from 180 yards in the middle of the fairway is not acceptable,’’ Kelly said. “I think that put him 3 up and then it was 5 up like that. I fought as best I could.’’
But the day belonged to Hunter.
“I had never made match play before,’’ he said. “Just being here is just phenomenal.’’
LPGA — Hyo Joo Kim had five birdies in a six-hole stretch and shot a 7-under-par 64 Saturday at Highland Meadows to open a three-stroke lead in the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.
Kim began the run on the par-4 fifth, parred the par-3 sixth, then ran off four straight on the par-5 seventh, par-3 eighth, and par-4 ninth and 10th holes. The South Korean added birdies on the par-3 14th and par-5 17th and parred the par-5 18th to finish at 15 under.
Kim had shares of the lead the first two days, opening with a 66 on her 21st birthday and shooting a 68 on Friday. She won the season-opening event in the Bahamas for her third career title.
Top-ranked Lydia Ko and Alison Lee were tied for second. Ko, the 2014 winner, had a bogey-free 67. Lee shot 66.
PGA — Jhonattan Vegas’s lead was down to three strokes when rain finally stopped third-round play in the Barbasol Championship at Opelika, Ala.
Six shots ahead after a course-record 11-under 60 on Friday, Vegas was 1 over for the round and 16 under overall playing the par-4 14th when play was stopped on Grand National’s Lake Course.
The 29-year-old Venezuelan Olympic qualifier failed to qualify for the British Open and has only past champion status — he won the 2011 Bob Hope Classic — on the PGA Tour. The winner Sunday will get a two-year exemption and a spot in the PGA Championship, but won’t be exempt for the Masters.
David Toms and Aaron Baddeley were 13 under. The 49-year-old Toms was 4 under for the day with four holes left. Baddeley shot a 64, chipping in on the par-4 18th for his third straight birdie.
