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Mass Amateur Field Down to 32
Massachusetts Golf Association,
09:57PM / Tuesday, July 12, 2016
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Jake Shuman is human after all.
 
But the Duke University junior is still better than most mere mortals.
 
One day after blistering Taconic Golf Club with a course-record 64, Shuman carded a 4-over-par round of 75 on Tuesday to to finish tied for first place at the conclusion of stroke play at the 108th Massachusetts Amateur Championship.
 
The 144 golfers who began the week has been winnowed to a select few 32 who will begin match play on Wednesday. After two rounds, just eight will make it to Thursday’s quarter-finals. The 36-hole final is scheduled for Friday.
 
None of the three amateurs with Berkshire County ties made it to the round of 32.
 
Jake Mahoney of Lee’s Greenock Country Club came the closest. He shaved 10 strokes off his first round score with a 2-under 69 on Tuesday that left him at 148 for the tournament, just out of a nine-player playoff at 147 for six spots in the match play field.
 
Robert Linn of Berkshire Hills finished at 152. Forest Park’s Chad Alibozek finished at 162.
 
 
There seemed to be little doubt about whose names would appear at the top of the leaderboard. After all, from their first tee shots on Monday, Peter French (Maplegate CC) and Shuman (Blue Hill CC) played like men on a mission.
 
For French, this year marks his final MGA Amateur Championship appearance (he plans to turn pro later this year), while Shuman is looking to continue what was a breakout sophomore season at Duke this past spring.
 
The longtime friends were paired together for two days and matched each other shot for shot. In the end, French and Shuman claimed co-medalist honors with two-round scores of 3-under par 139.
 
“It was nice,” said French, who delivered an even par 71 performance on Tuesday. “Every year I am worried about getting a good seed and playing solid the first two days and figuring out the golf course. My plan is to just continue to do what I am doing and play solid golf. If you wind up being medalist, that is how it goes but playing solid is what it’s all about.”
 
French has a strong history in this event. In the past four years, he has advanced to the round of 32 (2012, 2014) and finished as a quarterfinalist (2013) and a semifinalist (2015).
 
“I was able to get off to a good start in the last two rounds,” said French, a recent graduate of Johnson & Wales University. “For the past two days, Jake and I just fed off of each other. Today I was just worried about playing solid and doing the same thing I was doing yesterday.”
 
On this day, Shuman was coming off a Monday performance where he set a new Taconic GC course record of 7-under par 64. On day two he carded a 4-over par 75.
 
“You have to get through stroke play to get to match play so that was the first step in the process,” Shuman said. “Obviously I didn’t play the best I could play today. I wouldn’t even say that I played average. I played poorly, but at the same time all I needed to do was be in the top 32. It doesn’t matter what seed you are. Anybody can beat anybody at this point.”
 
The last time co-medalists were crowned at this event was in 2013 (Andy Drohen & Colin Brennan). The last time that a medalist went on to win the championship was 2015 (Nick McLaughlin).
 
“If you are medalist or 32nd, both people are playing tomorrow,” said Shuman. “Whether one of us is [seeded] one or two or two or one it is just a matter of what time we play and that’s it. We still have to go out with the same goal of beating of whomever we are both playing tomorrow.”
 
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