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Player Profile: Jack Kearney
15 Feb 2011
by Benjamin Larsen of AmateurGolf.com

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- photo courtesy Mass. G.A.
- photo courtesy Mass. G.A.

Jack Kearney seems to live by a simple rule.Have clubs, will travel.

Of course, with the amount of travel Kearney, a legendary player in the Massachusetts Golf Association circuits, makes, a car --- and even a plane --- comes in handy sometimes.Kearney, you see, is a resident of Georgia. He migrated there 10 years ago after living up north for quite some time. But he didn't take everything with him.

In fact, Kearney left his clubs and his 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme up north and they've been helping him compete in MGA and other New England regional events ever since.

“The tournaments up here are better than anywhere else,” said Kearney, who is a pilot for Delta when he's not on the links. “If I didn't have to work, I'd be up here all the time.”

Judging from his success on the MGA circuit --- and his performance in 2010, in particular --- it seems he's playing in just the right amount of events.Kearney took home the association's Senior Amateur Championship and was named the Senior Player of the Year at the MGA's annual Salute to Champions Dinner in January.

Kearney's senior amateur championship win came after a birdie on the final hole to down Alistair Catto. The victory was made even sweeter by the lost lead at the Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball just weeks before by Kearney and partner Bill Barry.Barry, perhaps not coincidentally, is also Kearney's lifeblood in the Bay State.

“I guess technically my residence is the back of my '87 Cutlass,” Kearney said. “But I stay with my good friend (Billy).”

The senior amateur title was the first MGA championship is Kearney's illustrious amateur career. Kearney is a 15-time qualifier for the USGA Championship and has earned himself a MGA Player of the Year award, winning it in 1992. Still, up until this past summer, he hadn't claimed an MGA title. That all changed this past summer when he pulled out a pressure-packed win.

Kearney maintains ties to the MGA by being a member at Elmcrest Country Club in East Longmeadow, Mass. Kearney was given a lifetime membership by former club co-founder Joe Pagos. And despite the fact that he truly resides in Georgia, Kearney still gets plenty of use out of the membership.

“Up north, we have all of the regional events like the Hornblower (Memorial) and the Ouimet (Memorial Invitational),” he said. “That's what brings me up here.”

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