Maccario takes Massachusetts Mid-Amateur lead with 64

It was all sunshine and birdies on the opening day of the 36th Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship, which is being played this week at Brae Burn Country Club. Only two competitors carded under-par scores for the day, with one of those scores being a course record setting 8-under 64. Nick Maccario would only falter once through the round on his way into the record books with a total of 10 birdies.

Coming off of his strongest season to date, having competed at the U.S. Amateur last month, Maccario set the course on fire with a record setting round. A key component to the round being the strong finish that he pieced together with textbook approach shots on the difficult par-3 17th hole and par-4 18th hole, before knocking both putts in for birdies.

“I was just talking to someone at my home course. I shot the course record there last year and someone asked if it was my only course record. Bizarrely I was like yeah of course it was.” said Maccario when asked if he knew that he just shot the course record. “To break another course record, that’s pretty cool.”

Before his group reached the 17th tee box, only one birdie had been recorded on the day. After backing off his tee shot to gauge the wind, Maccario would step up and deliver, firing his shot within six feet of the pin. His playing partner Frank Vana Jr. would follow him, also dropping a beautiful shot within eight feet, just behind Maccario’s. Vana would make his birdie, and Maccario would follow the lead, pouring in his birdie as well.

“I didn’t get a practice round in here, so I had to borrow one of my friend’s notes from a previous event. On 17, I actually didn’t have any notes from the tee box we were playing from, but I was able to judge my club off of his notes from a different location.”

In shooting his 8-under par 64, Maccario only had 21 putts, making almost everything he looked at. He got off to a solid start and was 1-under through his first three holes. On the fourth Maccario would make his only mistake of the day, a double-bogey, but would bounce back with a birdie on 5. He followed that up with a pair of birdies at 7 and 8, closing out the front at -under. On the back, Maccario birdied both par 3s and all three of the par 5s. His closing birdie on the par-4 18th hole would give him the Brae Burn course record of 64.

In the afternoon wave, Shuvam Bhaumik played a flawless round of golf, shooting a 3-under 69. He made birdies on 1, 9 and 13 while paring every other hole on the course.

“I just plotted around the golf course, you know, this is a traditional golf course where we have to keep it below the hole, and I’m fairly straight off the tee,” said Bhaumik. “When I got out of position, I got myself back into position where I could make par easily. I hit a lot of greens and made a lot of two putts.”

Bhaumik would get one good break on the 11th hole. “My, my tee shot was hooking left, and it hit the base of a tree and bounced back into the middle of fairway, and I made par so I saved two shots there.”