GREENWICH, Conn. (July 10, 2024) – Jackson Fretty of Greenwich used four wins in a five-hole stretch of the morning round to capture momentum and never look back as he defeated Tommy Mangan by a 7-and-6 margin to win the 105th Westchester Amateur Championship at Tamarack Country Club .
Two more champions were crowned on the day as well, with Herrol Pryce of Baychester earning the Senior division crown and Mark Vassalotti defending his title in the Super Senior division.
Related: Final Brackets | Day 3 Photos | Day 2 Photos | Day 1 Photos
While the par-4 second was tied with bogeys, Fretty and Mangan of Apawamis traded victories on other early holes to remain tied through five. Fretty continued the alternating wins with a victory on the par-5 sixth, then won Nos. 8-10 to build a 4-up lead.
Though Mangan took the par-4 13th, Fretty responded by winning the next two to go 5-up. A spectacular sand save from the par-5 17th bunker for Fretty helped he and Mangan tie the hole, while a tie with bogey on 18 held Fretty’s 5-up lead.
“With a 36-hole match, knowing there’s going to be a break in the middle, the goal is to try to be up by the break,” said Fretty. “So, to be able to establish a bit of a lead going into the afternoon was huge.”
Fretty put enacted part two of his plan early in the afternoon, winning four of the first eight holes to grab a commanding 9-up lead.
Though Mangan fought back and won the par-4 ninth after driving the green and making birdie and winning the par-4 11th, a tie on the par-3 12th sealed the 7-and-6 victory for Fretty.
For Fretty, though the conditions were tough, he continued to be happy with his lag putting and play with the driver.
“The conditions today were probably the hardest we had all week,” said Fretty. “It was really hard to hit it close today as well, given the pin placements, so I was really happy with my lag putting. I think that throughout all the matches, was the biggest thing I was able to lean on all week. Tamarack encourages you to hit driver if you’re willing to. If you’re hitting driver well, you can take advantage. For me, driver accuracy has always been a big strength of mine and over the past few years I’ve been able to hit it farther, so that has been nice too.”
In the Senior division, host Tamarack’s Chris Strnad held a 1-up lead through. Nine holes, but Pryce won the next two holes to quickly flip the match in his favor. After four consecutive ties, the competitors traded the final three holes, with Pryce taking two for the 2-up victory. The victory adds to Pryce’s past history as a WGA Public Links champion in 2017.
Finally, Vassalotti earned a convincing 5-and-4 victory over Tom Fox of Apawamis to win for the second straight year. Vassalotti won four of the first six holes and never looked back, with Fox’s only win coming on the par-3 seventh. Wins on Nos. 9 and 11 helped lead to the final margin.
Tamarack was hosting the Westchester Amateur Championship for the fourth time, previously doing so in 2000, 1984, and 1971. Players enjoyed the layout which in recent years has continued work on its master plan, focusing on greens in previous years and most recently with its bunkering.
