Finals Set at Tamarack for Westchester Amateurs
GREENWICH, Conn. (July 9, 2024) – The final matches are set in the 105th Westchester Amateur Championship, Senior and Super Senior Amateur championships after another hot day of competition at Tamarack Country Club.
The 105th playing of the Amateur final will feature Jackson Fretty of Greenwich and Tommy Mangan of Apawamis after the pair picked up two victories on Tuesday.
Related: Brackets | Day 2 Photos | Day 1 Photos
Fretty never trailed in either of his matches, defeating Adam Friedman of Sterling Farms by a 2-and-1 margin and Eric Terminello of Knollwood, 3 and 1. Fretty built a 5-up advantage through 12 holes in the afternoon, but Terminello didn’t go quietly. He won No. 12 with a birdie-three, and took advantage of Fretty miscues on Nos. 15 and 16 to trim the lead to two.
However, Fretty closed the door on the 17th hole once again, getting up and down for birdie from 40-yards short of the par-5.
“That pitch shot on 17 gave me a lot of confidence because that could have gone either way with him in the greenside bunker and me 40 yards short, so to pull that shot off under those circumstances was pretty key to secure it,” said the 23-year-old Fretty.
After advancing to the final, Fretty is looking forward to the opportunity for another 36 holes at Tamarack and the chance to hoist a WGA trophy.
“I love Tamarack, it’s always been good to me,” said Fretty, who advanced to his first-ever U.S. Amateur from Tamarack two years ago. “I really enjoy playing the course, so to have the chance to get out here and play a 36-hole final for the Westchester Am, hopefully it’ll be really fun.”
The 18-year-old Mangan earned a pair of come-from-behind 1-up victories, edging Tyler Vitolo of Golf Performance Center in the morning and Chris Calabro of Knollwood in the afternoon.
Mangan trailed Vitolo through 13 holes in the morning, but wins on Nos. 17 and 18 sealed his spot in the afternoon semifinal. While Mangan won the first three holes, Calabro came back and won six of the next eight holes to build a 3-up advantage. Momentum then shifted back in Mangan’s favor as he won four of the next five holes to reclaim a 1-up advantage. A bogey was good enough for Calabro on 17, but Mangan proved clutch once again with par on 18 winning him the hole and earning him a spot in Wednesday’s 36-hole final.
Meanwhile, in the Senior division, Chris Strnad of Tamarack will square off against past WGA Public Links champion Herrol Pryce of Baychester. Strnad defeated Edward McCann of Wykagyl, 4 and 3, while Pryce earned a 2-up win over Scott Matthews of Hudson Hills.
Finally, Mark Vassalotti of Sterling Farms will aim to defend his Super Senior title. He defeated past Senior division winner Jim Romaniello of Shorehaven, 3 and 2, and will square off with Tom Fox of Apawamis. Fox edged Yale Stogel of Tamarack, 2 and 1.
“I met with my swing coach last week to work on a few things coming into this,” said Vassalotti. “I love match play events. I play better in match play, so I felt pretty good coming in.”
After reacquainting himself with Tamarack, Vassalotti has enjoyed how the course fits his eye and has been playing well all-around in his return to the final.
“I usually drive the ball pretty well and I did,” said Vassalotti. “Today I made a ton of putts. I made some really long putts and some short ones that counted.”
The opening 18 of the 36-hole championship match for the Amateur division will begin at 7:30 a.m. The Super Seniors and Seniors begin their championship matches at 12 p.m. and 12:15 p.m., respectively, and the final round of the Amateurs slated for 12:30 p.m.
Tamarack is hosting the Westchester Amateur Championship for the fourth time, previously doing so in 2000, 1984, and 1971.