It was cold, it was windy, and the putting surfaces at the beautiful Bass Rocks Golf Club were lightning fast.
That combination of elements and course composition made things extra difficult for this year’s Northeastern Conference Open competitors.
It didn’t seem to effect Masconomet’s Brendan Sheehen, however, as the senior linksman went out and fired an impressive 3-over par 72 to lead all scorers and help his squad capture the title. Fellow Chieftain Cole Velardo — who won last year’s NEC individual crown at Tedesco CC — wasn’t far behind with a smooth 79 at the formidable track, giving Masconomet a comfortable 12-stroke victory over runners-up Beverly and Marblehead.
“It feels great; it was nice to know (Sheehan) had my back today,” said Velardo, who was named NEC Player of the Year after going undefeated this fall. “I knew he was doing well all day, so I just kind of tried to finish strong. I got off to a bad start but battled and hung in there.”
Despite admitting to not putting his best on the slick greens — a common theme for all golfers on Thursday — Velardo’s 10-over par outing was still more than enough to help the Chieftains come out on top. He finished in a tie for fifth place overall (alongside Winthrop’s Ryan Murphy) and will now head into Monday’s Division 2 state championship match in Foxborough with confidence.
“We’re looking forward to states on Monday, trying to win that for sure,” said Velardo. “It’s just a really fun team. We have a lot of great freshmen coming in; Brendan O’Connor won (D2 North) sectionals last week, so we just have a lot of depth and anyone on the team can play well on a given day. It’s been great.”
As for Sheehan, Thursday’s spectacular showing came as no surprise to Masco head coach Hector Longo. Sheehan has been elevating his game ever since he joined the varsity ranks, and should be a key contributor come Monday as well.
“Brendan deserves all kinds of credit. He went 11-1-1 this year in the No. 2 spot,” said Longo, this year’s selection for NEC Coach of the Year. “He’s been a rock for our team in each of the last two regular seasons; he struggled in this event last year but was nails today.”
Sheehan credited his somewhat conservative approach for stringing together the strong outing.
“I just tried to limit my mistakes today. I knew a lot of people were gonna struggle around the greens so I just tried to make it as easy as I could,” he said. “It was hard with these winds, but I left myself in really good spots all day and just two-putted from there.
“I was a little disappointed with how I left (Velardo) alone last year,” he added, “so it felt great to step up this year.”
Despite the seaside winds, Sheehan opted to continue ripping driver off the tee. He trusted it, and fortunately it didn’t come back to bite him.
“I actually took driver out of the bag more times than I needed to because I was hitting a low flighted ball, so it worked out well,” he said. “It’s so fun (at Bass Rocks); the greens were flying and I love playing a course like this.”
In tying for second place, Beverly got a stellar showing from Anthony Barror, who finished in second place individually with a 5-over 75. His teammate, Drew Murphy, carded an 89 to claim a tie for 12th place.
Marblehead, which took home the NEC Sportsmanship Award, got a 78 from Tyler Forbes (T3) and an 85 from Greyson Leventhal to secure the second place tie +25 overall.
Gloucester, which endured an up and down season of sorts, finished its campaign strong by capturing fifth place. Senior Trevor D’Annolfo had himself a day, tying for third with a smooth 78. His teammate and fellow senior, Adam Conigliari, carded an 89 to aid in the steady team performance.
“Trevor was great; Adam did not putt well and otherwise would’ve had a much better score,” admitted GHS coach David Quinn. “But I’m thrilled they came in fifth. That’s a good day; I’m happy about that.”
While not technically named team captains this fall (GHS didn’t have any captains titles), both D’Annolfo and Conigliari have been tremendous leaders over the past few seasons for a Fishermen program that continues to produce positive results on the links. Quinn didn’t have enough kind things to say about the talented duo, who have helped pave the way for more future success.
“Just two unbelievable kids. Even if they’re not considered captains they’re our leaders and I was thrilled with them,” said Quinn. “We’re gonna have a young team next year, so we’ll see how they progress through the winter. But they all love golf and can make great strides; it’s going to be intriguing to see what happens.”
Winthrop captured fourth place at +27 (165 total), while Swampscott’s Mike Collins and Tyler Ostroff (+33, 171) led the Big Blue to sixth. Peabody’s Tristan Joyce and Anthony Modugno (+39, 177) were seventh, followed by a tie for eighth place between Salem’s Shea Cristel and Matt Kenney and Saugus’ John Morello and Trey Riley (+49, 187). Danvers’ Thomas Fish and Thomas Surrette rounded out the leaderboard in 10th at +54 (192).
Sports Editor Nick Giannino may be contacted at 978-675-2712 or ngiannino@northofboston.com.