Jacob Zaranek had himself a day at the U.S. Amateur Championship qualifier Monday at Longmeadow Country Club.
With the top two finishers at the tournament earning qualifying spots for the 119th U.S. Amateur Championship, and third and fourth place receiving two alternate spots, Zaranek knew he needed to bring his “A” game to move on.
The South Deerfield native did just that, shooting 6-under par over 36 holes to earn a second place finish and qualify for the prestigious championship set to be played at the famed Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (N.C.) beginning Aug. 12.
“I had high expectations going in,” Zaranek said after punching his ticket to the U.S. Am. “I had been playing well and I just needed to string some rounds together to put my name at the top of the leaderboard. Staying in it 36 holes is a grind and I just tried to take it one hole at a time.”
Zaranek got off to a hot start, beginning his morning round on the back nine and posting a 3-under 32 start in his first nine holes. The 21-year-old followed it with a 2-over 37 on the front nine, putting him 1-under par and in fifth place at the halfway point of the tournament.
“There was a little stretch in the first 18 where I lost a couple swings and didn’t feel super comfortable,” Zaranek said. “But I found something to start the second round.”
Indeed, Zaranek started the second half of his tournament strong, recording birdies on two of his first three holes. He was even par the rest of the way, but went on to bogey No. 17 after missing a pair of putts and bogeyed No. 18 after missing a three-foot putt to keep him 1-under par with nine holes to go.
With the field tightly contested, he knew he would have to step up his play on the front nine — his final stretch of holes — to earn a spot in the U.S. Am.
He got things started on the right foot on No. 1 with a birdie. Zaranek was just getting started however, as he birdied the second, third, fourth and fifth holes to pull away from the pack.
Zaranek credited the five straight birdie run to simply getting his confidence back.
“I hunkered down and swung hard at the ball,” Zaranek said. “My putter got hot, two of the putts were 25-footers. When those go in it gives you a little confidence. It was just good ball striking and getting hot putting.”
He notched pars on his final four holes to leave him 6-under par, good enough for a three-shot margin over third-place finisher Andrew O’Leary of Norfolk. Zaranek finished one shot behind tournament winner, Steven Dilisio (7-under), a Swampscott native who golfs collegiately at Duke.
While Zaranek knew he finished well, he didn’t find out he had qualified as a top-2 finisher until the final scores were posted.
“I was trying to keep my eyes off of where I was,” Zaranek said. “I didn’t know until all the scores came in. I was really excited. It’s going to be an unbelievable venue.”
Zaranek, who has been golfing his whole life, is a rising junior on the Fairfield University golf team — a Division 1 program. He will be competing in multiple tournaments to prepare for the Aug. 12 U.S. Amateur Championship. The match play portion of the event will be televised on Fox Sports 1.
Greenfield’s Cody Booska also had a strong day Monday in Longmeadow, as he tied for 10th place after rounds of 70 and 74 put him 4-over par for the tournament. While he finished just back of qualifying for the U.S. Am, the Turners Falls native did have the best single shot of any golfer at the tournament.
Heading into the fourth hole in his afternoon 18, the 23-year-old had confidence. He had already birdied the par-3 hole in his morning round.
Booska stepped up to the hole with his pitching wedge, hitting it perfectly for just his second career hole-in-one.
“It was a downhill par-3, 141 yards out,” Booska said. “There’s a slope in the green, and I hit it to the pin. It had the perfect spin and it went in the hole.”
Booska, who graduated from Johnson & Wales University-North Miami this past spring, said he hit the ball well off the tee all day, but struggled to finish on the green.
“I hit it really well, but struggled with my putter,” Booska said. “I’m happy with how I played.”
Booska will travel down to Florida later this year in hopes of turning professional.
The two other locals in Monday’s field also performed very well in Longmeadow. Nathan Patterson of Conway tied for 22nd, finished 6-over par after rounds of 72 and 74 while Jonathan Elkins of South Deerfield wound up in a tie for 36th overall, finishing 10-over par thanks to identical rounds of 75.