In the 76 years the Country Club of Greenfield has hosted its Invitational Four-Ball, only two pairings have lifted the trophy three years in a row. The last such occurrence happened way back in 1971.
A third pairing is looking to add their names to that illustrious list this weekend.
Paul DeNofrio and Matt Grayson won the 2020 and 2021 Four-Ball events, and the pair are looking to make it three in a row when the 77th edition of the tournament gets underway on Thursday morning.
The two-time defending champs will tee off at 7:56 a.m. on Thursday.
“Until they get dethroned, they’re the two time defending champs,” Country Club of Greenfield head professional Kevin Piecuch said. “They have to be the favorites going in.”
DeNofrio and Grayson, who are guaranteed the No. 1 seed in the Championship Flight match play bracket regardless of how their qualifying round goes Thursday, will have plenty of competition from the field. Last year 104 pairings competed for the title — the second-largest field to ever compete trailing only the 1970 tournament which had 112 teams — and once again 104 pairings return this time around.
To manage that many groups, half will tee off on No. 1 and the other half on No. 10 during Thursday’s qualifying competition. Piecuch said last year was the first time the Country Club tried that format and it worked well.
“Last year and this year have been two of our biggest fields yet,” Piecuch said. “We had teams that didn’t get in. It’s unfortunate. One-hunded and four is the max we can do. Everything went well with that number last year. As long as the weather holds up, using one and 10 [tees] should go well.”
As always, the top 16 teams during Thursday’s qualifying round will earn entry in the Championship Flight match play portion, while the rest of the 88 duos will filter into the rest of the divisions.
Match play begins Friday with Round of 16 matches while Championship Flight quarterfinals and semifinals are set for Saturday leading up to Sunday’s final.
Andy Lesenski and Chris Austin, who won the tournament in 2011, finished as runners-up last year and return looking to steal back the crown. Lesenski is the reigning CCG club champion.
The Booskas — father Dennis and son Cody — finished second to DeNofrio and Grayson in 2020 and will once again be in the mix for the title. Both have won this tournament with other partners, but haven’t lifted the trophy together as a pairing.
Recent champions like 2018 winners Chris Ferriter and Joe Wilson and 2019 victors David Donoghue and Sam Wolanske return and both pairings will be in the mix. Nate Burdick and Dave Kennedy, who have won the tournament together twice, are another pairing always in contention.
Lesenski and Austin tee off at 7:48 a.m. on Thursday, and the Booskas will be paired with DeNofrio and Grayson during qualification on Thursday. Ferriter and Wilson get going at 8:52 a.m., Donoghue and Wolanske hit the course at 7:40 a.m. and Burdick and Kennedy get underway at 8:04 a.m.
Piecuch said he’s eager to see how things play out, enjoying that players come from all over to compete.
“We’re looking forward to all 208 players coming,” Piecuch said. “They’re from all over New England and further away. There’s a lot of people coming from a lot of different areas. It’s a destination event. It’s good for the local economy. Guys are spending money at the club, the restaurant. They’re staying at hotels, eating at other restaurants, bars and such. It’s a big weekend for everyone.”
While the Championship Flight gets top billing, Piecuch said he makes sure that all 13 flights are organized well, giving everyone a chance to compete for a title.
“We really try to focus on everyone,” Piecuch said. “The people who win the Championship get all the attention but the people who win Flights 13 and 12 are just as important as the Championship Flight.”
Last year the course had to deal with loads of rain coming down in the weeks leading up to the tournament, which led to some strategic reorganization to avoid the water. That won’t be the case this year, as the current dry summer stretch has the course in great shape, according to Piecuch. Temperatures are supposed to stay into the 90’s throughout the four-day tournament.