Thomas LeBlanc of Saugus is the NEPGA Jr. Tour Player of the Year in the Boys 11 and Younger bracket. The son of Lisa and Scott LeBlanc shot 9-hole rounds of 33 and 34 (5 under par) at Stow Acres CC in August, successfully defending his title. LeBlanc did not card a single bogey in both of his rounds, collecting five birdies along the way.
The championship win also pushed his Player of the Year points to first, winning that competition with 564 points. He and the other young champions will be honored at the 2025 Junior Tour Awards Banquet Sept. 28 at Winchester Country Club.
Thomas plays a variety of local courses with his dad and his papa, who also is a lefty, and has benefited from instruction by Middleton-based Paradise Family Golf PGA professional Steven Ventre. Thomas started playing golf at age 5 in his grandparents’ backyard. Neighbors who were cleaning out their garage gave Thomas a set of clubs.
“Thomas is something special! He works extremely hard on his game, plays in junior tournaments all over the country and competes at a very high level. I truly can’t wait to see what the future holds for him,” said Ventre.
“Thomas is locked in … getting better every day!”
The 45th Ryder Cup matches will be held September 26–28 on the Black Course of Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York. Here are a couple more reasons most North Shore residents will be rooting for the USA team: Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley owns a home in Newburyport where he stays off-season and Tedesco CC’s George Zolotas and Bradley were college teammates and roomies when both attended St. John’s University in the early 2000s. … Bradley will not be playing, but he’s put together a strong team: Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and captain’s picks Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young and Sam Burns. Europe is the holder of the Ryder Cup after its win in 2023 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. The European Ryder Cup team had not been finalized when North Shore Golf went to the printer, but captain Luke Donald has six automatic qualifiers: Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Rasmus Højgaard and Tyrrell Hatton.
Maddie Smith of Westford and Mount Pleasant GC delivered under pressure once again, prevailing in a two-hole playoff to capture the New England Junior Amateur girls championship at Crumpin-Fox Club this summer and delivering a team title for Massachusetts. Smith also won the Mass Golf Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship July 7–10, also at Crumpin-Fox, shooting 73-69. … Jack Carew of Ipswich CC finished fourth in the New England Junior Amateur boys championship, shooting 73-74. The Massachusetts boys team finished second to Connecticut
At the Ouimet Memorial Tournament women’s division, July 23–25 at Wollaston GC and Woodland GC, North Shore golfers captured the first three positions. Maddie’s sister Morgan Smith finished first with rounds of 72-75-69 – 216. Maddie was second at 75-74-75 –224 and Isabel Brozena (Indian Ridge CC) finished third at 74-83-73 – 230. … In the Ouimet Memorial’s men’s division, Christian Emmerich (Kernwood CC) finished 4th at +1 and his brother Aidan Emmerich was in 9th place at +4. Matt Parziale (Thorny Lea GC) won at -4..
Bass Rocks GC in Gloucester held its Senior Masters tournament on July 31. This fun weekday event for the retired guys provided a day of friendly competition, food and bragging rights! The basics: 18-holes, individual medal play; 95% handicap.
Here are the results:
Osteoporosis Flight (age 50-59)
gross: Steve Muniz, +14 (83)
net: Tom Brown +11 (80)
Hip Replacement Flight (age 60-69)
gross: Steve Paccone, +4 (73)
net: Craig Hyslip, +1 (70)
Cataracts Flight (age 70-79)
gross: James McKinlay, +8 (77)
net: Rich Semple, E (69)
Soft Foods Only Flight (80+)
gross: Tom Lawler, +7 (76)
net: Joe Cronin, +1 (70)
The Leo J. Martin golf course in Weston has been voted the worst in the United States, one of three Massachusetts courses in the top 10 of worst courses. Golf website MyGolfSpy recently released a list of the 10 worst golf courses in America, and the state-operated Leo J. Martin course ranked No. 1. Two other Bay State golf courses made the top five: Norwood Country Club ranked No. 3, and Ponkapoag Golf Course in Canton ranked No. 5. The Leo J. Martin and Ponkapoag golf courses are both owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and operated by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
At the Witch City Cup Tournament at Olde Salem Greens on August 19, the team of Tim Richmond, Ethan Doyle, Jack Doyle and Tom Doyle took first place after a 6-hole playoff with the team of Joe Sullivan, Buddy Jinks, Peter Cunningham and Tony Mento Jr. Both teams shot 58. In 3rd place, at 59, was the foursome of Sam Stern, Tyler Bates, Jack Sharrio and Trip Franzese. … At Olde Newbury GC, Gordon Sargent and Billy Jodz outlasted Hank Lucas and Scott McAdams in a playoff to capture the inaugural Joe O’Keefe Classic title. … Congratulations to Reading’s Damon Lusk (Meadow Brook CC), who shot 5-under at Keney Park Golf Course in Windsor, Conn., to share medalist honors and earn a spot in the 44th US Mid-Amateur Sept. 13-18 at Troon CC in Arizona.
Hats off to the New England PGA and its members for its hugely successful Birdies 2 Benefit one-day fundraising event at Andover CC on August 11. The pros played 54 holes of golf in one day with the goal of making as many birdies as possible. Club members throughout the state pledged a dollar-amount for each birdie. A total of 56 birdies were made, raising some $243,000. In the last five years, donations have exceeded $1,123,487. The funds benefit three non-profit organizations: Boston Children’s Hospital, Special Olympics-Massachusetts and PGA REACH. Bravo!
North Shore golfers excelled at the Amateur Public Links championship July 29-30 at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston. Making the cut were Bill Drohan (Bradford CC) +2, Tim Raymond (Olde Salem Greens) +3, Mike Hersey (The Meadow at Peabody) +6, Owen Picariello (The Meadow at Peabody) +9, Michael Kuzara (Bradford CC) +11, and Phil Miceli (Sagamore Spring GC) +12.
At Mass Golf’s Junior Amateur, held at Franklin CC Aug. 4-7, two young North Shore Golfers made the cut: Gray West (Essex CC) and Trey Hanson (Salem CC) both shot 1 under par. Both made it to the Round of 16. Cape Ann GC hosted a qualifying round for the tourney on June 24. Local players also competing included Ben Chisholm (Ipswich CC) +1, Jack Carew (Ipswich CC) +3, Seamus O’Holleran (Myopia Hunt Club) +4, AJ Bodnar (Ferncroft CC) +6, Jack Moriarty (Ferncroft CC) +9, Tyler Fawaz (North Andover CC) +10, Tommy Murphy (Bradford CC) +10, Zach Enners (Indian Ridge CC) +10, Alexander Barnard (Indian Ridge CC) +11 and Cole Velardo (Ferncroft CC) +11.
At Mass Golf’s Family Scramble Tournament held at Twin Hills CC in Longmeadow July 21, the Andover CC team of Rob Carpentier, Brad Batchelder, Robert Carpentier and CJ Carpentier finished first with a 13-under 58. The Gannon Municipal GC foursome of Jay Fiste, Nick Fiste, Alex Fiste and Jane Fiste shot 9-under for a 6th place finish.
The Salem CC team of Jenny Ceppi and Milan Ceppi finished second in Mass Golf’s Mother Daughter / Member Junior Modified Scotch tourney Aug. 13 at Foxborough CC. … At the Dolly Sullivan Team Best Ball event at Olde Scottish Links in Bridgewater July 28-29, the Sagamore Spring GC team of Linda Peterson, Joan Inglis, Patty Mulvaney and Maureen Mellen finished 8th at 8-under, shooting matching -4s both days. … The Cape Club of Sharon hosted the Mother Son Modified Scotch tournament July 8. Susan McKay (Hillview GC) and Daniel McKay (Green Hill Muni GC) shot even par for an 8th-place finish.
Finally, we mourn the passing of prominent North Shore amateur Oliver Cook, who died July 1, six days shy of his 87th birthday, after a long illness. The Beverly Farms resident was a partner in the Peabody law firm of Pearl, McNiff & Crean, where he remained for some 60 years. In 1965, Cook joined Salem Country Club, becoming one of its longest-termed members. While there, he became its youngest club president as well as chairman of three national golf tournaments. On a personal note, Ollie was a warm, helpful supporter when I was a young reporter. He graciously introduced me to all the “important” individuals at both Salem CC and especially at The Country Club during the 1982 United States Amateur Championship. Our thoughts go out to his wife of 50 years, Sharon, and his family.
