Berkshire Hills Invitational Singles
Berkshire Hills Country Club

Past Champions: 1956-2006
2006 Results

Notables:

Notes:

• Troy and Marinaro will play in Saturday’s final group for the 2^nd time in four years. In 2003, Marinaro shot a first round 69 to Troy’s 72.

• Troy’s 67 is the lowest score shot in the tournament in the last eight years.

• 21 players qualified for the Championship Flight with scores of 76 or better

• 2 players recorded ACES on Friday: Matt Scarafoni (Country Club of Pittsfield), 17^th hole. He shot 70. Jeff Reynolds (Berkshire Hills), 3^rd hole.
   

North Adams Invitational Singles Match Play

North Adams Country Club

Past Champions: 1935-2006

2006 Results

Notes:

• Baran, the 2005 champion, birdied the 1^st playoff hole to win medalist honors for the 2^nd consecutive year.

• Kevin Lamb, the reigning North Adams Club Champion, advanced to the semi-finals last year.

• Defending champion Jason Whitmire overcame two doubles and a birdie-free round to qualify for match play. He shot a 1-under 71 during qualifying last year.

• Dick Rivers defeated Dave Harpin with a par on the 1^st playoff hole to earn the final seed into match play. In 2006, Harpin shot 75 and advanced to the Quarterfinals.

• Round of 16 and Quarterfinal matches will be played tomorrow. The semi-final and finals will be played on Sunday.
  

Game Story:

It appears 21-year old Donnie Troy has grown tired of coming close in the Berkshire Hills Invitational Singles.

After near wins in 2003 and 2005, Troy fired a 5-under 67 on Friday, the lowest score recorded in the tournament since 1999. Still, he leads by just one, over good friend and Berkshire Hills member Chris Marinaro, who grew up playing junior golf with Troy at Berkshire Hills. They will tee off in Saturday's final group for the 2nd time in four years. Their rounds highlighted an incredibly low scoring day in which 11 players broke par and a score of 76 or better was needed to qualify for the Championship Flight.

"Everybody's raving about the course," said tournament co-chairman Matt Ortega.

Scores weren't nearly as low at the North Adams Invitational Singles Match Play, where parity ruled the day. Chris Baran, the 2005 champion and runner-up last year, shot 76 and birdied the first playoff hole to earn medalist honors. Defending champion Jason Whitmire shot 79 with two doubles and no birdies. The scores of all 16 match play qualifiers in the Championship Flight ranged from 76-82.

Elsewhere, Lee's Jim Salinetti has put up rounds of 66-71 and trails leader Mike Welch by five shots thru two rounds of the Greater Bangor Open in Maine. 2004 and 2005 champion Matt Donovan trails by 10 after rounds of 70-72.

Earlier this week, Berkshire Hills' Diane Breen and Waubeeka's Kathy Duguay, the dominant women in local golf, shot a 2-under 70 to win the Albany Capital District Invitational. They lead the Berkshire County Women's Player of the Year standings with 460 points each.

Golf Digest Magazine recently announced their list of "Best Teachers in Your State," a state-by-state ranking based on voting from more than 1,000 teaching Professionals. Many of you won't be surprised to hear that Cranwell's Sean Hanley and Skydome Golf Center owner Chris Tremblay ranked 8th and 9th in Massachusetts, respectively.