Berkshire Trio Pace Mass. Open Qualifiers

May 30—Add three more names to the growing list of Berkshire County golfers to qualify for the Mass. Open.

Taconic Golf Club assistant Josh Hillman, a former Rhode Island standout, Egremont head professional Bob Mucha and Taconic member Ed Budz each secured their spots at Waubeeka Golf Links on Tuesday.

Hillman shot 2-under 70 and shared medalist honors with Brian Lamberti, a runner-up in the 2005 New England Open and one of the region’s most proven touring professionals. Mucha birdied four of his first five holes then “kind of ho-hummed it around” in 1-under 71. Budz, meanwhile, had to sweat out a lapse in poor driving on his penultimate hole before turning in an even par 72 to advance with no shots to spare. He also earned 60 POY points to join Mike Slosek atop the early season standings.

Reigning Men’s POY Donnie Troy received everyone’s worst consolation: first alternate status, after posting a 1-over 73.

Mucha opened with a 10-foot birdie on no. 1, chipped in from 50-feet one hole later, then added a kick in at the par 5 4th hole and a 20-foot birdie on no. 5 to practically cinch his 9th appearance in the Mass. Open. “That puts you at ease,” Mucha, 43, said of his fast start. “From there, you don’t have to go crazy.”

As with many of the club professionals in the Berkshires, don’t let Mucha’s cushy title deceive you into thinking his trip down to Charles River in three weeks will merely be a hiatus from his pro shop.

“If I play well, I like my chances against anyone,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it. Anybody, any given round can beat anybody. In a couple of weeks, my game will be pretty sharp. Charles River isn’t a long course… pretty tight, which plays into my hands.”

That confidence, particularly in the Mass. Open, does come with precedent. Among his eight previous appearances, Mucha quickly referenced his third place showing at the Country Club of New Seabury in the 1980’s.

Unlike Mucha, Ed Budz has no prior experience in the Mass. Open to hang his hat on. In fact, his closest connection to the event stems from his position as a Cutter & Buck Sales rep and the accounts he’s forged with several of the bigger names in the field.

One-under through 16 holes, Budz pulled his tee shot on the par 5 17th down the left side and towards some fescue. A member at Waubeeka from 1998-2002, Budz has become all too familiar with that area.

“I thought, oh boy, if that’s in there, I’m not going to find it. So I say, ‘I’m just going to birdie my second ball and go back to even par.’ And then I overcompensated and blocked my second way O.B. on the right. Not even close.”

Suddenly, his spot didn’t seem so secure.

But, somehow, his first tee shot ended up 10 yards short of trouble. He made par and then three-putted the final green from 30 feet to shoot 72, the only amateur to qualify.

“I hit the ball better than that,” Budz said flatly of his even par effort. Just three days earlier, he shot a 4-under 67 from the back tees at Taconic, three shy of the course record 64 shot by head professional Rick Pohle in 1994.

One shot back of Budz, Donnie Troy shot the same score—73—that he parlayed into a Mass. Open berth last year, and three shots lower than the number that got him into his first Mass. Open in 2004. This year, though, Troy opted to qualify locally. With just eight spots available at Waubeeka, compared to the 25 awarded at the Eastern Mass. site he chose last year, Troy’s margin of error shrunk considerably.

“The thing that’s most disappointing is that the low round was 70,” said Troy, who will now try his hand at Mass. Amateur qualifying next week. “I was only three off that and still didn’t get into the tournament.”

Three mistakes left Troy on the outside looking in.

Following a birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey start off the front side, Troy’s tee shot on no. 7 came up short, in a relatively simple position. He chipped poorly, though, to 7-feet and missed the putt.

At no. 8, a par 5, Troy again found himself just off of the putting surface. Again, he played a poor pitch, and his 10-foot birdie putt went begging.

The final blow came at the no. 17, the same hole that gave Ed Budz a reprieve for his poor drive. From 207 yards, to a green well below the fairway, Troy selected a 4-iron as the wind freshened in his face.

His caddy, Milton Torres, told him, “You definitely won’t go long with that.”

Like clockwork, he did, and couldn’t get up and down for birdie.

Troy’s third Mass. Open appearance will have to wait, unless of course, as the first alternate, one of the eight qualifiers from Waubeeka withdraws, or one of the top 20 finishers from last year’s Mass. Open does the same.

If that happens, MGA officials should look for Troy at his summer residence: the Country Club of Pittsfield’s practice green.