Massachusetts Public Links Championship Contested at Waubeeka
“Go, Jeff,” the gallery yelled.
“I’ll just go by Jeff today,” quipped another member of Bourdon’s playing group. “Is that OK with everyone?”
The crowd laughed, and, being a golf crowd, applauded a good shot by any member of the group it followed around the course.
But it was clear that they weren’t there to cheer for Michael Matonis of Tour of Greater Boston or even the group’s “other” Jeff, Jeffrey Sovis of Peabody.
Bourdon had the home course advantage.
Unfortunately, the Waubeeka member did not have the golf gods on his side. His round of 83 meant he missed the cut to go to Monday’s Day 2 of the Massachusetts Golf Association event.
One hundred twenty golfers from around the commonwealth teed off on Sunday at Waubeeka for Round 1. The low 60 plus ties got invitations to return on Monday.
Herbie Aikens of Pinehills Golf Club, the event’s 2014 champion, leads the field after the first round at 3-under-par 68. Four players finished the day under par. Sixty-six players made it through to Monday with a cut line of 7-over 78.
The event’s other Berkshire County entrant, Wahconah Country Club’s Paul Briggs, finished at 89. Starting on the 10th tee, Briggs struggled at the beginning of his round, making the turn at 11 over, but played stronger on the front nine, which he played to 7-over.
Bourdon, a Drury High School graduate who graduated from Brandeis University in 2007 and moved back to the area four years ago, was happy to have the moral support on Sunday.
“It was fun,” he said of the gallery. “It added a little bit of nerves, but it was fun. I’m grateful people came out and watched.”
For nine holes, it appeared that those fans would have a good reason to call in sick on Monday, but after making the turn at 4-over 40, Bourdon ran into trouble on the back nine.
“I was grinding well on the front,” he said. “I had a couple of bad holes on the back. It got away from me. I didn’t hit the ball well today. I putted well, but I couldn’t save myself the whole round.”
Despite his disappointment with his round, Bourdon was excited to have the 35th annual event at Waubeeka.
“It’s definitely amazing,” he said. “Most of the people who come out here, I think, don’t realize this part of Massachusetts is out there. It’s a good showcase for the course.”
Waubeeka owner Mike Deep agreed that the exposure is important for the course. That is why Waubeeka does not mind giving up a Sunday in the middle of the summer for the Public Links or for next weekend’s Berkshire Allied Individual and Team Championships.
“There are probably a couple of times a year when we ask our members to give up the course,” Deep said. “Our members are very supportive of this. They all want the course to succeed.
“We don’t make any money from an event like this, but the exposure is priceless.”
It is no secret that Waubeeka has been losing money for years. Deep, who bought the course at a deep discount a couple of years ago, spent much of the last year convincing the town to allow him to explore creating a second revenue stream for the property.
Bourdon said Waubeeka’s survival matters to all its members, and a prestigious event like the Public Links can only help that cause.
“It is super important to everyone here,” he said. “It’s not a giant membership base, but it’s a good group of people. To close the course and see everyone disperse to different courses would have been heart-breaking not only to me, who has only been here four years, but to my family and a lot of people I play with here who have been coming for 15 or 20 years.
“This is a very important week.”
