Beach weather? Nah. Golf weather? Definitely!

Another busy week for golf in the region...yawn.

Wannamoisett...this place is no joke!

Just kidding! There is exciting stuff going on! This morning, a group of the very best amateur golfers in the world tee off at Wannamoisett CC in Rhode Island in the 52nd playing of the Northeast Amateur Invitational. This event is often referred to as 'The Masters of Amateur Golf' and has been a springboard to professional success for golfers like Luke Donald, Dustin Johnson, David Duval, and Hal Sutton, among others. Some MGA/NEGA notables playing this week are:

Frank Vana, Jr: the defending MGA Mid-Amateur Champion, will be vying for the Joseph Sprague Award, which is given to the low mid-amateur in the field. This award honors the legacy of the late Joseph Sprague, who was the father of former MGA executive director (and current USGA staff member) Joe Sprague, Jr.

Matt Parziale at the Mass Open last week

Matt Parziale: is looking to continue a hot streak – after winning the Norfolk County Classic, finishing T3 in the Hornblower Memorial, and most recently, taking low amateur at the 105^th Massachusetts Open Championship.

Jack Whelan: is coming off a stellar spring season at St. Lawrence University where he earned ECAC Division III Golfer of the Month honors for April. The 2012 Ouimet Memorial Champion is playing excellent golf lately, winning two tournaments in a row to close out his junior season.

Evan Russell: who plays golf for the University of Hartford, is also coming off a strong spring season – having been selected to the Division I PING Northeast All-Region Team. He was also named the America Sky Player of the Year this spring.

Evan Russell, defending New England Amateur Champ

Also in the field for the first time is University of Rhode Island sophomore Joe Leavitt (Bradford CC), who last week posted an even par finish at the Massachusetts Open Championship.

The last time a Bay State native won the Northeast Am was Peter Uihlein in 2011. He has since gone on to a professional career and was named the 2013 European Tour Rookie of the Year.

Wannamoisett Country Club is a Donald Ross masterpiece named one of the top-50 golf courses in the country. Ross himself described the course as “one of the finest layouts I’ve ever made.”

Keep track of the leaderboard!

The always amazing Tedesco CC

Aside from the Northeast Am, we also have two USGA qualifiers taking place today. Up at Tedesco CC, another old-school gem, we have a full field of hopefuls trying to qualify for the Senior Open Championship, which will be held at Oak Tree National in Oklahoma next month. Some notables in the field include Kirk Hanefeld, Andy Morse, and Frank Vana, Jr...who, incidentally will be racing down the highway after his round in order to get to Wannamoisett in time to tee off at the Northeast Am! Such is life in the condensed New England golf season!

Additionally, we are hosting our very last sectional qualifying round for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship today, which is at Stow Acres CC. Stow hosted the APL Championship Proper in 1995, and has also hosted countless MGA events over the years. Read our blog post from the other day about the APL Championship.

And don't think that we get to take a break after the sun sets tonight...tomorrow we're back at it, up at Bass Rocks GC for another Mass Amateur qualifier. We're also prepping for the MGA Father & Son Championship, which will be held next Monday and Tuesday at Willowbend in Mashpee.