The Ridge Club, Sandwich
Tuesday, 9 a.m. shotgun start
The Ridge Club will host 13 teams and 24 individual qualifiers in a Catholic Conference-heavy field of sectional champions with BC High (290), St. John’s Shrewsbury (296), and Xaverian (300), plus Western champ Longmeadow (298). St. John’s is the two-time defending champion.
The par-71 course, designed by Robert von Hagge, plays 5,854 yards and features elevation changes, fast greens, and difficult tee shots.
“It’s a shot-maker’s golf course,” head pro Matt Baran said. “You’ve got to pick and choose your shots, you have to take advantage of holes that are shorter and have easier hole locations.”
The final three holes make the course a unique challenge. The 16th has a narrow green surrounded by bunkers, which makes the approach shot essential. The 17th features an island green and is perhaps the signature hole. Finally, the par-5 18th includes a peninsula green that forces an approach shot over water.
“You can win it and you can lose it on those three holes,” Baran said.
Aside from a demanding course, golfers must battle the conditions.
“I think everybody would want it to be 75 and sunny, maybe a slight breeze, but obviously we don’t get that come late October,” said Braintree junior Chris Psaros, last year’s D1 South individual champion who helped the Wamps finish sixth as a team at state.
“Playing in [these conditions], you need to be able to shake stuff off,” he added. “Everybody’s playing in the same conditions, everyone’s going to get bad breaks, but if you can push through that, you’re going to be more successful.”
Psaros finished tied for seventh (4-over 76) at last week’s D1 South sectional, helping the Wamps to a third-place team finish, besting Natick by a stroke for the final spot at state.
“It meant a lot [to keep our season going],” Psaros said. “I definitely didn’t want it to be over just yet, so we’re all very excited and proud of ourselves for being able to make it here. I know my teammates and what we’re capable of, and I think we’re capable of taking it home on Tuesday. I definitely do.”
Teams: Agawam, Andover, BC High, Braintree, Longmeadow, Minnechaug, Shrewsbury, St. John’s Prep, St. John’s (Shrewsbury), Shrewsbury, Wellesley, Westborough, Xaverian
Individuals: Jason Ahn (Acton-Boxborough), Anthony Barror (Beverly), Ben Burgess (Franklin), Jacob Carlson (Chelmsford), Matt Casey (Lowell), Tyler Chin-Aleong (Beverly), Jake Damiani-Lessard (Chelmsford), Dom DelNegro (Wachusett), Aiden Donath (Natick), Matthew Drohen (Oliver Ames), Harry Garland (Central Catholic), Ethan Gaudet (Natick), Ryan Hart (Arlington), Peier Li (Westford), Tommy Murphy (Haverhill), Charlie Novak (Catholic Memorial), Evan Regan (King Philip), Tyler Perlman (Franklin), Owen Shea (Arlington), Jason Silva (King Philip), Maddie Smith (Westford), Alec Williams (Natick), Tyler Whitehead (Lincoln-Sudbury), Maxx Zides (North Attleborough)
Foxborough Country Club
Monday, 10 a.m. shotgun start
Foxborough Country Club, a 6,156 yard par-72 Geoffrey Cornish creation, will host 14 teams and 21 individuals for the Division 2 championship.
Canton (298), Nashoba (300), Tantasqua (323), and Hanover (324) enter as sectional champs.
The eighth hole is the most difficult on the front nine — an errant tee shot can put a golfer out of bounds to the left or in a penalty area to the right — but the final three holes provide the greatest challenge.
The 16th is among the most difficult with a narrow, elevated green guarded by rough on both sides. Despite being a par-3, the 17th features a turtleback green that will be a challenge for both the long and short game. The 18th’s bunker-protected sloping green is not an easy way to finish the round.
Monday’s forecast won’t ease things.
“Foxborough’s already a hard course, never mind the conditions being what they are,” said Westwood senior Patrick Dalton, who tied for sixth with a 3-over 74 at the Central sectional, helping the Wolverines finish second. “It’s going to play a little longer in wet conditions, with the wind and the cold. It’ll definitely be a difference-maker with the scores.”
With a 70 percent chance of rain, temperatures in the low 60s, and winds gusting up to 35 miles per hour in the forecast, it won’t be a round for the faint of heart. But Dalton is relishing one last chance to step to the tee in his high school career.
“I knew that [sectionals] could have been the last match,” he said. “I just wanted to play as well as I could to give our team the best chance to move on to states, and extend my career one more week. There’s really good teams [in the field], but if we can all shoot in the 70s at Foxborough, we should be able to hold the trophy at the end of the day, which would ultimately be the goal we’ve been working towards my whole high school career.”
Teams: Billerica, Canton, Groton-Dunstable, Hanover, Masconomet, Mt. Greylock, Nashoba, Nauset, Norton, Pope Francis, Scituate, South Hadley, Tantasqua, Westwood
Individuals: Kesler Anello (Wahconah), CJ Chagnon (Grafton), William Connors (Leominster), Jack Dunn (Milton), Jack Fisher (Duxbury), Leopaul Gamelin (Blackstone Valley RVT), Zac Georgantas (Foxborough), Micah Hashikawa (St. Mary’s-Lynn), Connor Hills (Lowell Catholic), Finnegan Leander (Quabbin), Charlie Leighton (Blackstone Valley RVT), Jacoby Light (Martha’s Vineyard), Ryan McGuire (Foxborough), Sam McLaughlin (Wahconah), Jai Moulton (Dover-Sherborn), Brayden Myette (Wakefield), Cam Nehiley (Whitman-Hanson), Jack Oreal (Newburyport), Charlie Rosa (Dighton-Rehoboth), Cooper Stowell (Wayland), Brady Wood (Frontier)
Blissful Meadows Golf Club, Uxbridge
Monday, 10 a.m. shotgun start
Designed by Geoffrey Cornish, Brian Silva, and Mark Mungeam, the par-72, 6,222-yard course features two iconic holes: the Silvermine (13) and the Ravine (15).
The Silvermine was once home to the Scadden Silver Mine, but is now a par-3 hole with a rock ledge on the right side of the green. The Ravine features an elevated green surrounded by forest on three sides and a ditch on the front side. Precision is the name of the game with these two holes.
The field of 12 teams and 18 individuals boasts sectional winners Monty Tech (313), Old Rochester (318), Ayer Shirley (326), and Wilmington (331).
The Bulldogs of ORR return to the Division 3 field after a six-year run in Division 2, during which they took home a state title in 2022 and finished one stroke shy of Pope Francis in 2024.
“It’s new for us with new competition, but we still have to attack the course,” said coach Chris Cabe. “All the stars have to align, we’ve got to go out there and play our A-game. There’s going to be some tough competition out there.”
The Bulldogs cruised to a 12-stroke victory over St. John Paul II in the D3 South sectional at Foxborough Country Club, led by a 1-2 finish from Jack Czerkowicz (4-over 76) and Luke Pierre (5-over 77).
“The camaraderie that we have is awesome,” Cabe said. “[Czerkowicz] made himself into a really good player this past year, and [Pierre] is another solid player. This time of the year they’ve really upped their game to where they need to be.”
Teams: Athol, Ayer Shirley, Hopedale, Lunenberg, Manchester Essex, McCann Tech, Monty Tech, Norwell, Old Rochester, St. John Paul II, Tewksbury, Wilmington
Individuals: Thomas Bates (Clinton), Ben Catalano (Cape Cod Academy), Blaise Chatigny (Sandwich), Cooper Chaves (Nipmuc), Michael Collins (Swampscott), Aidan Connell (Seekonk), Teddy Dreyer (Weston), Reid Faldi (Hamilton-Wenham), Gus Headrick (Amesbury), Jackson Kusler (Amesbury), Tommy McKiernan (Greater Lowell), Jake Notaro (Clinton), Dan O’Connor (Westfield Tech), Tyler Ostroff (Swampscott), Noah Petrossi (Bromfield), Ryley Regan (Hopkins), Jake Riendeau (Minuteman), Gavin Werling (Littleton)
Joe Eachus can be reached at joseph.eachus@globe.com. Follow him @joeeachus_. Bailey Reynolds can be reached at bailey.reynolds@globe.com.
