Reigning Massachusetts Mid-Amateur champion Ricky Stimets of Worcester Country Club advanced to the Mass. Amateur 36-hole championship final by winning two matches Thursday at Framingham Country Club.
Tenth-seeded Stimets defeated former St. John’s High standout Ethan Whitney of Oak Hill, 1 up, in the semifinals, after topping Danny Frodige (Dedham Country and Polo Club), 4 and 2, in a morning quarterfinal.
Stimets takes on No. 32 Matthew Naumec in Friday’s final after defeating No. 8 John Broderick (3 and 2) and Matt Parziale, 4 and 3. Both golfers are former professionals.
Naumec, the runner-up at last year’s Mass. Amateur, is playing on his home course as a Framingham Country Club member. He resides in Wilbraham.
Ricky Stimets of Worcester County Club defeats Ethan Whitney of Oak Hill County Club 1-up and will face Framingham CC’s Matt Naumec tomorrow in a 36-hole final starting at noon for the Mass Am championship. @PlayMassGolf @tgsports pic.twitter.com/tqXOfd0Wn9
— Daily News Sports (@MetroWestSports) July 11, 2024
Against Frodigh, Stimets gained breathing room in what had been considered the tightest match of the morning, with a birdie on 14 to go 2 up with four holes to play. The match ended after Frodigh bogeyed 15 and 16.
Stimets had a 1-up lead entering the 18th hole. He putted to about 2 feet, which necessitated Whitney to pretty much hole an eagle look from 18 feet to extend the match. Whitney’s eagle putt trickled past on the right, and Stimets cleaned up his birdie to advance.
“And, you know, we’re just having fun out there for a game,” Stimets said through Mass Golf. “Of course, down the stretch, you’re grinding, and it’s a little bit more competitive. But it was a blast.”
Stimets’ recent regimen has paid off while preparing for five days of pressure-filled golf.
“A lot of walking, gym, better diet, cut out sugars and fried food for the whole year,” Stimets said. “So that’s been tough, but it’s paying off, the sacrifice.”
In the quarterfinals, sixth-seeded Whitney gained revenge in a rematch of the 2023 round of 16, when No. 30 Ryan Downes won with a birdie on the 19th hole on his way to the title. This time, Whitney took advantage of a Downes bogey on 2 to go 1 up, went 2 up on the fifth and won four straight holes, 8 through 11.
Whitney drained a 20-foot-plus putt on 14, and Downes missed his to end the match.
Before winning four matches to advance to the final, Stimets, a Osterville resident, shot 71-71–142 (2 under) in stroke play earlier in the week. Naumec carded 73-73–146 (2 over).
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester CC’s Ricky Stimets advances to Mass. Amateur final
