McLaughlin Fires 68 to Take Berkshire Classic
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. – After knocking on the door for years at the Berkshire Classic, Pat McLaughlin decided to kick it down.
McLaughlin carded a 3-under-par round of 68 at Stockbridge Golf Club on Sunday, setting a scoring record for the event and a record for margin of victory, beating the field by eight strokes at the annual gathering of the top high school golfers in the county.
The Wahconah senior put the heat on the field right away with birdies on the first and second holes, and even though he followed those up with bogeys on a pair of par-4s, he continued his aggressive play and was rewarded with birdie on the 95-yard, par-3 fifth hole.
“I was basically just thinking, ‘attack,’ ‘the whole round,” McLaughlin said. “If I make another birdie, my goal was to make a birdie on the next one and try to go even lower. Basically, just trying to not settle and keep on going ahead, trying to make some birdies.”
He pulled off his second set of back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16. On the par-5, he was on the front of the green in two shots and two-putted. On No. 16, he sank an 8-foot putt for birdie.
The tournament title was almost a foregone conclusion by the time he sank the putt on No. 16. But he kept his score in the red with a solid par on the dogleg 17th and an up and down on the finishing hole.
Lee’s Joey Abderhaldn rallied after bogeys on his first two holes in the shotgun start, Nos. 18 and 1, and carded a 76 that was good for runner-up.
Coincidentally, it was McLaughlin who owned that 76 a year ago, finishing in second place and one stroke behind his teammate, Tim Kaley. Kaley tied for third on Sunday with another Wahconah golfer, Sam McLaughlin.
Wahconah, which can secure a tie for the Berkshire County League title with a win in its finale at Mount Everett on Friday, entered six players in Sunday’s Classic. Four finished in the top 10 among 24 finishers.
Coach Pete Terpak said he wanted to give his players experience in an 18-hole event prior to the Division 3 Western Massachusetts sectional tournament on Oct. 23 at Crestview Country Club in Agawam.
“All the guys, Brady [Breitmaier] and Timmy – Timmy’s probably disappointed, what did he come in third?” Terpak said. “He played a solid round. I’m proud of my guys.”
Terpak has a plan for the next couple of weeks to sharpen those guys for another run at a Western Mass title that eluded them last fall.
“Tomorrow, we’re going to try to scrimmage Hoosac and Greylock,” he said. “We’re going to get down to Crestview a couple of times. And we’re going to practice really hard at Wahconah, probably play the black tees and practice every day after school.
“And most importantly, I just set up shop on the short game. Before they get out of school, I’ve got my balls and my mark sticks, and I set up for chipping and putting and try to get them to give me as much time as I can on the short game. Because I think that’s more important.”
That’s for Tuesday after school.
Sunday was all about celebrating his players’ individual accomplishments, none bigger than Pat McLaughlin’s.
“This was important for Pat in a lot of ways,” Terpak said. “When he was a Nessacus [Middle School] student, he was right here on this [No. 16] tee playing in a playoff to win this as an eighth-grader. It has eluded him this whole time, and this is super for him, to get the record and play very well from start to finish.
“He was not going to be denied today.”
McLaughlin agreed that it was important to close the deal at the Classic.
“It feels good,” he said. “It’s been a rough couple of rounds up here the last few years. It feels good to finally play well up here.
“I think it was, honestly, all just in my head. I felt more confident. I’ve been playing a lot better this year, more consistent. I knew that if just came out here and did my thing, I’d be good.”
Results Sunday at the Berkshire Classic at Stockbridge Golf Club (par 71):
68
Pat McLaughlin, Wahconah
76
Joey Abderhalden, Lee
77
Tim Kaley, Wahconah; Sam McLaughlin, Wahconah
79
Owen Petropulos, Mount Greylock; Max Shepardson, Lenox
85
Hunter Shepardson, Lenox
86
Brady Breitmaier, Wahconah
87
Greg Kay, Monument Mountain
88
Vincent Scalise, Wahconah; Frank Field, Hoosac Valley
89
Mitch Hall, Taconic
90
Carter Drake, Wahconah
91
Gabe Bishop, Hoosac Valley; Brayden Bishop, Taconic; Ben Dingman, Mount Greylock
92
Thomas Art, Mount Greylock; Liam Trask, Monument Mountain
95
Cam Harrington, Taconic; Cam LaFerriere, Taconic
97
Zach Mongeon, Hoosac Valley
102
David Carlino, Lee
105
Corey Charron, Hoosac Valley
113
Will Svrluga, Mount Greylock