BC High grad O’Donnell captures Mass. Junior Am title
HARWICH — When Jack O’Donnell made his way out to Cranberry Valley Golf Course on Thursday, he knew he had a chance to earn some payback, and the opportunity to make some history at the same time.
It was an interesting day for the BC High graduate, one with peaks and valleys. But when the pressure was on, the soon-to-be Michigan golfer delivered, defeating former Hopkinton star Matthew Epstein in a dramatic, suddendeath round, as he sank a long birdie putt on the opening playoff hole to capture the 102nd edition of the Massachusetts Junior Amateur Golf Championship in Harwich.
“To finish strong like I did definitely feels special,” O’Donnell told reporters. “I think I won when I was 12 or 13, the first Mass. Junior Amateur I ever did, and won the last one. So, it feels pretty good.”
O’Donnell received an invite to participate in the 2019 Mass. Junior Amateur Tournament, but ultimately fell short in the opening round to Belmont Hill standout John Broderick.
Things unfolded quite differently this time. In a singleelimination format, which featured match play as well as stroke play, O’Donnell rolled through the opening rounds, then found himself in a familiar spot Thursday morning. As the sun began to rise over Cape Cod, he was standing with Broderick once again, set to meet in the semifinals.
“(I feel) that he is probably the best player in that field,” O’Donnell said of Broderick. “I knew playing him, it was going to be a good match, but a hard match to win. But my game had felt good going in, I’d hit it, felt good in the matches before, played well in the stroke play portion, so I was confident in myself, didn’t try to focus on who I was playing necessarily.”
Determined to turn the tables, O’Donnell pulled away late, with key shots on 13 and 15 to eventually defeat Broderick (4 and 3).
Nearby, Epstein was gearing up for a match with Xaverian’s Joseph Lenane. In a precursor to what the championship would bring, Epstein would win the match in a twohole, sudden-death playoff, setting the tables for the afternoon.
After O’Donnell took an early two-hole lead, Epstein began to chip away on the back nine, winning on the 12th to cut his deficit in half.
Then, in an interesting twist, the two would accidentally tee off out of turn on the 15th hole. After a long stroll, O’Donnell arrived first to the tee, and took a mighty hack, launching a shot within about 15 feet or so of the pin. However, because of the tournament format, Epstein implemented a strategic maneuver, knowing he had the choice to either let play continue, or have O’Donnell come back.
“I knew it was my honor from winning a (prior) hole,” Epstein said. “I saw him tee off, and we actually talked about it with (an official), because we almost went out of turn earlier in the round. When I asked him what the rule was, he said you could make him re-hit it.”
So that’s what Epstein did. O’Donnell then returned to swing again, and the move paid off for the William and Mary commit. Epstein would later win the hole, as the two drew neck and neck.
Then, the two athletes traded big shots on 17 and 18, sending the championship to yet another sudden-death playoff.
“My thinking didn’t really change,” said O’Donnell. “I was hitting the ball well, but not really putting great, had a lot of pars all day, which can be a good or a bad thing. But in match play, you tend to want to make a lot of birdies, which I was not doing.”
With a chance to end the match, and to claim some hardware, O’Donnell glanced at the distant hole, looking for a read. After connecting, he watched the ball slowly drift across the green, then fall in. After a brief hesitation, O’Donnell pumped his fist.
He was a champion once again.
“It was very nice,” O’Donnell chuckled. “This is the first time in my life that I’ve ever fist pumped. So, felt good to do that.”