Organisak wins the Mass. Am
Outlasts Maccario in 36-hole final 1-up at The Kittansett Club
MARION — Matt Organisak of Sudbury got back a piece of what he lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organisak was primarily fairways, greens and clutch putts over the final 18 holes of the 36-hole final to beat Waltham’s Nick Maccario 1-up to capture the 112th Massachusetts Amateur championship on Friday at the scenic par-71 Kittansett Club. It is the first time Organisak has hoisted the Massachusetts Cup and the third left-hander to win since 2000.
Organisak, who plays out of Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord, is a recent graduate of Emory University in Atlanta where he complied and impressive golf portfolio. The Eagles were one tournament into their spring campaign when the NCAA closed shop in response to the coronavirus.
“This is my first tournament since everything went down since the beginning of March,” said Organisak. “I can never get my senior spring back and we had such a great group of guys down at Emory and such a great coach.
“We definitely had something special and nothing will every replace that. But this is certainly a good feeling. To put my name on this (trophy) is an amazing feeling.”
Organisak plans to complete the amateur circuit into October before deciding when to turn professional.
“Short-term, I’m looking forward to next week at Concord Country Club and the New England Amateur,” said Organisak. “After that, I’ll take it day by day and my plan is to turn professional at some point and start playing some pro programs and see how that goes. But with COVID and everything, the main goal is to stay safe and take things day by day and practice. If you do that, you never know what can happen.”
The two golfers battled the rain, gusting winds and each other through the first 18 holes, heading into the break tied. It was quite the grind as Organisak had the only two birdies during the morning at the ninth and 13th.
“The weather today, it felt like we were not in the USA,” said Maccario. “We had a little bit everything and that was the toughest thing trying to keep your head in it.”
Maccario combined three bad drives and with a few muffed chips to fall 4-down through 24 holes. Maccario put two drives in the gullies that lined the left rough on the first and fifth holes and needed to take a drop at the sixth after his tee shot landed in the woods.
Organisak took full advantage of his opportunities with steady play that included a birdie at the second and fourth holes while making all the short putts.
“A couple of the drives I hit, I hit good but I just played them on too aggressive of a line,” said Maccario.
“I don’t think I judged the wind quite as well in the afternoon.”
Maccario, who plays out of Bradford Country Club in Haverhill, regrouped on the par-5, 545-yard, seventh hole with a birdie. Organisak’s tee shot went into a swampish area behind a wall of trees and had to chip out. Maccario won the hole with an 8-footer.
Maccario cut the lead to 2-up with a par at the eighth. With his ball in a deep rough atop a bunker to the right of the green, Maccario chipped in to win the hole.
“I told myself it wasn’t too bad of a chip and it gave me a bunch of energy,” said Maccario. “At that point, if he makes that putt, things would have gotten really out of hand.”
Organisak responded with a birdie on the par-4, 411-yard, ninth hole to go 3-up at the turn. Organisak went 4-up with birdie on the par-4, 352-yard, 10th hole. Organisak’s approach shot left him with an 8-foot putt for his fourth birdie of the afternoon.
“I came out and put some pressure on him,” said Organisak. “I felt good, but he responded every time and he did it so well it was such treat to play with him.
“Golf happens sometime. I put some pressure on him and he came right back. That’s how it works sometime and you just have to put your head down and put one foot in front of the other and make a good golf swing.”
Maccario did not roll over, however, and staged a rally to take the match to the final hole. Maccario won the 12th and 13th holes with pars and extended the match to the final hole with birdie at the 17th. Organisak cliched the match with a par on 18.