GREENFIELD — It was a stress free Thursday for Dennis Booska and Cody Booska during the qualifying round of the 78th Invitational Four-Ball at the Country Club of Greenfield. But while their score didn’t really factor into the match play bracket, the pair made an impressive opening statement to show it will take a monster performance in the coming days to prevent them from taking home the championship for the second straight year.

As defending champs the father-son duo were locked in as the No. 1 seed in the Championship Flight for match play, meaning they were able to use Thursday as a glorified practice round to set up the next three days of competition.

That didn’t stop the pair from posting an 11-under-par round of 60, the low score of the entire day by three strokes.

“Cody played really well today,” Dennis Booska said of his son. “I was the moral support guy out there today. I helped out on a couple holes but it was mostly Cody doing it for us. He played really well.”

Dennis wasn’t wrong. Cody Booska sank six birdies — on No. 2, 6, 7, 12, 16 and 17 — while also knocking in a pair of eagles on No. 8 and No. 13. Dennis closed out the round with a birdie on 18 to gain added confidence heading into  Friday.

In the Four-Ball tournament it typically comes down to whoever has it going on the greens and can convert birdies when presented the opportunity. The Booskas did that on Thursday, and Cody said keeping that going moving forward will decide whether they’re crowned champs for the second consecutive summer.

“We just have to keep making putts,” Cody said. “That’s what it comes down to out here. It’s all about making putts. Everyone is going to be able to get there in two and have a good look at it. It comes down to making them on the green.”

Last year was the first title the two won the tournament together, though it was the sixth title for Dennis and the second for Cody. Dennis contemplated going out on top and retiring from the Invitational, but his son pushed for them to try to go back-to-back.

“He’s saying his time is coming to an end here soon,” Cody said. “Hopefully I can get a few more in.”

“I wanted to hang them up on a high note last year,” Dennis added. “[Cody] wouldn’t let me.”

The Booskas will face off with No. 16 seeded Sam Conant and Will Conant on Friday in the first round of match play. The Conant duo posted a score of 2-under 69 during the qualifying round, and while it looks like it’ll take a Herculean effort to knock off the Booskas if they play like they did on Thursday, anything can happen in match play which is what makes this tournament so exciting.

The two groups are scheduled to get underway at 8:44 a.m. on Friday. 

“You never know in match play,” Dennis said. “There are a lot of good players here. You have one bad match and you’re out of here. We’ll have to bring it again [Friday].” 

Jarrod Goss and KC Finley secured the No. 2 seed in the Championship Flight on Thursday, carding an 8-under 63. Goss and Finley made five birdies on the front nine before dropping four more birdies on the back nine. Finley has won the tournament twice, doing so with Dennis Booska in 2012 and two years later with Cody Booska. 

Goss and Finley will match up with Hugh Barber and Jared Barber, who earned the No. 15 seed after carding a 2-under 69. That match is scheduled for 8:44 a.m. off the 10th hole on Friday. 

Andy Lesenski — who has won the last four club championships at CCG — and Chris Austin took care of business on Thursday, with Lesenski making eight birdies as the pair finished with a 6-under 65. The score earned them the No. 3 seed, where they’ll face off against Chris Bourbeau and Keith Burch, who locked up the No. 14 seed with a 2-under 69. Tee time for that match is set for 9 a.m.  

The pairings of Kevin Bagge and Michael Lavalle and Connor Piecuch and Michael Bechard each posted scores of 5-under 66 on Thursday. Bagge and Lavalle won a match of cards to earn the No. 4 seed in match play, where they’ll take on Dan Lapierre and Joe Groth, who are the No. 13 seeds after a 2-under 69 round, at 9 a.m. 

Piecuch and Bechard — who fell to the Booskas in a playoff during the championship match last year — will be the No. 5 seed as they look to get back in the contention mix. The two will open match play against Jeffrey Houle and Rick Wisell, who enter as the No. 12 seed after a 3-under 68 round on Thursday, at 9:08 a.m. 

Brendan Creagh and Brett Barnes’ score of 5-under 66 earned them the No. 6 seed, where they’ll take on David Donoghue and Sam Wolanske, the 2019 Four-Ball champs. Donoghue and Wolanske are the No. 11 seeds after a score of 3-under 68 on Thursday. That match is set for 9:08 a.m. 

The final two matchups on Friday in the Championship Flight will be between teams who all posted scores of 4-under 67 on Thursday. Casey Blanchard and Garrett Plifka are the No. 7 seeds and will face off against Doug Riel and Tim McKenna, who are the No. 10 seeds, at 8:52 a.m. while Chris Ferriter and Joe Wilson are the No. 8 seeds and will go up against Chris Varilly and Steve Jones, the No. 9 seeds, at 8:52 a.m. 

One omission from the Championship Flight will be Matt Grayson and Paul DeNofrio, the 2021 and 2022 champions. The two posted a score of 1-over 72 on Thursday, placing them 26th. The pair will compete in the Third Division for the remainder of the tournament. 

“It’s always great playing in this,” DeNofrio said. “Matt and I didn’t play well. It was a struggle to make pars. The guys we played with are fabulous players and will be tough to beat. Cody is awesome and Dennis will be there when he needs him.” 

Dave Kennedy and Nate Burdick, who won the 2013 and 2015 championship together, also fell short of qualifying for match play in the Championship Flight, posting a score of 1-over 72 on Thursday. They, too, will compete in the Third Division. 

Chris Cervini and Ryan Cote, who won the championship consolation finals last year, but will be in the Third Division on Friday after also carding a 1-over 72. While pairs like the Booskas had it going on the greens on Thursday, Cervini and Cote were unable to find a rhythm with the putter. 

“It went poorly today,” Cote said. “I don’t think we could have putted any worse than we did today. We won't be close to qualifying. The division we’re in will still be good competition. We’ll still have a good time.” 

The course played differently than last year, as all the rain made for almost the opposite of last summer when everything was bone dry. Despite not making the Championship Flight, Cote and Cervini are still hoping to come out victorious in their bracket. 

“It was really wet on the course,” Cervini said. “It makes it easier than last year where it was so dry. We’ll just have fun and try to win our division.”

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