GREENFIELD — Rain has trounced the area this summer, and while the 78th Invitational Four-Ball at the Country Club of Greenfield had near-perfect weather during qualifying action on Thursday, Mother Nature made her presence felt during Friday’s first round of match play.

The rain began falling as players took the course during the morning, and play was halted around 2 p.m. Players went back out on the course at 3 p.m. but were quickly brought back in after another round of storms moved through. Play was suspended until Saturday for matches that were unable to finish.

Championship Flight matches that weren’t completed will finish with a shotgun start at 7 a.m. on Saturday. Championship Flight quarterfinal matches are scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. on Saturday, while semifinals are now scheduled for Sunday at 7 a.m. with championship matches tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m.

Four of the eight Championship Flight matches were able to be completed before play was suspended. Connor Piecuch and Michael Bechard, the No. 5 seeds, got things going early on in their round and finished strong to advance to the quarterfinals with a 6 & 5 victory over Jeffrey Houle and Rick Wisell, the No. 12 seeds. 

Houle made a birdie on No. 1 to take the early lead but Piecuch tied things up with a birdie on No. 3. Bechard birdied No. 5, Piecuch followed a birdie on No. 7 and Bechard tallied a birdie on No. 9 to give the pair a 4-up lead going into the turn. 

Bechard turned it on down the stretch, making an eagle on No. 12 and knocking a birdie on No. 13 to go 6-up and end the match to move the pair into the quarters. 

“My partner was great out there,” Piecuch said. “We were making putts. You can’t get super high or super low out there.”

Piecuch and Bechard are searching for their first Four-Ball title together. They took second last year after falling to Dennis Booska and Cody Booska in a playoff in the championship match.

The experience gained throughout last year’s tournament has given the pair of 2022 college graduates added confidence heading into this tournament. 

“Everything went smooth out there today,” Bechard said. “You learn from all the experience you get and that’s what we got last year. We came back this year and we’re trying to use that to our advantage.” 

Experience is key during the Invitational Four-Ball. Knowing how to play off your partner, as well as how to attack each hole, is key in coming out victorious. Having seen some of the situations that presented themselves last year has helped Bechard and Piecuch prepare for the coming rounds. 

“We learned how to get out of certain situations,” Bechard said. “You face a different one on every hole and it’s never going to repeat itself. Learning some of the new situations is going to help us.” 

While Piecuch wasn’t ready to give away his strategy, he did say part of the team’s outlook is about focusing on the course rather than the two golfers they’re competing against, knowing the competition will continue to ratchet up as the tournament progresses. 

“For us, like we did last year, we’re playing the golf course rather than the opponent,” Piecuch said. “We have a game plan and we’re just trying to execute that. If we get beat, we get beat. Our game plan is what it is. Can’t leak those secrets. If we do what we have to do then hopefully that will be good enough. If not we shake their hand and tell them good match.” 

For a player like Piecuch, who is the son of CCG pro Kevin Piecuch, knowing the ins-and-outs of the course isn’t a problem. Having a partner like Bechard who had previous Four-Ball experience has been helpful, as the two have great chemistry out on the course. 

“We were ready but maybe not game-wise ready this year,” Piecuch said. “With work, we haven’t been playing as much. It’s more that [Bechard’s] been playing in a lot of these and gotten a lot of second place finishes. I got my first lick of it last year. He knows what he’s doing.”

Piecuch and Bechard will face off with Kevin Bagge and Mike Lavalle, the No. 5 seeds, in the quarterfinals, with that match currently slated for a 7:08 a.m. start on Saturday. 

Bagge and Lavalle reached the quarters with a win over Dan Lapierre and Joe Groth, the No. 12 seeds. Bagge made birdies on No. 3, 5 and 8 to take a 3-up lead after nine holes, and while Lapierre birdied No. 12 to cut the lead to two, a bogey on 15 gave Bagge and Lavalle a 3-up lead which they held to the finish for a 3 & 2 win.

Dennis and Cody Booska, who shot 11-under 60 during the qualifying round on Thursday, were automatically the No. 1 seeds in the Championship Flight after winning the tournament last year. 

They opened Friday by walking away with a 5 & 3 win over Sam Conant and Will Conant, the No. 16 seeds. The Conants had the top seeds all square through six holes before Cody Booska sank a birdie on No. 7 and then eagled No. 8 to give the Booksas a 2-up lead going into the back nine.

Sam Conant birdied No. 11 to cut the lead to one but that’s when Cody Booska turned it on, making a birdie on No. 12, an eagle on No. 13 and birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 to put the match away.

Next up for the Booskas will be the winner of the first round match between No. 8 Chris Ferriter and Joe Wilson and No. 9 Chris Varilly and Steve Jones, who were unable to complete their round on Friday due to weather. That match will resume Saturday at 7 a.m.

The big upset of the day came in the 2 vs. 15 matchup pitting the second-seeded pairing of KC Finley and Jared Goss and the 15th-seeded duo of Jared and Hugh Barber.

Starting out on No. 10, Goss and Finley bogeyed the opening hole to give the Barbers a 1-up lead. A birdie from Goss on No. 13 drew them all square, but birdies by Hugh Barber on Nos. 14 and 16 gave the Barbers a 2-up lead heading into the front nine.

The Barbers bogeyed No. 1 to go back to a 1-up lead but Goss and Finley scored a par on every hole after while Hugh Barber birdied No. 6, and the Barbers pulled off the upset with a 2-up victory.

The Barbers will look to keep it rolling on Saturday when they face the winner of the match between No. 7 Casey Blanchard and Garrett Plifka and No. 10 Doug Riel  and Tim McKenna, who also were unable to finish due to weather.

Andy Lesenski and Ch ris Austin, the No. 3 seeds, were unable to complete their match with Chris Bourbeau and Keith Burch, the No. 14 seeds. Brendan Creagh and Brett Barnes, the No. 6 seeds, also couldn’t complete their match against David Donoghue and Sam Wolanske, the No. 11 seeds. Both of those matches will finish on Saturday morning. 

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