The field is set for the 78th Invitational Four Ball at the Country Club of Greenfield, with plenty of familiar faces hitting the course on Thursday when the qualifying round kicks off. 

Each of the last five championship teams will be in the field, with 104 teams once again taking part in the tournament. While the course was bone dry during a drought last year, the conditions will look much different this week with the rain that has poured down across Franklin County in recent weeks.

Outside of the concern of more precipitation, particularly for Friday, everything else for what features to be another thrilling tournament is in place. 

“We're super excited,” CCG Golf Professional Kevin Piecuch said. “We’re excited to get it in. Our biggest concern is the weather. Everything else is organized and ready to go. We’ll just have to deal with whatever Mother Nature brings.” 

The father-son duo of Dennis and Cody Booska captured the title last year. While it was the first time the pair had won together, it was the sixth title for Dennis and the second for Cody. The pair will look to go back-to-back as they tee off at 7:48 a.m. on Thursday. 

The Booksa’s round on Thursday will serve as a practice round, as the pair are automatically slotted in as the No. 1 seed in the championship flight for match play. 

The defending champs will be playing their opening round with a pair of former champions in Paul DeNofrio and Matt Grayson, who captured the 2020 and 2021 Four Ball championships. DeNofrio and Grayson nearly made it three in a row last year but were knocked out in the semifinals. 

David Donoghue and Sam Wolanske, the 2019 champions, will tee off at 8:12 a.m. while 2018 champs Chris Ferriter and Joe Wilson get going at 8:20 along with Dave Kennedy and Nate Burdick, who won the tournament together in 2013 and 2015. 

Andy Lesenski has dominated the Country Club of Greenfield’s club championship, coming out victorious the last four years. Lesenski and Chris Austin won the Four Ball championship in 2011, but despite a number of close finishes since — including a runner-up showing in 2021 and a semifinal appearance last summer —  haven’t been able to pick up their second Four-Ball title. They’ll hope to change that this year, getting underway at 8:36 a.m. 

“Most of the champions are back,” Piecuch said. “It’s a good field. We only have a few new teams playing.” 

Chris Bourbeau and Justin Dion, who earned the No. 4 seed in match play and made it to last year’s quarterfinals, will tee off at 8:28 a.m. while Jamie Crocker and Jason Kelton, last year’s No. 9 seed who reached the quarterfinals, will get going at 8:36 a.m. with Lesenski and Austin. 

While the typical faces will once again be in the mix, a number of younger golfers emerged as contenders last year. 

If it weren’t for a Cody Booska birdie on 17 to tie things up and eventually force a playoff, Connor Piecuch — Kevin Piecuch’s son — and Michael Bechard would have walked away as champions last year. The pair of 2022 college graduates will be right back in the mix this year, teeing off at 8:52 a.m. They’ll be joined by Reece McLeod — a 2021 college grad who made it to the quarterfinals last year before being knocked out by Lesenski and Austin — and his new partner, Cory Heyes. 

Ryan Cote, a former Greenfield resident who currently plays on the club golf team at Clemson, flew up from South Carolina and will compete again with Chris Cervini. The pair also made it to the quarterfinals where they fell to the Booska’s, but went on to win the championship consolation finals. The two will tee off at 8:04 a.m. Thursday. 

With demand for the tournament high, Piecuch had to once again cap the field at 104 teams. They’ll be split into divisions, with the top 40 competing for 16 match play berths in the Championship Flight.

“We have quite a few on the waiting list,” Piecuch said. “It’s another amazing tournament which I’m really excited about. We used to cap it at 96 teams but the demand has been so high.”

All 104 teams will get underway on Thursday in the qualifying round before the Round of 16 commences on Friday. The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place on Saturday before the finals on Sunday. 

For a full list of Thursday’s tee times and a list of past champions, see Page B2.]]>