More than 3,000 miles west of St. Andrews, golf delivered a story as sad and inspirational as you will encounter this year.
On the 34th hole of Friday’s match at the Massachusetts Amateur, Conner Willett holed a 10-foot birdie putt to prevail over Ryan Downes, 4 and 2.
Willett then went to a funeral home for his father’s wake. Willett’s Massachusetts Amateur trophy was placed next to his dad’s coffin. The next day, along with his mother and sister, he laid his father, Rick, to rest.
Rick Willett was playing in a tournament at Charles River Country Club in Newton, Massachusetts, with his brother on July 8. At that night’s dinner, he began choking. Two days later, he died from complications of the incident. He was 52.
Rick Willett was described as a robust athlete who loved to play golf, ski, hike, and cycle. He shared his passion for golf with his son, with whom he played countless rounds at Charles River.
Conner, 19, of Wellesley and a rising sophomore at Georgetown University, was to begin playing the Massachusetts Amateur the next day. He shot 4-over par in the 36-hole stroke-play portion to advance comfortably to match play at Concord Country Club in suburban Boston.
Willett, first alternate at his U.S. Amateur qualifying site in early July, survived a 20-hole match in the opening round, and then won by at least a two-hole margin in his march to the final. His opponent, 16-year-old Downes, was the youngest player in the field and was trying to become the youngest winner in the history 114-year-old championship. Downes grabbed the lead after 20 holes, but Willett caught him on the 22nd hole, passed him on the 25th and never relinquished the lead.
Jesse Menachem, the executive director of Mass Golf, spent a lot of time with Willett during the week and walked the final match with the eventual winner. Menachem observed that the youngster appeared to be “unfazed,” adding: “He was confident and had the air about him that he could not lose.”
Nearly 100 Charles River members, family, and friends also walked the final match in support of Willett. Many wore blue ribbons with the initials “R.W.” sewn in. When the match was over, they gathered in a semicircle around Willett and listened to him be interviewed by the media. Dry eyes were hard to come by.
Said Menachem, “It had to be this way.”
RESULTS
Jim Nugent