KIRBY: For Riley, it's in the bagBY MIKE KIRBY SUN CHRONICLE STAFFSunday, May 16, 2010 1:40 AM EDT
Ryan Riley
There's no doubt who is the area's best golfer: Ryan Riley of Norton Country Club.Not only did Riley win the Attleboro Area Golf Association Open by a record 13 strokes last August, this past week he and partner Herb Aikens captured their second straight Massachusetts Golf Association Four-Ball crown. Riley is also the 2009 MGA Amateur Public Links champion.
So, what does Riley use to play so well? Here's a look in his bag:
DRIVER: TaylorMade Burner, 9.5 degrees with a graphite shaft.
3-WOOD: TaylorMade, 15 degree, S-Flex shaft.
HYBRIDS (two): 18-degree Cobra Baffler Pro, 22-degree Cleveland Halo Speeder.
IRONS (5 iron to pitching wedge): Cobra Forged CB.
WEDGES (three): 52- and 56-degree Cleveland DSG; 60-degree Titleist Vokey Design.
PUTTER: 34-inch Titleist Scotty Cameron Futura. "On a yearly basis, I usually try between 10 and 20 different putters, but I won both MGA events in 2009 with the Titleist Futura. I also try belly, cross-handed, normal and claw grips."
BALL: Titleist Pro V1x. "I always try to have a thick red line over the side of the ball to help with putting alignment."
BALL MARKER: A large marker with a green four-leaf clover. "My shamrock ball marker represents my Irish background ... It's large enough to see from most anywhere on the green."
Four-Ball followup
A quick look back at this week's MGA Four-Ball tournament, won by Riley and Aikens: Both thank Aiken's longtime friend from his home course of Pinehills Golf Course in Plymouth, Jim Borho. Known simply as "Jimbo," Borho played a key role in helping the two players maintain their composure.
"We have to give credit to Jim," said Aikens, who lives in Plympton. "He kept us calm all day long and really gave us great yardage."
Riley and Aikens have played together since 2006 when both players were partner-less and looking to play more amateur golf.
"I needed a partner and so did Herb because he was starting to play more," said Riley. "We just hit it off from the start and formed a relationship and a friendship."
They finished in fifth and third place in the 2007 and 2008 MGA Four-Ball, respectively, and hope to defend their title in 2011.
Finishing tied for second at six strokes back were the Congdon cousins, Chris and Scott, out of Foxborough Country Club, winners of a recent four-ball event, the Cronin Memorial Golf Tournament in Halifax.
Following a decent but disappointing even par 72 on Monday at Ipswich Country Club, the duo exploded on Tuesday by carding 10 birdies at the Golf Club at Turner Hill en route to a day-low score of 10-under par 62.
"We didn't have a great feeling (going into Tuesday)... at least I didn't," said Chris. "We played this course last week so we knew this place better than Ipswich. Scott played great the first nine and then I had a lot of birdies on the back nine."
"We help each other out a lot out there," said Chris, 39. "We play out of the same club so we play a lot together. We help each other out reading greens and with club selection."
"Every now and again it clicks," said Scott, who is coming off his senior season playing for Bryant University. "It was just nice to do it together."
No ticket to the Open
Local qualifying rounds for the U.S. Open were held at three courses in southern New England this week, but no local golfers were able to advance to the next stage. Coming closest were Plainville's Jim Renner and Seekonk's Jeffrey Dantas, who both carded a three-over par 73 at Metacomet Country Club in East Providence, R.I., to finish tied for sixth. Top three advance.
Tour coming to town
Tickets are now on sale for the Deutsche Bank Championship, the PGA Tour event now in its eighth season at the TPC Boston in Norton. The $7.5 million tournament, the second leg of the Tour's four-round playoffs for the FedEx Cup, will be held Friday-Monday, Sept. 3-6.
The schedule is similar to previous years. A Red Sox legends and celebrity pro-am will be held Tuesday, Aug. 31, the pros practice on Wednesday, Sept. 1, there's another celebrity pro-am on Thursday, Sept. 2 before play begins in the only Friday-Monday tournament on the Tour.
Pro-am and practice round tickets are $25; championship round tickets are $55. Multi-day packages are also available. Tickets may be purchased at www.dbchampionship.com or by calling 1-877-TIX-4DBC. Children ages 15 and under receive free tickets when accompanied by an adult ticket holder.
Test your skills
Applications are now available for Attleboro Area Golf Association tournaments. The first is the AAGA Senior Open, to be held Wednesday, June 9 at Chemawa Golf Course in North Attleboro. Registration is due by June 1, and forms are available at AAGA member courses: Chemawa, Foxborough, Heather Hill, Highland, Hillside, Locust Valley, MGA Links at Mamantapett, Norton, Stone-E-Lea and Wentworth Hills.
MIKE KIRBY writes a weekly golf column for The Sun Chronicle. Material from the MGA website, mgalinks,org, has been used in this report. Have a hole-in-one or other golf news you'd like to share? Contact him at 508-236-0344 or at mkirby@thesunchronicle.com.
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