Bill Andrews/Dan Wilkins Capture New England PGA 2021 Pro-Pro Match Play Title

Bill Andrews of Portsmouth CC and Dan Wilkins of Laconia CC, captured the 2021 New England PGA Pro-Pro Match Play Championship at Kirkbrae Country Club with a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Bob Bruso and Patrick Beahn, of Blackstone National GC on May 11.

LINCOLN, Rhode Island – Bill Andrews, of Portsmouth CC, and Dan Wilkins, of Laconia CC, erased an early deficit to claim a come-from-behind victory over Bob Bruso and Patrick Beahn, of Blackstone National GC, in the 2021 NEPGA Pro-Pro Match Play Championship at Kirkbrae Country Club.

Bruso and Beahn, the tournament’s top seed, kicked off the semifinal round against Eric Barlow, of Winchester CC and Todd Scarafoni, of Bass Rocks GC. Bruso chipped in from just off the green on the 9th hole to move to two-up. Bruso and Beahn moved to three up on the 12th before halving the remaining holes for the 3 and 2 victory.

In the second semifinal match, Andrews and Wilkins took on Ed Kirby, of The Aquidneck Club and Dan Baluik of Gloucester CC, and the match was all square through the front nine. Andrews made birdie on 10 and Wilkins followed with a birdie on 11 to take a two-up lead. Wilkins and Kirby both made birdies on the 12th, but Wilkins rattled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 13th for a three-up lead. The match ended 4 and 2 after Andrews sunk a 50+ foot putt on 16.

In the Championship Match, Bruso and Beahn exploded out of the gates with a pair of birdies to take a three-up lead through four holes.

“If it was a fight, they would have stopped it after the fifth hole,” Wilkins quipped.

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Patrick Beah and Bob Bruso, of Blackstone National GC finished runner-up in the 2021 New England PGA Pro-Pro Match Play Championship.

After settling in for a stretch on the front, Wilkins made a par on the challenging 8th hole to cut the lead to two where it remained at the turn.

“We were definitely down, but we’ve played a lot of golf together and we looked at each other and said ‘Hey, you know we played a lot, let’s just hang in there and battle back,’” said Andrews on the early deficit. “If we could maybe get it to where they were one up maybe they’d start thinking about us a little bit because we definitely weren’t putting any pressure on them at the start.”

Andrews carded a birdie on 11 and Wilkins followed with a birdie on 12 to bring the match to even, where it remained until the 16th hole. From the middle of the fairway on 16, Andrews put his approach inside of five feet and made the putt for their first lead of the match. “That pin placement was treacherous,” Andrews added.

Down for the first time in the match with two holes to play, Bruso and Beahn were unable to convert birdie putts on 17 and 18 to bring the match back to even and extend to extra holes. Steady pars from Andrews and Wilkins on the finishing holes secured the win.

“Thank you to Kirkbrae for letting us play, the staff was great and it’s a fun golf course,” Andrews concluded.

NEPGA Pro-Pro Match Play Championship
Kirkbrae Country Club – Lincoln, R.I.
May 11, 2021
Championship Match Results

(7) Andrews / Wilkins def. (1) Bruso / Beahn – 1 up

NEPGA Pro-Pro Match Play Championship
Kirkbrae Country Club – Lincoln, R.I.
May 11, 2021
Semifinal Match Results

(1) Bruso / Beahn def. (5) Barlow / Scarafoni – 3 & 2

(7) Andrews / Wilkins def. (2) Baluik / Kirby – 4 & 2

NEPGA Pro-Pro Match Play Championship
Kirkbrae Country Club – Lincoln, R.I.
May 10, 2021
Quarterfinal Match Results

(1) Bruso / Beahn def. (8) Hickey / Hulme – 5 & 4
(5) Barlow / Scarafoni def. (4) Farland / Leja – 2 & 1
(7) Andrews / Wilkins def. (2) Antonelli / Johnson – 2 & 1
(3) Baluik / Kirby def. (6) Yeomans / Paesani – 2 & 1

NEPGA Pro-Pro Match Play Championship
Kirkbrae Country Club – Lincoln, R.I.
May 10, 2021
Pro-Pro Qualifying Results

1 Bob Bruso, Blackstone National GC & Patrick Beahn Blackstone National GC: 33-32–65 -6
2 Chip Johnson, Hatherly CC & James Antonelli (Marshfield CC): 35-31–66 -5
T3 Greg Farland, Marlborough CC & Frank Leja, New Seabury on Cape Cod: 35-32–67 -4
T3 Ed Kirby, The Aquidneck Club & David Baluik, Glocester CC: 33-34–67 -4
T5 Bill Andrews, Portsmouth CC & Daniel Wilkins, Laconia CC: 36-32–68 -3
T5 Eric Barlow, Winchester CC & Todd Scarafoni, Bass Rocks GC: 35-33–68 -3
T5 Chris Hulme Newport National GC & Scott Hickey, Cyprian Keyes GC: 35-33–68 -3
T5 John Paesani, The Bay Club at Mattapoisett & Greg Yeomans, The Bay Club at Mattapoisett: 36-32–68 -3

https://nepga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/nepga21/event/nepga2127/contest/9/leaderboard.htm

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Tom Gorman, a Boston-based golf writer, is a longtime member of the Golf Writer's Association of America. Tom is a member at Fiddlesticks CC (Ft. Myers, FL) and the New England Series and Amateur Golf Tour of New England. Email can be sent to teetalk@aol.com.

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