The annual Tri-States Tournament was held Sept. 23-25 at the Manchester Country Club in Manchester, Vermont, with some exciting golf action conducted between the teams from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Bill Kennedy, Golf Columnist

New Hampshire, which has dominated the competition in recent years, took home the championship by rolling up 25 points. Maine was a respectable second with 21 1/2 points and host Vermont took third with 16 1/2 points.

Martindale member Brian J. Bilodeau did well, as he won singles matches with New Hampshire and Vermont. Plus, he teamed with fellow Martindale member Jace Pearson in an alternate-shot victory over the twosome from Vermont, which meant he scored three points of a possible four. Pearson netted two points, also winning a singles match with Vermont.

So, Martindale accounted for itself well on the weekend.

The Tri-States Tournament was started in 1935 at the Manchester Country Club in Manchester, New Hampshire. (An aside note is that there is a country club in Manchester, Maine, which is called Augusta Country Club.)

The competition always has been fun for the 14 players (four seniors and 10 who are age 21 and over), representing their respective states, because the contestants develop a team camaraderie and create new friendships with their opponents.

That is what tournament golf is about, especially at the amateur level.

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Dan Falcone of Riverside captured the Maine State Golf Association Senior Match Play championship Sept. 26 at Prout’s Neck by defeating Scott Dewitt of Biddeford-Saco, 4 and 3.

Falcone’s father had been the pro at Prout’s Neck, so Falcone had a lot of local knowledge working for him. It was his second MSGA championship, having won the Senior Amateur in 2020, held at Riverside. Clearly, local knowledge once again paid off for Falcone.

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MSGA Play Day for the men is Oct. 4 at Brunswick. The women have theirs Oct. 4 at Poland Spring.

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This is the Par For The Course season finale. Summer seemed to fly by in 2022.

Bill Kennedy, a retired New Jersey golf writer and editor now residing on Thompson Lake in Otisfield, is wrapping up his 10th season as the Sun Journal’s golf columnist.