MASHPEE — Virginia pro Brandon Berry led for most of the final round of the Mass Open at Willowbend Country Club on Wednesday before he suffered a double-bogey 6 on the par-4 17th hole, relinquishing his lead to James Imai with one hole left in the 54-hole tournament. However, Berry had one more chance to prevail and the Great Falls, Va. resident took advantage of it in dramatic fashion, bouncing back with an eagle-3 on the par-5 18th to overtake Imai and win by one shot.
Berry, who earned $14,000, shot a 1-under 69 to finish at 6-under 204 while Imai, who made a par on the final hole, had an even-par 70. "I finished top three in three different state opens last year and didn't win one, so it definitely feels good to get a victory because it's really hard to do that in golf," Berry said in a press release from Mass Golf. "James and I were really pushing each other.
I really didn't feel like I did that much bad, but it was definitely earned today, wasn't given." Brookline’s Imai, a three-time Mass Golf junior champion and a former Northwestern University golfer, actually trailed by four at the turn with Berry shooting a 3-under 32 on the front nine. The combination of a double-bogey 6 by Berry on No.
10 and a two-birdie, one- bogey run by Imai cut the lead to one before Berry’s double bogey on 17 briefly put Imai ahead. There was a three-way tie at 3-under 207 for third place between a pair of Florida-based golfers, Breatt Stegmaier and Chris Wiatr, and Nawshawtuc Countr.