GRANBY — Dan Fanion’s round looked as if it was about to turn upside down on the par-3 10th hole during Wednesday’s qualifier for the 2024 Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Golf Championship at Westover Golf Course.

After carding a 1-under 35 on the front nine, his first hole of the back nine didn’t go as planned. Fanion, a member at Springfield Country Club, hit his tee shot into one of two green-side bunkers. Although he was able to get it onto the green to give himself a par look, a three-putt had him shaking his head walking off the putting surface.

But Fanion didn’t waver. He responded with a birdie on 11, and found two more on the way in to shoot an even-par 36 on the back nine. Fanion’s 1-under 71 earned him a tie for first place and qualified him for the state’s Mid-Am Championship, slated for Sept. 3-5 at Cranberry Valley Golf Course in Harwich.

The top 12 including ties qualified from Wednesday’s event for the Mid-Am Championship. Salem Country Club’s Mike Rattigan and The Milton-Hoosic Club’s Jonathan Jones also shot 1-under to tie for first.

“I had a good day. I was hitting the driver well and I made a lot of good putts, like 15-20 footers were falling,” Fanion said. “I didn’t put myself in any bad spots out here, which was helpful for not making any real big numbers or anything. The main thing for me was hitting the driver where it needed to go.”

Getting one back on 11 changed Fanion’s outlook on his round. He took his frustration out on his tee shot, one he pounded down the middle. Next came a wedge that he nestled to three feet. Rolling in the putt was the hardest part, but it steered him back in control following the blunder on 10.

“That was nice to get that back right away,” Fanion said. “I hit a good drive, hit a wedge to three feet, and I told myself to hit a good stroke. After making a double [bogey], you definitely don’t want to miss a short birdie putt and throw your whole mindset off.”

Right behind Fanion with even-par 72s happened to be his two buddies from Springfield Country Club. Dave Smith and Michael Diclemente tied for third, making it three SCC players in the top seven.

Fanion doesn’t use the online scoring system that Mass Golf offers, so he didn’t know where Smith or Diclemente were until he looked on the the 11th hole.

Smith was 3-under through nine.

“I checked on the 11th tee and I saw a good friend of mine, Dave Smith, was 3-under going into the back nine,” Fanion said. “The competitiveness in me was like, ‘Alright, I gotta make a few birdies to beat him.’

“I was happy to see those guys playing well, because over at Springfield we have a ton of good players,” Fanion added. “The membership is built off great guys, and management over there keeps the course in great shape. That allows us to keep our game at a high level and it translates when you play at other nice courses like this.”

Shawn Lebeau was the only player from a Hampshire County course to make the cut, as the Westover member tied for seventh with a 1-over 73.

His birdie-birdie start on the first two holes shook off a few nerves and set the tone for his round on Wednesday.

“I got off to a really good start, so that was a nice way to start the round off,” Lebeau said. “Sometimes tournament rounds can be tough because you struggle to get into a rhythm a little bit. To get off to that kind of start was helpful to get momentum early. I played solid and consistent all day. I didn’t make a lot of putts, but I hit it straight, which is helpful.”

Lebeau said he hit 14 greens in regulation. Although he didn’t make as many putts as he had hoped, the other aspects of his game were clicking on his home course. The driver stayed straight and his irons were precise. He had no complaints about his round.

Westover has been Lebeau’s go-to golf track since he was 10 years old. Now 30, he’s witnessed the consistent improvement of the course over the years. Lebeau was thrilled to see an event of this caliber take place at a course that has meant so much to him.

“Westover is a place that I’ve played probably a million rounds of golf at,” Lebeau said. “It’s my favorite place to go. The golf course, the staff there, it’s incredible. It’s awesome whenever other people from Massachusetts get to come play and see what we see every day. It’s a hidden gem in western Mass. for sure. A couple of my playing partners said they really enjoyed it, so it’s good to have other people get out and see it because it truly is an awesome golf course.”

Jim Patterson admitted he was unhappy with a 6-over 78 on Wednesday. The 2021 U.S. Senior Open participant out of Orchards Golf Club said he struggled to keep the ball straight.

Although Patterson played the first five holes even par, he finished the front nine going 4-over in a four-hole stretch to shoot a 40 as he made the turn. A birdie at 10 and three pars in a row gave him some momentum, but his second double-bogey of the day took the wind out of his sails.

Patterson hopes he got all of the bad swings out of the way before Thursday as he heads to Wyantenuck Country Club – a place he hasn’t been since his mentor and former longtime Wyantenuck head pro Tom Sullivan passed away – for the U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier.

“I haven’t been back to the course since Sully’s passing, so it’ll be nice to go back there for something big like this,” Patterson said. “To go back to his territory will be nice. Hopefully he’ll bring me some good luck [Thursday].”

Elsewhere, Wyckoff Country Club’s Michael Mertes qualified for the Mass. Mid-Am Championship with a 1-over round of 73. Joe Wilson, also out of Wyckoff, missed the cut by one stroke (74). Westover’s Adam Sampson finished with a 5-over round of 77 while fellow Westover members Jesse Warren (80), Adam Belleville (83) and Michael Desrosiers (85) also competed.

Orchards member Michael Kroll broke 80 with a 7-over round of 79 to round out local finishers inside the top 60.

Robert Knight (Twin Hills), Keith Burch (Crumpin-Fox), Adam Brickle (Pittsfield), Michael Sarkis (Longmeadow), Jonny Burgin (Granite Links), Joseph Lafleur (Ludlow) and Nick Morgan (Sandy Burr) were the other participants to make the cut and qualify for early September’s Mid-Am Championship.