A former editor of mine, the late, great Bob Gusetti, had a favorite saying: "There's always a local connection."

Whenever a big national story would break, if reporters searched hard enough, they would find a local connection, Bob believed.

Well, it's not a big national story, but the golfer who had the lowest Sunday score in Masters history is coming to play an Attleboro area course - and that's not the only local connection.

The player is Len Mattiace, and Golf Channel devotees and other links fanatics will surely remember his name from the 2003 Masters when he tore up Augusta National with a blistering final round 65, only to lose to Mike Weir on the first playoff hole with a double bogey.

Mattiace has long been friends with Jay Sapovits, the first-year general manager of Wentworth Hills Golf Club in Plainville. Sapovits turns 38 on July 15, and, knowing that Mattiace spends his summers in Rhode Island, invited his old pal over for golf. Mattiace will not only play the course - which will serve as the site of the final round of this year's Attleboro Area Golf Association Open - but he will put on a show at the driving range (at 9:30 a.m., prior to his 10 a.m. tee time), greet the public, sign autographs and pose for photos. The public is invited to play that day at a reduced rate - $38, naturally. "I can tell you on July 15 our greens will roll PGA Tour speed," Sapovits promises.

But what's the other local connection, you ask?

Mattiace is married to the former Kristen Felici, who grew up in Plainville and is a graduate of Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro.

How, you ask, did a Plainville girl hook up with a native of Mineola, N.Y.?

You have to go back more than 25 years for that.

According to a profile in Golf magazine, Mattiace was just 16 when he played one of the nation's most prestigious amateur tournaments, the Northeast Amateur, at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I. Kristen's parents were Wannamoisett members, and the girl, two years older than Len, caught his eye. Kristen had little interest, but that didn't stop Len's pursuit.

Kristen earned an elementary-education degree at Duquesne University and became a teacher near Mattiace's home near Jacksonville, Fla., where they met up again in 1990. Kristen agreed to a first date. Before they could go out, however, she was hospitalized with an emergency appendectomy.

Len visited her in her room that evening.

"I was on a lot of medication and I'd float in and out, but he stayed there with me," Kristen told the magazine. "We knew we'd get married within a couple of months."

The Mattiaces still have a home near Jacksonville where they are raising two daughters. Len has had his successes - he has two PGA Tour victories and nearly $7 million in earnings over his career and his putting and short game often rank near the top of the tour's list - and his disappointments. The 2003 Masters tops the latter list, but the 1998 Players Championship also hurt. With a one-shot lead and two holes to go, Len made a quintuple bogey on the infamous 17th island hole at TPC Sawgrass, to lose the tournament. The fact that the tournament was right near his Jacksonville home made it doubly painful.

He has also battled injuries, notably a 2003 skiing accident which required surgery on both knees.

Now 41, Len is on the Nationwide Tour, hoping to regain his PGA Tour status while playing venues far smaller than Augusta National or TPC Sawgrass.

But there is a happy ending. The Mattiaces have established Len's Friends, a charity that has raised nearly half a million for worthy organizations in the Jacksonville area.

"Kristen and I are humbled by our many volunteers, sponsors and special event participants who have made the Len's Friends Foundation a significant contributor to the Jacksonville community," he says on his Web site, lensfriends.com. "Our 'lend a hand, make a difference' mantra is a simple and honest reflection of our personal goals. And we are making a difference."

Teaching Junior

Wentworth Hills launched its Junior Golf Academy this week.

Each day junior golfers will practice under the watchful eye of a PGA professional. In the morning, juniors will be taught swing mechanics in full swing and learn the proper techniques for short game. Juniors will be videotaped and will be provided instruction about their swing in addition to on course instruction. Age groups are broken into groups of 7-9, 10-12 and 13-15.Camp hours are 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday for the following weeks: July 13-16, July 20-23, July 27-30, Aug. 3-6, Aug. 10-13.

Visit wentworthhillsgolf.com for more information or to sign up.

Two reminders

** You only have until Friday to buy tickets to the 2009 Deutsche Bank Championship, the PGA Tour event that visits TPC Boston in Norton Sept. 1-7. You can get more information or tickets online at www.dbchampionship.com, by telephone at 877-TIX-4DBC or in person at any local Stop & Shop grocery store. Ten percent of the proceeds from all tickets purchased at Stop & Shop will go to the Stop & Shop/Giant Family Foundation, a Founders Club partner of the tournament.

** Anyone who knows somebody who has made a hole-in-one recently can give me a call or send me an e-mail. We all want to know who's buying.

MIKE KIRBY writes an occasional column on local golf. He can be reached at 508-236-0344 or at mkirby@thesunchronicle.com.