GREENFIELD — The Invitational Four Ball got underway on Thursday at Country Club of Greenfield, marking a monumental year for the tournament as it marks its 80th year.

Those like Shaun Fleming have seen the tournament grow through the years.

A Suffield, Connecticut resident, Fleming began playing golf in his 20s and when he came up to play at Country Club of Greenfield, quickly became friends with the staff and other players.

That led to Fleming playing in the Invitational Four Ball for the first time in 1984 when he was just 23 years old. He competed in the tournament for seven straight years, missed one year but has played in the last 33, with Thursday marking the 40th Invitational Four Ball Fleming has competed in.

“This would be 41 but my dad died and I missed one year,” Fleming said. “I played seven years with an older guy who introduced me to golf when I first started playing. My buddy and I, this is our 33rd together. It’s been a lot of years. The pro when I started coming up here, we hit it off. We played hockey together. [Country Club of Greenfield PGA Professional] Kevin [Piecuch], my partner Chris [Demers] and I ended up fast friends. Kevin, Chris and myself have always been tight.”

Thursday was the 33rd-straight year Fleming and Demers hit the course together to compete in the tournament. Having competed in half the Invitational Four Balls, it’s the atmosphere and the people that keep bringing Fleming back.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Fleming said. “I look forward to this every year. This is the big thing to look forward to. When this is over this year, we start looking forward to next year. It’s a bunch of great guys, it’s a great club and it’s a great tournament.”

How has Fleming seen the tournament grow through the years? He says the course continues to improve as well as an increase in the numbers of teams competing, with 104 teams and 208 total golfers hitting the course on Thursday.

“We’ve grown up from our wild days in the old clubhouse to the new one,” Fleming said. “They do such a great job here. The course keeps getting better and better. They run great tournaments here. There’s 104 teams. A lot of clubs have trouble getting teams for an event like this. Here, they have a waiting list. What does that tell you?”

Fleming and Demers are competing in the 6th Division this year and opened the tournament with a 4-over 76. Fleming said he enjoys the competition even in the lower divisions, as he’s worked his way up the ladder throughout the years.

“It didn’t go too swift today,” Fleming said, “but that’s OK. We’ve won eight times. We don’t play in the championship flight. They’re too good for us. We’re middle-of-the-packers. When I first started playing golf. I played in the last division then. We called it pork chops but we’ve worked our way up. We have fun, we love it and we look forward to it.”

How many more Invitational Four Ball tournaments does Fleming have in him? He’s determined to hit yet another milestone in years time.

“I’d like to get at least 10 more in,” Fleming said. “I have that in me. I want 50.”

Thursday was the qualifying day of the tournament, with the 16-team field set in the Championship Flight.

David Donoghue and Sam Wolanske had a stress free round on Thursday, carding a 4-under 68 which was good for 12th place. While they would have qualified for the Championship Flight regardless, Donoghue and Wolanske are the defending champions and will be the top-seed when match play begins Friday.

Andy Lesenski and Justin McCloud carded the top score of the day, shooting a 7-under 65. Six teams shot a 6-under 66 to reach the Championship Flight: Jarrod Goss and Michael Regan, Andrew Loney and Justin Larock, Dave Kennedy and Nate Burdick, Chris Varilly and Steve Jones, Chris Bourbeau and Cody Booska as well as Joe Wilson and Ryan Ferriter.

The pairs of Sam Conant and Will Conant, Jacob Willis and Reece McLeod, Matt Grayson and Paul DeNofrio as well as Dan Lapierre and Joe Groth were all 5-under on the day with 67s to qualify. A score of 3-under was needed to join the top 16, with the pairs of Benjamin Westerman and Tyler Boissonneault, Clint McCloud and Wally Fitzpatrick, Chris Shover and Cliff Osborne as well as Jeff Robidoux and Robbie Haigh shooting that to clinch the final four spots.

The Round of 16 begins on Friday, with Donoghue and Wolanske squaring off with No. 16 Robidoux and Haigh at 8:14 a.m. Second-seeded Lesenski and McCloud will square off with No. 15 Shover and Osborne at 8:14 a.m. and at 8:22, No. 8 Wilson and Ferriter take on No. 9 Conant and Conant while No. 7 Bourbeau and Booska face off with No. 10 Willis and McLeod.

The next two matches begin at 8:30 a.m., with No. 4 Loney and Larock facing off with No. 13 Westerman and Boissonneault while No. 3 Goss and Regan take on No. 14 McCloud and Fitzpatrick. The final two matches will begin at 8:38 a.m. as No. 5 Kennedy and Burdick go up against No. 12 Lapierre and Groth while No. 6 Varilly and Jones take on NO. 11 Grayson and DeNofrio.

The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday before the championship match takes place on Sunday.