![]() MANCHESTER, Vermont - After getting off to a blistering start at the New England Junior Amateur Championship on Tuesday, Team Connecticut never looked back as it raced out to a double-digit lead in both the Boys and Girls Divisions. Connecticut finished Rounds 1 and 2 in the Boys Division at 15-under, fueled by a 14-under team score during the first round, which is 31 strokes ahead of second-place Massachusetts. In the Girls Division, Connecticut logged a 1-under team score, 11 strokes ahead of Massachusetts, which also sits in second in the girls' team competition. The Connecticut team was the only team to finish under par in either division. Connecticut also boasts the individual leaders in both divisions: Will Lodge and Bradley Sawka in the Boys Division, who both finished with a 6-under 138, and Arabella Lopez in the Girls Division, who carded a 3-under 141. Connecticut's early lead was thanks to strong morning performances from Lodge and Sawka, who shot a 6-under 66 and 5-under 67, respectively, during Round 1. With a 3-under 69 from Elias Kennon and a 1-under 71 from Will Gregware, the Constitution State's representatives only had to count one score above par in their Round 1 score. It was much of the same in the Girls Division, for which the morning round score included a 4-under 68 from Lopez and a 1-under 71 from Yvette O'Brien. Connecticut finished the second round with a three scores at or below par in the Boys Division, including a 2-under 70 from Luke Stennett, and a 4-over total in the Girls Division. Close behind Connecticut is Massachusetts, which captured last year's team titles in both divisions. On Tuesday, the Bay State team finished with a 16-over in the Boys Division and a 10-over in the Girls Division. Leading the way were Morgan Smith and Ryan Scollins, who both posted a 36-hole score of 1-under 143. The rest of the field isn't far behind Massachusetts in either division, however. In the boys' team competition, Maine finished just two strokes back largely thanks to a 5-under 139 finish from Bennett Berg and a 4-under 140 from Elliot Spaulding. In the girls' team competition, Rhode Island is knocking on the door with just a three-stroke deficit to reach second place. Rhode Island's Olivia Williams finished fourth individually with a 6-over 150, and Kylie Eaton was one stroke back at 151. Connecticut and Massachusetts both have a championship-leading 18 divisional titles at the New England Junior Amateur, so a win by Connecticut would break the tie. A win in the Girls Division would also be the first for Connecticut in the girls' competition, which was first introduced at the championship in 2019. By Dalton Balthaser
CRANSTON, R.I. – By the time Jared Nelson teed off for the final round of the 93rd New England Amateur, the Day Two co-leader wasn’t in the lead. Christian Emmerich, who teed off at 8:10 a.m., more than three hours before Nelson, lit Alpine Country Club (par 72, 6,763 yards) on fire with a final round of 62. His 62 set the course record which was previously 66. “I showed up 20 minutes before my tee time,” said Emmerich, 21, of Swampscott, Mass., and a rising senior at the College of Holy Cross. “I was just going to go out there and see what happened. I figured if I would shoot 5 under today, I would go home happy. Once I got to 9 under through 12, I was thinking about making more birdies. I finally figured out how to play the course today. It means a lot to get the course record.” But as Nelson did all week, he remained calm and focused on what he could control. “I had someone come up to me on the putting green telling me what Christian was doing,” said Nelson. “I looked and saw he was in the lead, and I couldn’t believe it. I went out there with an aggressive mindset. I wanted to push the envelope. Players were going low. I needed to keep up.” Nelson, aided by par 5 dominance, is the 93rd New England Amateur champion. His final round of 70 was good enough for a one-shot victory over Emmerich, Bryson Richards and Joe Harney. “When you are able to win it is always fun,” said Nelson, a rising fifth-year senior at the University of Connecticut. “It has been a good summer for me, and this is a great way to keep the momentum going.” Nelson, the reigning Vermont Amateur champion, got off to a nice start with birdies on Nos. 4 (par 5, 520 yards) and 8 (par 5, 555 yards). On both occasions he reached the green in two. He hit a crisp 5-iron from 210 yards to 35 feet on No. 4 and a 3-iron laser from 240 yards to 25 feet on No. 8. But for Nelson, the shot of the tournament came on No. 10 (par 5, 510 yards). After he blitzed a drive and hit an 8-iron from 180 yards to 20 feet, he dripped the putt in the hole at perfect speed to get to 10 under. “I had a feeling that was a huge putt,” said Nelson, 22, of Rutland, Vt. “Making that putt gives you so much more leeway coming in with a lot of guys chasing you. It was a good one to make.” It turned out it was vital. Two bogeys on the next seven holes left him with a one-shot lead heading down the last. Nelson knew exactly where he stood and what he had to do. His drive on No. 18 (par 4, 435 yards) found the left rough but he hit a sand wedge from 135 yards to 10 feet and two-putted for the victory. Vermont has had a previous total of three New England Amateur champions in the previous 92 editions. Shawn Baker won in 1989, Hans Albertson won in 1990 and Evan Russell won in 2013. Now you can add Nelson to that list. “I didn’t know that,” said Nelson, who also won the prestigious Hornblower Invitational in June. “That is cool. I grew up in Vermont and my father was a PGA professional there. There are a lot of good players in Vermont that might not get the recognition they deserve that guys in Southern New England do. I knew Evan Russell won in 2013. I looked up to Evan and to have my name along with him on the trophy means a lot to me and shows how far I have come.”
![]() By Dalton Balthaser CRANSTON, R.I. – Three players shared the Round One lead of the 93rd New England Amateur Championship Monday at Alpine Country Club (par 72, 6,845 yards). During the afternoon wave, play was suspended for heavy rain at 3:28 p.m. The delay was 57 minutes and play resumed at 4:25 p.m. Ricky Stimets of Osterville, Mass., Joe Harney of Roslindale, Mass and Elias Kennon of Old Greenwich, Conn. jumped out in front with rounds of 5-under-par 67. ONLINE: LEADERBOARD | EVENT HOMEPAGE | PAST CHAMPIONS Stimets finally reaped rewards on the putting green thanks to a putter change. He made the Round of 16 in the Massachusetts Amateur last week at Concord Country Club. “The first thing I did after I got eliminated at the Massachusetts Amateur was go to a local pro shop and buy a new mallet putter,” said Stimets, 31, who plays out of Worcester Country Club. “I’ve never putted with a mallet before in my life but figured it was time to do something different.” He rolled in a 12-footer on No. 4 (par 5, 520 yards) to get to 2 under on his round. He made the turn in 3 under and then made eagle on No. 10 (par 5, 512 yards) with a chip-in. No need for the putter there. He added birdies on Nos. 12 (par 3, 185 yards) and 14 (par 4, 395 yards). He hit an 8-iron to three inches on No. 12 and a lob wedge from 95 yards to eight feet on No. 14. A couple of bogeys coming in didn’t leave Stimets discouraged. He knows there’s a long way to go but in his first New England Amateur he is pleased with his start. “It’s crucial to get off to a good start,” said Stimets. “The field is big and full of great players. Going low is important. There’s no room for error in a 54-hole event. You must be under par at the end of each round.” Like Stimets, Harney found some success with the flatstick and is entering this year’s championship with some added confidence. He also made the Round of 16 in the Massachusetts Amateur last week. “I was locked in on the greens today,” said Harney, 30. “I spent a lot of time watching Cameron Smith putt yesterday during the final round of The Open. His free-flowing stroke helped me find my rhythm on the greens.” His T8 finish in last year’s championship at Great River Golf Club (Conn.) put it in perspective that he could compete. “I faded on the last day in last year’s event and I find that happens to me a lot,” said Harney, who plays out of Charles River Country Club. “Not sure what it is. I finished strong today by birdieing the last.” After bombing a drive, Harney pured a lob wedge from 99 yards to 12 feet and converted. Not a bad round for someone who hadn’t seen the course before. “I came in blind,” said Harney. “I couldn’t come here for a practice round. It ended up working out. Sometimes not knowing where you are going makes you play smarter and with more focus.” Kennon finished runner-up in the Connecticut Junior Amateur last week and found something in his game. “Early in the summer I was struggling with too many swing thoughts,” said Kennon, 17, of Old Greenwich, Conn. “I just needed to focus on one thought. That made a difference.” The rain delay threw a wrench in the plans of each player in the afternoon wave. Players struggled to keep the momentum they built prior to the delay. But Kennon picked up where he left off. Kennon started on the back nine and made the turn in 3 under. Then the delay came. But it didn’t bother him one bit. “Coming out cold like that is tough,” said Kennon, who plays out of Golf Performance Center. “But I just wanted to keep the thoughts that I had on my front nine in my head. Once I made that birdie, I felt my swing come back to me.” He came right back out and birdied his 11th hole of the day No. 2 (par 5, 520 yards). He striped a 3-iron from 250 yards to 25 feet for an easy two-putt birdie. “You have to keep the ball in play here,” said Kennon. “I was able to make a good number of putts today. Doing those two things will help me play stress-free golf and contend this week.” ![]() WATERBURY, Vermont - After taking a big lead in Round 1, Massachusetts' Morgan Smith never looked back at the New England Women's Amateur Championship, coming away with the Championship and Junior Division titles at the Country Club of Vermont on Wednesday. Massachusetts' Sana Tufail made a late move in the standings to finish as Runner-Up. Sue Curtin, also of Massachusetts, captured the Tournament Division and Senior Division trophies with a 9-over 225. Smith ended the event with a 7-under 209. She is the first junior to win the event since Rhode Island’s Anna Grzebian in 2003 and the first teenager to do so since Rhode Island’s Samantha Morrell accomplished the feat in 2010. “It’s my first ever pretty big tournament win so I’m really happy,” Smith said. Though she held a significant lead for much of the competition, Smith didn’t let the advantage alter her strategy. “I just kind of stuck to the game plan of playing my own game,” she said. “Obviously going into today there’s a little bit more pressure since it’s the final day of the tournament and I had a bit of a bumpy start, but I was able to turn it around still play pretty good today.” Smith’s Day 3 performance was highlighted by a string of three birdies on the front nine — capped off with an eagle on the par-4 7th hole — and two straight birdies on holes 17 and 18 to secure the win. Her final score, a 7-under 209, was the best 54-hole mark in the championship since Grzebian recorded a 206 in 2006. Tufail shot a 5-over 221 en route to her Runner-Up finish after surging on the back nine. She shot a 34 on holes 10 through 18, the best back-nine score of the day. She again preached “damage limitation” as the key to her success throughout the championship, though she feels she had room for improvement on her play earlier in the event. “I’m getting better the second and third rounds but I think it’s just being able to start off the first round better,” she said. “And again, that may be constant preparation, learning the course a bit better in the practice rounds, knowing where to be and where not to be, but I’m definitely very happy with the way my game is trending.” Tufail tied with Massachusetts native Molly Smith for the second-best Round 3 score with an even-par 72, one stroke back of Morgan Smith. Molly Smith's 72, a five-stroke improvement from the second round, moved her into a tie for third with the University of Maryland's Angela Garvin, another Massachusetts competitor, at 7 over. The Legends Division champion was Vermont's Elizabeth Walker, who finished the championship with a 37-over 253. Vermont's Reggie Parker made a valiant comeback attempt with an 82 in the round, the best mark in the division on Wednesday, but could not overcome a six-stroke deficit from the first and second rounds. Walker also defeated 2021 Legends Division winner Kibbe Reilly of Rhode Island, who shot a 42-over 258 and finished third. "It was great," Walker said. "I'm excited to have been the best 65-and-over." Curtin said she “surprised herself” at the championship, which marked her return to competition after a bout with COVID-19 that forced her to withdraw from multiple tournaments. “I just really tried to be patient with myself and was really fortunate to end up on the right end of it,” she said. After ending the first round on Monday with a solid lead, Curtin had to spend parts of Rounds 2 and 3 fending off Senior Division runner-up Pamela Kuong of Massachusetts and third-place finisher Debbie Johnson of Connecticut. “I knew going into today Pam and Deb were gonna be really hard,” she said. “They weren’t just gonna hand this to anyone, especially [with] the number of times I’ve played against Pam. She’s such a good player and such a good competitor and she’s never gonna let up. I went into today knowing that, I knew I had to work pretty hard for this and I think that’s what pushed me and I just really tried to stay as patient as possible.” Kuong finished two strokes back of Curtin with an 11-over 227 after nearly making birdie on her final hole. Johnson finished tied with Connecticut’s Jen Holland with 18-over 234s. The low net score was shared by Johnson and Massachusetts' Joanne Gagnon at 6 over. The championship will return to Connecticut next year for the first time since 2017. ![]() WATERBURY, Vermont - The greens at the Country Club of Vermont are known to throw quite the challenge at competitors who dare face them, but Massachusetts' Morgan Smith of Vesper Country Club stayed the course Tuesday to take an 8-stroke lead heading into the final round of competition at the New England Women’s Amateur Championship. Smith finished with a 3-under 69 for the second day in a row to put her 6 strokes under for the championship, where she's also the only player who remains below par. Her second-round performance included 3 back-nine birdies, giving her a round-best 34 on the back half. "I gave myself a lot of good looks, a couple that didn't land today but I did make some which is good," Smith said. "You have to be smart out there. You have to stay on your toes because one bad shot here, it gets pretty bad. You have to take your safer lines and play aggressive to those safer lines." Massachusetts' Sana Tufail of Southborough Golf Club also recorded a 69 to tie Smith for the best round score, giving her a 9-stroke improvement between Days 1 and 2, the biggest chance out of all players at the top of the leaderboard. "I think it was learning the course," Tufail said. "Damage limitation is definitely key, that you can pick up the birdie opportunities but sometimes if you're in trouble and you make a bogey, you just accept it and you move on." Tufail now sits in fourth, 3 strokes back of Massachusetts golfers Shannon Johnson and Angela Garvin, who are tied for second at 2 over. Johnson was the only player other than Smith and Tufail to finish under par on Tuesday. Catie Schernecker and Molly Smith, who are also Massachusetts natives, are in the hunt at 7 over through two rounds. In the Tournament Division, leader Sue Curtin of Massachusetts' Boston Golf Club narrowly held off fellow Bay State competitor Pamela Kuong of Charles River Country Club to maintain her position atop the division by one stroke. Curtin entered the day with a comfortable lead but spent much of the afternoon in a back-and-forth battle with Kuong, who shot a division-leading 3-over 75 during the round. After rolling in two birdies during the round, a double bogey on the 18th hole put Curtin at a 6-over 78 for the afternoon. Heading into Wednesday, Curtin is seven strokes above par, while Kuong is eight over. Also knocking on the door are Connecticut golfers Debbie Johnson, who is 11 over par, and Jen Holland, who is one stroke behind Johnson. Holland has a six-stroke advantage over the next lowest-scoring competitors, Massachusetts' Melissa Hem of Dedham Country & Polo Club and Vermont's Becky Montgelas of Ekwanok Country Club. Curtin and Kuong lead the Senior Division as well. At the front of the pack in the Legends Division are Elizabeth Walker of Vermont with a 25-over 169 and Kibbe Reilly of Rhode Island with a 26-over 170. ![]() WATERBURY, VT – With the only under par round of the day, Morgan Smith of Vesper Country Club in Massachusetts, has set herself up with a 4-stroke lead at the start of the New England Women’s Amateur Championship at the Country Club of Vermont. The 18-year old carded 6 birdies in her opening round, but the story of the day was her climb out of a 3-hole slump of bogeys on the front nine to bring her back into the red by the end of the day. “I thought I played very well today,” said Smith. “It’s a tricky golf course with fast greens. You have to miss in the right places and get the ball on the right tear of the greens or it’s very tricky. I swung well and hit a couple key shots and I made a good amount of birdies which helps.” Throughout the round, Smith kept her composure and managed her game without being too worried about the numbers. “The wind was a lot stronger on the front I thought and it was easy to just get a little of track. I didn’t take the bogeys personally because the misses weren’t that off they just got up in the wind and it knocked it down so I just shook it off.” Smith attributed her putting to being one of the bright spots for her today. “I putted pretty good too, obviously more could have dropped but I lagged some long ones close and made a few 5-8 footers that made a difference.” Heading into tomorrow, Smith knows just how important it is to not get too far ahead of herself with the lead that she has. “Going into tomorrow obviously there is still a lot of golf left to play, just going to stick with my game plan- fairways and greens and trying to give myself as many good looks as possible.” There are several familiar Massachusetts amateurs at the top of the leaderboard, including her younger sister Molly Smith. The Bay State contingent makes up nine of the top ten spots after 18-holes. 2020 Champion, Megan Buck, sits tied for sixth and just inside her are three of the four past Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Champions, Angela Garvin, Shannon Johnson (2018 & 2019 NE Women's Amateur Champion), and Catie Schernecker. In the Senior Division, Sue Curtin of Boston Golf Club in Massachusetts, also has a comfortable 4-stroke lead, carding a 1-over 73 on the day. Rounding out the top three is a tie for second at 5-over by Jen Holland from Lyman Orchards Golf Club in Connecticut and Pamela Kuong of Charles River Country Club in Massachusetts. There are two tee sets in the New England Women's Amateur Championship. The Championship tee is a gross-only competition played from approximately 5700 - 6000 yards (yardages subject to change). The Overall Champion, Runner-Up, and Junior Champion will be awarded from this tee set. The Tournament tee is a gross & net competition played from approximately 5600 - 5800 yards (yardages subject to change). The Senior & Legend Champion will be awarded from this tee. After tomorrow’s round, the field will be cut to the low 50 players (and ties) after 36-holes. The 50 players will be made up of a prorated number of players from each tee set based on the number of players registered. The host site of this year’s Championship, the Country Club of Vermont, is set in Vermont’s Green Mountains in the valley between the Worcester and Mansfield Mountain ranges. The scenic 18-hole course was designed by Canadian architect and amateur golfer Graham Cooke in 1998. In addition to having a front nine “reminiscent of the Irish Links, it’s known for its bent grass greens, tees and fairways framed by blue grass rough and outlined by native fescues.
![]() CUMBERLAND. Maine - This year's New England Junior Amateur Championship featured a couple of historic developments. Massachusetts became the first state to win both the boys and girls team championships in the same year, then on top of that, Ben James (Connecticut) became the first player ever in the history of the New England Junior to three-peat as an individual champion. The Mass Golf Boys shot 5-under-par to top Connecticut by 15 strokes in the team division, while the girls shot 34-over-par for a 12-stroke win over the next closest team in Rhode Island. In the girls individual division, Annie Dai (Massachusetts) defeated her fellow Bay State teammate MacKenzie Whitney in a three-hole playoff to earn the girls individual champion distinction. ONLINE: RESULTS | EVENT HOMEPAGE | PAST CHAMPIONS Boys Division All three rounds, the Massachusetts boys were buoyed by a strong team effort. The strong play of Colin Spencer, Weston Jones, and John Broderick helped them get out to a 22-stroke lead by the end of round two and the well-rounded efforts continued into round three. Ryan Downes, Joey Lenane, and Ethan Whitney all aided in the scoring department and although the boys were not as sharp as they had been on Monday, they did more than enough to get by with the win. “It’s awesome,” Spencer said. “We played really well the first 36 holes and kind of gave ourselves a little bit of a cushion which is always good. We didn’t have our best stuff today, but we were able to win. I had a blast and I can’t wait for next year.” Broderick echoed the same sentiment as his teammate in regards to the win, a victory that the Mass Boys desperately wanted coming into the event. “It’s awesome,” Broderick said. “All of us are really good players and I think we all knew coming in that we could we could definitely beat anyone. Team Connecticut was probably our biggest rival, but we knew we could beat them. Then, to all play well and do it is pretty awesome.” Downes in particular really helped the team. Though he is just 15-years-old, Downes scored in all three rounds for his team and was a major contributor. “I putted pretty poorly the first two days, but I actually hit the ball pretty well,” Downes said. “I was kind of a little bit of flip-flop today, I putted a little better, but I didn’t hit the ball as well. So it was kind of inconsistent and not what I was exactly looking for, but it feels good because my score counted all three days.” The win for the boys was wire-to-wire and as a bonus, they get to share the victory with the girls. It's the first time since girls were introduced to the team competition in 2019 that a state has swept the team honors. “A Mass Golf sweep is always great, that’s going to make a good headline,” Broderick said with a laugh. “That’s really exciting and I don’t know if it’s ever happened before, but it’s super exciting to win and see the girls do it too.” It is history, and it certainly does make for a great headline for Massachusetts. Girls Division The Mass Girls didn't dominate from start to finish like their counterparts on the boys side did, but they ended with a bang. The girls shot 10-over-par on Tuesday to put some separation between themselves and the field and win by a commanding 12 strokes. All three competitors played well. MacKenzie Whitney set the tone early, Annie Dai finished strong, and Keira Joshi provided a steady presence throughout. “It kind of feels unreal because I know the girls were very tight coming into this,” Dai said. “The boys were way ahead, but we had some tough competition and I really wasn’t trying to look at the leaderboard in the middle to know because I knew that I would stress myself out. So, I just played until the last hole and then checked.” Dai fired an impressive round of 3-over-par 74, better than her mark of consecutive 78's that she had shot earlier in the week. She knew that one or more of the girls needed to step up to grab a win and she went ahead and did so herself. “On the first few holes I was feeling really confident because my drives were a lot more consistent and I was hitting a lot more greens, then I made a few birdie putts,” Dai said. “Towards the end I started three-putting and I think I ended up with five three-putts, but it still ended pretty well with my score.” Overall, the girls were similar to the boys in how well-rounded their performance was. That is even more impressive when considering that is was the first time all three ever played in the New England Junior. “It was really cool,” Joshi said. “Getting to be here is definitely fun. I’m super proud of Annie and MacKenzie, I was checking the leaderboard all day and they were 1 and 2, I was thinking go get them. It’s definitely fun.” Not only did they win, but the girls created a bond that will last well beyond their time spent at Val Halla. “I know both of them, obviously girls golf is a small world,” Joshi said of Dai and Whitney. “We’re all friends going into this, but it’s definitely been a fun experience on the bus, in the hotel, and meeting the girls from the other states. I’ve definitely made some new friends.” In addition to the friends, the girls made some history too. Individual Honors Speaking of history, there may have been no accomplishment more impressive than that of Connecticut's Ben James winning the boys individual competition for a third consecutive year. James is the first competitor in the history of the New England Junior to do so. “That achievement means so much to me,” James said. “This event, it’s my fourth time being here and I love our coach. We’re really good friends and with all of my friends just being here too it means a lot to win this event.” James was under par in all three of his rounds shooting 67-66-66. He finished up the 54 holes with 1 eagle, 17 birdies, and just 6 bogeys. Jones is the No. 6 junior golfer in the world in the American Junior Golf Association Rankings and he showed why as he closes the book on his New England Junior career. “It’s been a battle every year with me and the other competitors,” James said. “It’s just been awesome to kind of get it all together three consecutive times. I’ve played pretty well in all of them and I’m just happy to win my last one.” More importantly, he was happy to do so alongside his friends. “It was awesome,” he said. “We did our best with the COVID restrictions. We didn’t have too many, but we just had a lot of fun at the pool and we enjoyed ourselves. It was nice to spend some time with the girls too going out to get some ice cream. It was really fun.” On the girls side of things, a playoff was needed to determine a winner. Both Annie Dai and MacKenzie Whitney shot 230 over the 54-holes and they had to shift from allies to competitors to determine a champion. Dai needed three holes to do so, but she eventually prevailed over the older Whitney to be crowned the individual champion. “I feel kind of bad,” the 15-year-old said after the playoff with a laugh. “It was strange competing against each other when we came here together, but it was really fun to all play well.” Winning and losing aside, Dai grew closer with Whitney over the course of the round and enjoyed playing and competing with her and Joshi. “I didn’t know them that well,” Dai said of her teammates. ”Right before coming here I’d just met Keira in another competition or tournament, then we found out we were coming here together and we started talking more. When we got here we knew each other and with MacKenzie, I’d played with her a couple of times already. It was a lot of fun.” Final Team Leaderboard (Boys) 1 – Massachusetts -5 2 - Connecticut +10 3 - Rhode Island +56 4 - Maine +60 5 - Vermont +77 6 - New Hampshire +94 Final Team Leaderboard (Girls) 1 - Massachusetts +34 2 - Rhode Island +46 3 - New Hampshire +49 4 - Maine +60 5 - Connecticut +62 6 - Vermont +126 Top Players From Each State (Boys) Connecticut: Ben James; 67-66-66-199 Maine: Eli Spaulding; 69-72-71-212 Massachusetts: Colin Spencer; 70-64-70-204 New Hampshire: Bryce Zimmerman; 70-74-81-225 Rhode Island: Maxwell Jackson; 70-72-76-218 Vermont: Austin Giroux; 76-80-72-228 Top Players From Each State (Girls) Connecticut: Kate Hong; 80-79-86-245 Maine: Ruby Haylock; 78-81-77-236 Massachusetts: Annie Dai; 78-78-74-230* New Hampshire: June Doerr; 75-78-84-237 Rhode Island: Gianna Papa; 78-79-81-238 Vermont: Mia Politano; 97-91-86-274 *Won in playoff after tie with MacKenzie Whitney Bay State Players Give Insight On Val Halla The site of the offices for the Maine State Golf Association is also doubling as the host of the 2021 New England Junior Amateur Championship. Located at 58 Val Halla Road in Cumberland, Maine, the course is an ideal site for a tournament such as the New England Junior Amateur Championship. The 18-hole track plays to a par-72 and the championship tees stretch back to 6,595 yards. With a 71.5 course rating and a slope of 130, the course presents a unique and exciting challenge for the Massachusetts players, especially when factoring in that none of them have played it previously. The boys and girls certainly did not take long to get acclimated. Sunday's practice round was the first time all 8 Massachusetts players have ever been to the course, but having just the one round to adjust didn't reflect in their scores. “It's super straightforward," MacKenzie Whitney said of the course. "There aren't really too many tricky shots you have to do. You just hit it straight and everything seems to work. Most of the par-4’s are the exact same, straight and then wedge in, two-putt for par.” The design of Val Halla is simple, but the players still need to bring their best game with them to the course. “You have to hit it well," John Broderick said. "Off the tee, if you’re not hitting it, you’re going to have some issues. There’s a lot of wedge opportunities, but you still have to hit it close. These greens are not crazy fast, but they can be firm in parts. You have to be in the right parts, some greens have a lot of break on them." Weston Jones shared a similar sentiment regarding the course. “It's a good course," Jones said. "It’s short, but it's not easy. You still got to hit some really good tee shots, some really good approaches, and then making putts is not an easy task out here. It’s difficult, which is great.” The low scores help, but the Massachusetts players have certainly enjoyed their time they've spent at Val Halla. The crew played in a seven-some for the practice round on Sunday and that certainly helped them to gain some familiarity and comfort with their surroundings all while having some more fun. “This has been an awesome experience," Colin Spencer said. “I wasn't really sure what to expect coming in, but it's fun. You can obviously make a lot of birdies which is just fun. It's nice to change it up a little bit, I’ve been at a lot of tough courses, so it's nice to play a course where you can make a bunch of birdies.” They came in with little knowledge of the course, but the Mass boys and girls will certainly leave with some fond memories of the Val Halla track. What's Next? The New England Senior Amateur Championship will begin on September 14th at Manchester Country Club in Vermont. |
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