Lillian Guleserian Wins First New England Women's Amateur Title, Pam Kuong Earns 9th Senior Crown

CONCORD, New Hampshire (June 25, 2026) — In New Hampshire, the famous motto “Live Free or Die” leaves little room for retreat. Even when the New England Women’s Amateur was beginning to slip away Thursday afternoon at Concord Country Club, Lillian Guleserian (Blue Hill CC-MA) played like someone who had no interest in backing down.

After watching overnight leader Carys Fennessy (Cochecho CC-NH) make eagle to go ahead by four shots with six holes to play Thursday afternoon at Concord Country Club, Guleserian turned a closing stretch that once looked like it was going to be a runaway for the 2024 champion into the defining charge for her own title.

Paired with Fennessy and Maddie Smith (Vesper CC-MA), the last two champions of the event, Guleserian found a way to rally and capture the New England Women’s Amateur Championship, shooting 1-over 71 in the final round for a three-day total of 217 (+7) and a one-stroke edge over Fennessy.

After a wild sequence that put the Penn State standout ahead on the 14th, Guleserian closed out the victory with a nervy two-putt par on the final hole, where she was met with thunderous applause and a barrage of water cups from fellow Mass Golfers celebrating one of their own.

"It means so much," said Guleserian, who previously earned the 2023 junior title in this event. "It's always been a great tournament, a lot of good competition, but great friends as well. So, it means a lot to play with them in the final group, and then to get it done."
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For much of the final round, Fennessy looked ready to bring the title back to familiar hands. The College of Charleston standout opened with 11 consecutive pars, then made eagle on the 12th hole to stretch her lead to four strokes.

But Guleserian seemed determined to answer immediately. On the 13th, she ripped driver up the left side, nearly holed out from the fairway and tapped in for birdie on the same closing stretch where she had sparked her charge one day earlier. That 18th hole chip-in to conclude the second round also proved to be impactful. 
"She made an incredible eagle, which was good for her, but driver felt good all day," Guleserian said. "I felt like I could really attack, and I knew I had to start making some birdies or something, so I just gave it all I got and smashed on down that fairway."

One hole later, the championship flipped. Just like Wednesday, Fennessy found trouble at the water-guarded 14th, where two balls in the pond led to an 8. Guleserian made par and suddenly walked to the 15th tee with a two-stroke lead.

However, it took every shot from there to keep it intact. After a three-putt bogey on the 15th, Guleserian hit the green and executed a routine two-putt par, while Fennessy found the right bunker. After just getting it out of the sand, she sank the lengthy par save to remain within one.

But Guleserian steadied herself over the final two holes, taking 4-iron off the tee on 18 to avoid the bunkers she had found previously and get the ball to the lower shelf. After Fennessy’s downhill birdie bid just checked up short, Guleserian left herself about 4 feet but calmly stepped up and knocked it down to earn her first major women’s amateur victory.

"My game felt good, and I feel like I played really consistent today," said Guleserian, whose previous best finishes included a runner-up in the 2024 Mass Girls’ Junior, third in the New England Women’s Amateur and semifinalist in the 2023 Mass Women’s Amateur. "I played my game, didn't worry too much about what my other group members were doing, and just kept my head down, and tried to get it done."
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Heading into the final round, Pam Kuong (Charles River CC-MA) and Tara Joy-Connelly (Bald Peak Colony Club-NH) set themselves apart by a wide margin for this year's senior crown, but in the end, it proved to be a connection among former work colleagues turned into what we can now confidently say is friends, who would come out on top. Kuong shot 76 for a three-day total of 219 (+9), edging out Joy-Connelly but just one shot. 

Along with the newfound friendship the two talked about throughout the week, there was also plenty of championship experience between them, with Mielcarz, a nine-time New Hampshire Amateur champion, helping guide Kuong to her ninth New England Women’s Amateur Senior Division title, 15 years after she first won the championship in 2011.

"Given my age (65) and who I had to play against, I mean, the wins are few and far between as you get older, so it's really important, you know, it's nice to always get a win, so I'm blessed, and I'm really thankful for my buddy here, that got me through the round, because, I was definitely leaking oil a little bit," said Kuong, whose 9th senior crown matches Connecticut's Barbara Young for most all-time.
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Like they said Wednesday, putting proved to be what won the tournament, as Kuong made a key birdie on the 2nd hole to get early separation, but there weren't many birdie opportunities to be found.

"I looked at the pin sheet first thing this morning, and I thought to myself, sooner or later, I knew they were gonna give some tough pins, and they did today," Mielcarz said. "They were some of our tournament pin locations. And, you know, three putts are easy to come by here, if you're not in the right spot.”

Joy-Connelly, who qualified for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open set for August in Michigan, would keep herself in it all day despite not having her best stuff either. Down two on the 18th, her approach got stuck on the slope of the green instead of rolling down but nearly made the birdie putt to put the pressure on Kuong.

Another notable past champion recognition belongs to Reggie Parker (Ekwanok CC-VT) who at 80 years old made the cut and got the opportunity to play three days at this prestigious tournament.