HAMPDEN, Massachusetts - The New England Junior Amateur Championship is an event unlike others seen on a young golfers' slate throughout the year. The invitational, featuring boys and girls aged 18 and under from the hexad of New England states, is like a brief stay at summer camp. Sporting matching shirts corresponding with the state they represent, the event presents one the opportunity to share memories and bond over laughter with their fellow statewide competitors. That was especially the case Monday afternoon when impromptu indoor putting contests replaced the previously scheduled second 18-hole round, which was canceled due to inclement weather. 
While this week is part showcase, much of it presented an opportunity to soak up the last moments of summer and share some laughter along the way before the players all go their separate ways for the new school year — several to their long-awaited college destinations. 
In the meantime, their talents were on display at a course, unlike many others, GreatHorse, which often draws the same reaction as watching the collective talent in the field, "Woah." That was indeed the case in the first of two 18-hole rounds Monday, as New England Amateur champion CJ Winchenbaugh raced out to a lead at 7-under-par 65, sinking a 20-foot eagle putt on his second hole of the day (par-5 8th) and adding six birdies to lift Team Massachusetts, the defending team champion on the boys side.
On the girls' side, New Hampshire women's amateur champion Carys Fennessy also opened a commanding lead. The College of Charleston verbal commit was the only player under par in the morning (1-under 73). Her score puts Team New Hampshire in the lead as the Granite State tries to capture its first girls team title.
Format: Seven boy golfers and three girl golfers from each of the New England state golf associations are selected to compete in a team and individual stroke play competition. Boys and girls will compete for separate team and individual titles. Team scores are calculated by taking the best five out of seven scores each day for the Boys’ Division and the best two out of three scores for the Girls’ Division. The low team score will be named the team champion, while the low individual will be named the individual champion. A playoff will be used to determine individual champions.
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Winchenbaugh is plenty familiar with the GreatHorse track, having made it to the final match in the Mass Junior Amateur just over a year ago when he faced his fellow teammate this week, Carson Erick. It showed. Winchenbaugh was firing at pins throughout the round, hitting 17 greens, including two approach shots within 6 feet on the 18th and 1st holes, and making both birdie putts. He then buried a 20-footer for his sixth and final birdie, placing him at 7-under.
"I love this golf course," said Winchenbaugh, who will depart for Georgetown on Thursday. "I played so many rounds here in the past 1-2 years that I know where to leave myself, so I gave myself a bunch of good looks and made some putts."
As for finishing out his junior golf tenure here, "Even though I'm one of the older guys, it doesn't feel like I'm like a leader, but I've known everyone on this team for so long, and it kind of just feels like you're playing with your friends.
Stennett, his calling card being mismatched blue and white FootJoy Classics, has also played GreatHorse several times over the years. The Connecticut Junior Amateur winner finished two strokes off the lead, making eagle on the par-5 2nd to shoot a bogey-free, 5-under 31 on the front nine. Eli Spaulding, who won the Maine Amateur and competed in the U.S. Amateur last week, nearly had a bogey-free round, only giving one back on the par-4 18th, but playing the remaining 16 holes at 5-under. He'll play alongside Winchenbaugh on Tuesday.
On the girls' side, Carys Fennessy continued her solid summer campaign as she was the lone player on the girls' side to finish in the red figures. Despite not getting a chance to play much of the starting stretch thanks to a curtailed practice round the day prior, Fennessy made a birdie on the seventh and ninth to finish 2-under on the front nine, adding another birdie on the getable par-5 14th to take a six-stroke lead into Tuesday.
"It's a great course, and the greens are quick so you definitely have to be focused the entire time that you're playing," said Fennessy, who added she was most captivated by the par-5 8th which opens up to reveal the water hazard on the right, bunkers on the left and OB, plus bunkers scattered all over the fairway and over the green. "It's rewarding if you hit good shots." 
What's also rewarding is an opportunity to connect with teammates she's seen throughout her junior golf upbringing."I travel a lot during the summer, so this is probably one of the only events where I get to see the kids that I grew up playing in events with," she said. "It's always a fun time, and I look forward to this event every year."
Lillian Guleserian and Mya Murphy, who made deep runs in the Mass Girls' Junior Amateur two weeks prior, finished tied with a 78. Each made birdie on the opening hole, with Guleserian starting strongly with a birdie on two of the first three. Guleserian, a Penn State Verbal commit, and Murphy, who will attend Merrimack College this fall, will play in the final girls' group.
​Their teammate Maddie Smith is in a three-way tie for fourth at 79 (+6) with Lily Dessel and Olivia Williams of Rhode Island, the defending girls team champions. Dessel won the Rhode Island girls' junior amateur two weeks prior.

LACONIA, New Hampshire – In three of the past four years, the player who has won the New England Amateur has held at least a share of the lead through Round 2. That looks promising for 2020 champion John Broderick (Dedham C&PC), who sits in the top spot at 8-under-par through the first 36 holes of the 95th New England Amateur Championship, taking place at first-time host Laconia Country Club (6,813 yards, par-72). 
Round 2 on Wednesday was delayed by weather in the afternoon for 71 minutes, however, play was able to finish as 67 players made the cut, which settled at 3-over. The final 18-hole round begins Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Players will compete in twosomes Thursday, with the leaders set to tee off at 12:10 p.m. 
Online: Leaderboard | Event Homepage | Past Champions
For the second straight day, Broderick kept a clean card. The Vanderbilt lefty made birdie on the holes 1-2 for the second straight day, and despite a bogey on the par-5 17th, he answered with a birdie on the 18th to finish the day with a one-stroke lead.
“I played smart. I hit a lot of greens and made good decisions in terms of where I was leaving the ball," Broderick told the New Hampshire Union Leader after Wednesday's round. "I hit it to spots and tried to two-putt.” 
One stroke back is Elliott Spaulding (Brunswick GC), who is fresh off his victory in the Maine Amateur Championship. The Loyola University incoming freshman who set the bar for lowest round of the tournament so far with a 6-under 66. Mathew Gover (Atkinson Resort & CC-NH), then matched Spaulding in the afternoon with a 66 of his own.
Spaulding made four consecutive birdies on holes 2-6, adding another on the 9th to shoot 32 on the front nine, making three more birdies on the back. Gover, who won the MASCAC individual title this past fall as a member of the Mass College of Liberal Arts men's golf team, shot 5-under 31 over his final nine Wednesday (holes 1-9) to move into solo third place, two strokes back of Broderick.
​“Made seven birdies each day, but fewer mistakes (Wednesday),” Gover said afterward. “I’m definitely happy with the way I’ve played these two days because this summer has been a struggle. “I’m in the mix, but I’d say it’s going to take a really good day (Thursday). It’s going to be a fun day.”
Sitting just three off the lead are UConn's Connor Good (Glastonbury Hills CC) and Temple's Ethan Whitney, while Rhode Island amateur champion Bobby Leopold is in solo sixth at 4-under.  Austin Giroux (Newport CC-VT), the leader among Vermont players, fired a bogey-free round of 2-under, and is among 11 tied in 9th place. 
Leaderboard
1 - John Broderick, Dedham Country & Polo Club (MA); -8
2 - Eli Spaulding, Brunswick CC (ME); -7
3 - Mathew Gover, Atkinson Resort & CC (NH); -6
T4 - Connor Goode, Glastonbury Hills CC (CT); -5
T4 - Ethan Whitney, Oak Hill CC (MA); -5
6 - Bobby Leopold, Wannamoisett CC (RI); -4
T7 - Ronald Kelton, Purpoodock Club (ME); -3
T7 - Tyler Cooke, Woodland GC (RI); -3
Top Scores From Each State
Connecticut – T4 (-5) Connor Goode, Glastonbury Hills CC; Alex Elia, Silver Spring CC
New Hampshire – 3 (-6)  Mathew Gover, Atkinson Resort & CC
Maine – 2 (-7) Elliott Spaulding, Brunswick GC
Massachusetts – 1 (-8) John Broderick, Dedham Country & Polo Club
Rhode Island – 6 (-4) Bobby Leopold, Wannamoisett CC
Vermont –  T9 (-2) Austin Giroux, Newport CC
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About Laconia Country Club
Established in 1922, Laconia Country Club is nestled in the picturesque Lakes Region of New Hampshire. The championship layout 6,813-yard, par 72 course, reimagined by Wogan & Sargent in 2002, honors the inherent beauty and intent of the original design while ensuring playability at all levels. The property spans more than 200 acres of pure natural beauty with undulating terrain and grand stands of mature trees lining forgiving fairways. The practice facilities are some of the largest in New Hampshire: 8,000-square-feet of putting surfaces, 28,000 yards of natural grass driving range, and a short-game area with sand bunkers and plenty of space to practice pitching.
This is the first time Laconia has hosted the New England Amateur, with Baker Hill GC being the state's most recent host in 2015. Craig Steckowych (2001) is the most recent New Hampshire player to win the tournament. 
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