Mass Women's Amateur: 3 Share Lead At Dedham Country & Polo Club - MASSGOLF

Dedham Country & Polo Club Provides Challenging Test For All In Opening Round

For Immediate Release: August 14, 2023

DEDHAM, Massachusetts – It hasn’t been a busy summer golf-wise for Allison Paik, Mary Mulcahy, or Mekhala Costello, but based on their play Monday, one could’ve been forgiven for believing otherwise.

Paik, Mulcahy and Costello each shot 3-over-par 73 to share the lead in the opening round of the 120th Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship at Dedham Country & Polo Club. Hosting for the first time since 2001, Dedham packed a pretty sizable punch in Round 1, with its swirling winds and lightning-quick and firm greens.

“I used my whole bag today for sure,” said Paik, the 2020 champion and Columbia University senior, whose appearance in this year’s Women’s Amateur marks the first tournament she’s played this summer. She said an internship has tied up most of her time over the past 10 weeks.

“It’s always an honor to play this tournament especially after winning it three years ago,” she added.

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Allison Paik, the 2020 champion, is tied for the lead after Round 1. (David Colt)

Just like her victory three years prior, Paik rolled the ball well on many of the Seth Raynor template greens. She made birdies on two of the five par-3s, including a birdie putt inside 20 feet on the 5th, named ‘Short’. On the 14th, with the signature biarritz green that is 70 yards deep with a swale in between, Paik hit it six feet left of the pin and made the putt for her third and final birdie of the day.

“I was surprised that I made a few long putts. Maybe it was a bit lucky on that, but I was trusting my line for the most part and seeing where it ended up,” Paik said. “Other than that, I think I’ve become a lot more consistent over the years.”

Paik, who plays out of Cape Club of Sharon, previously played at Dedham in 2021 U.S. Women’s Open Qualifying, except that was a rainy and chilly spring day.

“It was definitely a lot colder and wasn’t rolling out as much,” Paik recalled. “Today I was taking different lines, but that was just a good visual coming into this tournament.”

Mulcahy (Hatherly Country Club) played Paik in the semifinals three years ago and finds herself in a good position to make match play once again. Though her lone birdie came on the 10th, Mulcahy made 14 pars and avoided big numbers to stay in control the entire time.

“My dad was giving me a lot of really good reads on the putting greens, and it was just a fun day,” said Mulcahy, 29, a former University of Central Florida standout. “I’m just happy. Every stretch out there is better than being in the office. I love to play. I’m very competitive, and it’s nice I can do this the rest of my life.” 

Costello (Blue Hill Country Club), a multi-sport athlete at nearby Canton High School, said she exceeded her own expectations. She bested the field on the front nine with a 1-under 35 en route to her 73. Costello won Low Net honors last year and said playing this championship helped her establish what to expect.

“I just came in here trying to make the cut,” said Costello, who will begin high school soccer season after this week. “I kind of got a late start this year (June). I wasn’t playing as well earlier on, but I always like hard courses and fast greens, so I think this suits me better.”

Costello gave a few strokes back on the back nine but closed the day on a high note. She hit a sweet 6-iron on the Reverse Redan 17th and sank the 10-footer for birdie to move into a tie for the lead. She then two-putted from off the green on the 18th to save par.

“I’ve never really felt what it’s like at the top of the leaderboard, but I think playing in my club championship this past weekend, and then that going well, I kind of like the feeling,” Costello said. “It’s definitely a lot different here. I know that it’s a long tournament, so with that in my mind, I just need to say levelheaded.”

Coming off her third straight appearance in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, Molly Smith (Vesper Country Club) shot 5-over 75 as she tries to win the Mass Women’s Amateur for the first time. Her older sister, defending champion Morgan Smith (Vesper Country Club), shot 78, one stroke above Rebecca Skoler, who played Smith in the final match last year. 

Tied with Molly Smith is Lillian Guleserian (Blue Hill Country Club), who finished third earlier this year in the New England Women’s Amateur Championship. Guleserian made her lone birdie on the par-4 9th with a 20-footer, a testament to her short game practice during the winter.

“My plan was to take driver, and I pushed it right, but not in trouble,” Guleserian said, described playing the 9th hole. “These greens, there’s not as much break as I think so I just played that one dead straight.”

Round 2 begins at 7:30 Tuesday morning. If there is a tie for the final 32 spots for match play, a playoff will take place at the conclusion of stroke play beginning on hole 1.

Watch: Round 1 Video Highlights

Notable

Here are some other tidbits from Day 1 at the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship. 

  • Molly Smith, who will attend University of Central Florida in the fall, played in the same group as Mary Mulcahy, who played at UCF from 2012-2016.
  • Morgan Smith and Molly Smith competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship last week at Bel-Air Country Club. Molly missed the cut by two, and Morgan by three.
  • Mary Chamberlain, the 2009 champion, had the lone eagle of the day. On the par-5 6th hole, Chamberlain had 75 yards out and hit a choke down gap wedge, landed it on the down slope, and it rolled into the cup. Chamberlain had Dedham member and current professional Will Frodigh on the bag.
  • For the second straight year, Lindsay Cone entered the competition just days after competing in the Leadville Trail 100 MTB, a mountain bike race in Colorado that begins at 10,000 feet elevation. Cone, who previously worked for Spartan Race and now Athletic Greens, has always been an adventure sports athlete. At the University of Denver she led the ski team to a national title, but also played for the women’s golf team.
  • Dedham’s front nine (+7.47) played 1.45 strokes more difficult in relation to par than the back nine (+6.02). The first five holes on conceded five birdies, with holes 1 and 2 being the most difficult.
  • About one-third of the players in the field have either played college golf this year or will join a college team in the fall: Jaelyn DeBoise (Stonehill College); Jennifer Walsh (Assumption University); Madalin Small (Butler University); Tate Hadges (Holy Cross); Rebecca Skoler (University of Virginia); Morgan Smith (Georgetown); Molly Smith (University of Central Florida); Ellie de Andrade (Holy Cross); Erin Sullivan (Bryant University); Grace Farland (University of Hartford); Phoebe Chamian (Holy Cross); Allison Paik (Colombia); Mackenzie Whitney (Siena College); Christine Mandile (University of Richmond); Alia Godek (Franklin Pierce University); Emma Abramson (Williams College); Victoria Adams (Bates College); Piper Jordan (Middlebury College); Victoria Veator (Flagler College); Rosie Leonard (Wesleyan University); Mia Bardinelli (Wesleyan University); Lorelei Flanagan (Franklin Pierce University); Jillian Barend (Siena College); Clara Chae (Pomona-Pitzer Colleges) and Isabel Smith (Suffolk University).

Quotable

  • It’s my favorite event of the year. There’s so many different people that you don’t play with all the time so it feels amazing. — Lillian Guleserian on playing in another Mass Women’s Amateur.
  • I’ve been following Molly for a long time, and she’s a really great player and really happy for her. I love UCF. I think she’s gonna have a great time. I asked her if she was going to bring a car down because it’s a massive campus. — Mary Mulcahy on if she offered any advice to Molly Smith about UCF.
  • I think the course suits longer hitters better, which is nice…sometimes. — Mikhala Costello on Dedham’s course conditions.
  • I’m keeping my game very simple: focusing on hitting the fairway, hitting the green and keeping the ball in front of me. That way it can’t get too awry during the round. — Allison Paik on avoiding big numbers on the scorecard.

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