By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
BROCKTON, Massachusetts (September 18, 2024) – Megan Buck had more than a hand on the Keyes Cup for the second time in three years. In fact, it was down to a Happy Gilmore situation: “You make this in [eight] or less shots, and you win the tournament.” She only needed one.
In a fitting finale to two days of play at her home course of Thorny Lea Golf Club, Buck couldn’t help but smile and then shrug when her 35-foot birdie putt from the back of the green fell into the bottom of the cup and was met with a rowdy cheer from the clubhouse onlookers. Buck finished with a two-day score of 71-69—140 to cap off a nine-stroke victory Wednesday afternoon.
“It was really special to make that putt,” said Buck, who also won the 2022 title. “It’s always fun to finish here on 18 at Thorny because everybody’s sitting up on the deck, so to make that and hear everybody cheer, and you couldn’t put a better cherry on the top. It was really perfect.”
Jenni Ceppi (Salem Country Club) also had a similar finale to Buck, as her birdie bid rolled around the edge and her playing partners audibly and simultaneously groaned in disbelief. However, her tap-in was enough to secure the Tournament Division title for the first time with a two-day total of 165.
The Keyes Cup brings together the best Massachusetts female golfers over the age of 25 annually. The Championship Division identifies a winner over 36 holes of play, and the Tournament Division does as well for players with a Handicap Index of up to 18.0.
Megan Buck closed out the 2024 Mass Women’s Mid-Am in style, dropping a 💣 for birdie on 18 to cap a dominant win! pic.twitter.com/AHEvip5mju
— Mass Golf (@PlayMassGolf) September 18, 2024
When she won two years ago, Buck took a seven-stroke lead and won by just two over her fellow Thorny Lea competitor and four-ball partner Shannon Johnson. This time around, she only had a five-stroke edge and was playing with Johnson as well as former Georgetown golfer Chelsea Curtis (The Country Club). But Buck’s lead only grew larger as she started with a parade of pars on the opening six holes and her first birdie of the day on the 7th, followed by another on the 9th.
From there, Buck continued her deft touch on and around the greens, getting up and down from the bunker on the 16th, hitting a smooth chip and putt on the 17th, and finishing it off with a smooth swing from the right rough on the 18th followed by her electrifying finish.
Through it all, she leaned on her past experiences playing the course almost daily to execute the shot required in each moment.
“I tried to really kind of keep the pedal down and play well, and I was able to do that,” she said. “Just played really steady, a lot of fairways, greens, never anything where I got myself in trouble.
“To get up and down from the bunker there on 16, that’s where you just do feel really accomplished,” Buck added. “You know, all the practice has paid off, and you can do it under pressure.”
Overall, it’s been a season to remember for the 36-year-old Buck, who made it to the Round of 32 in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship a week prior at Brae Burn Country Club in Newton. Before that, she won her 5th straight Mass Women’s Four-Ball with Johnson, made the quarterfinals in the Mass Women’s Amateur, and earned top-five finishes in the New England Women’s Amateur Championship and Ouimet Memorial Tournament.
Buck also moved into the lead in the race for Mass Golf’s Anne Marie Tobin Women’s Player of the Year Award. Buck, who won it in 2022, has a 37-point edge, leapfrogging Johnson and Mass Women’s Amateur Champion Morgan Smith. Next week, she’ll team up with Johnson again to finish out the season by trying to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball for the second straight year.
“I really have played steady this year and kind of continually gotten better,” Buck said. “Hopefully play well one more day, then we’ll be done.”
Megan Buck is your 2024 Massachusetts Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship with a two day total of 2-under 140 at Thorny Lea, good for a 9 shot margin at her home club. pic.twitter.com/LDJ0ShLDgX
— Mass Golf (@PlayMassGolf) September 18, 2024
Jenny Ceppi needs to make a little extra room on the trophy case this year. Over the weekend, she won the women’s club championship at Salem and once again earned the title at Bass Rocks. Three years ago, she won both on the same day. The Keyes Cup has always marked the end of summer golf with many of her fellow competitors from across the state, and finally, she has a prize to show for it.
“I’ve been playing it for a very long time, so it’s nice to have the trophy,” Ceppi said. “The course is in great shape, the greens were really fast, and I just can’t believe I won. It’s amazing.”
That said, it didn’t come easy.
Ceppi took the lead late in the round by making par on four of five holes between 10-14. However, she hooked her drive on the par-3 17th, making a double bogey for the first time all day. After landing her second shot in front of the green, her putt just trickled over the slope toward the hole, hit the left edge, and took a hard turn right, forcing Ceppi to turn away in disbelief.
After tapping in, she had to wait for the group behind as Christine Coughlin (Green Hill Muni Golf Course) had a shot to win it with a birdie on the 18th or tie it with a par to force a playoff. Coughlin made the green in two but ended up three-putting, giving the title to Ceppi.
To win the tournament division of the Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, this putt makes Jenny Ceppi sweat for it. Securing her win after final scores were in, the Salem C.C. member had a 1-stoke victory over Christine Coughlin! #MassGolf pic.twitter.com/yNg7TkOwaz
— Mass Golf (@PlayMassGolf) September 18, 2024
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