Interesting Matchups Across The Bracket In Match Play At Taconic Golf Club

By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org

WILLIAMSTOWN, Massachusetts — After two days of adjusting to the elements and the unique test Taconic provides for championship golf, the scorecards of the past two days fade into the background, and now we get 1-on-1 matchups the rest of the way.

Each match over the next few days will be decided over 18 holes.

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Here’s a look at three intriguing Round of 32 matchups:

15-Annie Dai vs. 18-Lauren Connor (9:30 a.m.)

It’s fitting to have an all-Western Massachusetts matchup among the first wave of matches. Annie Dai, who will attend Amherst College in the fall, has made match play three of the past four years but has yet to make it out of the first round. Dai, a Longmeadow native who attended Northfield Mount Hermon School, opened her round with a birdie on Tuesday, and though she struggled at times on the front, she shot 1-over 37 on the back, one of the best performances of the day.

Westfield High School standout Lauren Connor has won two consecutive Western Mass girls golf titles as she is about to enter her junior year. In the spring, she finished tied for fourth overall in the MIAA North/West/Central Regional to qualify for the state tournament. Connor took a giant leap forward this year after missing the cut by 15 strokes in 2023. She shot consistent rounds of 81 and 80, making a pair of birdies on holes 5 and 17, both par-3s, to get into match play for the first time.

14-Emma Abramson vs. 19-Jillian Johnson (10:10 a.m.)

This matchup features a pair of South Shore standouts who have crossed paths several times over the years. Unsurprisingly, many eyes will be on Williams College standout Emma Abramson, the NESCAC Rookie of the Year, who is playing on her home course and having family watching this week. Abramson started to return to form on Tuesday with a 36 on the front nine en route to a solid 77 to finish out stroke play. Abramson made a run to the semifinals in the Mass Girls’ Junior Amateur last week at Bayberry Hills on Cape Cod, near her hometown of Sandwich. Now, with match play hole locations making for some interesting off the tee, Abramson will undoubtedly have some more comfort, having played the course dozens of times more than anybody else remaining.

Johnson, who will attend Merrimack College in the fall, is in match play for the second straight year, earning a much higher seed after sneaking in last year by one stroke. Despite the rain on Monday, Johnson fired a 79 and closed out Tuesday’s round with a birdie on the 18th to slide into the top 20. Johnson also had a solid showing in the Mass Girls’ Junior Amateur, coming up just short in a tight match with eventual finalist Lillian Guleserian.

11-Keira Joshi vs. 22-Katherine Ng (10:30 a.m.) 

Both Joshi and Ng will likely play Taconic a few more times over the next few years, but for now, they get to square off in an all-NESCAC battle. Joshi, who plays for Hamilton College, competed in the conference championships last spring and used some of that experience to her advantage. Joshi holed out for an eagle on the par-4 13th on Tuesday and added another birdie on the 16th to earn a top-16 seed for the first time. Joshi got her start in the game through the First Tee Massachusetts program and achieved ACE level certification, the highest achievement a participant can reach within the program.

Ng, who will attend Bowdoin College in the fall, has bounced back this week after barely missing the cut in the Mass Girls’ Junior Amateur. She also came close to the cut last year at Dedham. However, Ng has also been relatively consistent over the past couple of rounds, with scores of 80 and 82, to safely make it into match play for the first time. The former Wellesley High School standout led her team to an MIAA North/Central/West sectional title in the spring.

Also notable

• If friends Shannon Johnson & Megan Buck, both of Thorny Lea Golf Club, win their matches, they’ll play a head-to-head matchup in the Round of 16. The two have never faced off 1-on-1 in the Mass Women’s Amateur.
• Westford sisters Molly, Morgan, and Maddie Smith all made match play for the third consecutive year. Morgan, the 2022 champion, and Molly, the 2023 finalist, could potentially meet in the semifinals, which would also be a first-time matchup in this event.
• Concord sisters Erika and Sophie Redmond have also advanced to match play. Erika
• They are on opposite sides of the bracket and would only play head-to-head if both reached the final.

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