BRETTON WOODS, New Hampshire – Ten Massachusetts junior golfers traveled to Mount Washington Golf Course on Monday to represent the Bay State at the New England Junior Amateur Championship. Donning coordinating light blue polos, they finished the first two rounds in first place for the Boys Division and tied for third in the Girls Division. Both divisons look to carry momentum into tomorrow morning to attempt to fully sweep the tournament.
The Massachusetts boys’ team carded a 30-under group score, thanks in part to team-leading scorers CJ Winchenbaugh and Thomas Murdough, shooting 9-under 135. Emma Abramson, Annie Dai, and Piper Jordan put the girls’ team at 12-over heading into tomorrow.
The championship consists of 10-person teams from each of the six New England States, with seven golfers per team in the Boys Division and three in the Girls Division. In the team competitions, the top five of the seven boys’ scores and the top two of three girls’ scores are counted toward their team totals. Every golfer’s individual scores are counted toward the individual competition. All titles are awarded based on 54-hole scores across three rounds.
Team Rhode Island leads the Girls Division currently with a score of even par. Trailing three strokes behind is Team Connecticut. Team Massachusetts currently stands at 12-over in a tie for third place with Team New Hampshire.
Connecticut’s Luke Stennett walked off the course as the top individual scorer in the Boys Division at 11-under 133. Finishing the day in second is Team Maine’s Eli Spaulding, shooting 9-under 135. Rhode Island’s Kylie Eaton leads the day in the Girls Division with an impressive 5-under 139.
Team Massachusetts was able to count four scores at or below par during the morning round, headlined by a 9-under 63 from Winchenbaugh. The round was largely error-free, shooting ten birdies and one bogey. Winchenbaugh’s 63 set a competitive course record.
“I think today I went in with no expectations. I knew the course was scoreable after playing in the practice round, so I knew if I just played my game I could go low,” said Winchenbaugh. I started off hot with a couple of birdies in my first few holes and from there I just kept playing the same game.”
He was then asked about his thought process before and during the rounds.
“My thought process was that I was under par because of the way I had been playing the course, so there was no point in doing anything different,” Winchenbaugh mentioned.
“I think the course was in great shape and we lucked out with the weather as well which helped. As much as I wanted to play well for myself, I also knew that the lower I could go, the more it would help the team out as well, which was good motivation.”
Winchenbaugh looks to put on a strong performance heading into tomorrow’s final round.
Thomas Murdough, Sascha Robinson, and Ryan Scollins, all finished in the top ten in the morning round as well. Patrick Ginnity was the last individual score included in the morning round.
In the afternoon, Murdough led the way individually, shooting a score of 66 in the second round.
The second-round scores were made up by Murdough, Robinson, Scollins, Reese Jensen, and Winchenbaugh.
Emma Abramson led all Massachusetts golfers in the girls’ team competition during both rounds, shooting a 4-over 76 during the first round and a 1-over 73 during the second.
“My mentality going into today was to grind out the tournament, we had 36 holes today and have 18 tomorrow,” Abramson said. “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and making some more putts, I know I can go low out here.”
Following closely behind her is teammate Annie Dai, trailing by just two strokes. Piper Jordan finished at 17-over for the day.
Abramson gave a special shout-out to her teammates. “We’re a really good group together and it’s been a ton of fun, whether it’s golfing or just hanging out.”
CJ Winchenbaugh, 63-72-135
Thomas Murdough, 69-66-135
Sascha Robinson, 70-67-137
Ryan Scollins, 71-70-141
Patrick Ginnity, 71-73-144
Reese Jensen, 74-71-145
Alan Rose, 76-75-151
Emma Abramson, 76-73-149
Annie Dai, 76-75-151
Piper Jordan, 78-83-161
The first New England Junior Amateur Championship was contested in 1967 and hosted at Essex County Club. Massachusetts won its first team title the following year at Poland Spring Golf Course in Poland, Maine. A Girls Division was added to the event for the first time in 2019, and Rhode Island captured the inaugural girls’ division crown.
Visit MassGolf.org and follow @PlayMassGolf on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest information on Mass Golf championships and events. To join the conversation, use the hashtag #MassGolf.
