By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
WILLIAMSTOWN, Massachusetts (August 8, 2024) — Taconic Golf Club greets you like an all-consuming embrace in a part of the state seldom seen by people from its more populous metro regions. Resting in a village surrounded by pine-covered mountains in the northwestern corner of the Commonwealth, it serves as a faraway destination retreat for some and a stop on the road to a longer journey for others.
Either way, the 121st Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship now descends upon this historic club for the first time in a place with tradition and elegance unmatched by any club within the Berkshires.
The championship ventures out west to the Berkshires for the first time since 2002, when future Northwestern standout Kelly Robb won the title at Wyantenuck Country Club, becoming the event’s youngest-ever winner (17). Taconic has quite the championship pedigree, having hosted three USGA Championships (1956 U.S. Junior Amateur, 1963 U.S. Women’s Amateur, and 1996 U.S. Senior Amateur). This is in addition to several Mass Amateurs and the 1992 Mass Open. During a practice round for the 1956 U.S. Amateur, Jack Nicklaus aced the par-3 14th, and there’s a rock celebrating the feat from August 6, 1956.
“There’s a great group of women playing, and I’m excited to have them play Taconic,” said Josh Hillman, the head golf pro at Taconic. “Membership is 110% behind this event, and we’re excited to host the Women’s Amateur.”
Founded in 1896, Taconic members initially laid out a course with “three tomato cans” planted in a playing field, followed by additional holes on an adjoining pasture. The modern layout is the prestigious work of golden-era architects Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek. The course’s layout seamlessly integrates with the natural contours of the Berkshires, offering players breathtaking vistas of the surrounding mountains and forests. It was restored in 2009 by Gil Hanse of Hanse Golf Course Design, Inc., as his team added length and put bunkers inside doglegs. This spring, additional work was done to “soften” four greens (6, 10, 12, 13) and allow for more hole locations. The front side of hole 10, for example, has been lifted so it can be mown and rolled.
The course is also home to the Williams College women’s golf team, which won the NCAA Division III national title in 2015 and has been runner-up several times since. Williams hosts a collegiate invitational each fall, and Hillman, who doubles as the men’s golf team head coach, said it’s always a stout test for some of the region’s best golf programs.
“I hear from most of the men and women that it’s fairly generous off the tee, but second shots can trip you up,” Hillman said. “They have to control spin trajectory. The real defense is second shots, and that’s the difference with the college players.”
Hall of Famer JoAnne Gunderson Carner, a 43-time LPGA Tour winner, once said of Taconic, “The variety of shots called for the sidehill, the uphill, the downhill, and the crisp up stiff chip to the huge undulated greens never will let one get bored.”
Given that she’s played hundreds of rounds at Taconic over the past year, Emma Abramson (The Ridge Club) has a distinct advantage in the talented field. Abramson won her first college event this spring and was later named the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Rookie of the Year.
“She comes through, puts the time and work here, and knows the course inside and out,” Hillman said of Abramson. “Her experience on the course will pay dividends, knowing where to leave the golf ball. They’ll be playing a comparable yardage to the college season.”
Vermont native Kaylie Porter, who attends Hofstra, also has experience with Taconic and will be the lone player in the field representing the host club.
All eyes will undoubtedly be on Westford sisters Morgan Smith, Molly Smith, and Maddie Smith, who made history this week by becoming the first trio of siblings to compete in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills in Oklahoma. The Vesper Country Club trio accomplished this feat in the 2022 Mass Women’s Amateur, and all made match play. Morgan, who is transferring from Georgetown to Georgia this year, won the title that year, with Maddie stepping in as caddie. Molly, the University of Central Florida standout and Big 12 Rookie of the Year, made the final match last year. After playing in back-to-back Mass Amateur championships, she will look to hoist the trophy for the first time.
The formidable Thorny Lea Golf Club duo of Shannon Johnson and Megan Buck have been holding the flag for the state’s women’s mid-amateurs (age 25+) for years. However, like many in this field, this will be their first chance to compete at Taconic in a Mass Golf event.
Other Western Mass standouts in the field include Springfield’s Jaelyn DeBoise (Springfield Country Club), who now plays for Stonehill College; Longmeadow’s Annie Dai (Student Member/MIAA), the 2021 Mass Girls’ Junior Amateur champion, who will play for Amherst College this fall; and Westfield’s Lauren Connor (Springfield Country Club), who has won two consecutive Western Mass women’s amateur titles.
Mass Golf will be adding articles, videos, and other content before and during the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur on the Mass Golf Championship Central page.
August 12 & 13 – Stroke Play (18-holes/day)
August 14 – Round of 32 (a.m.) and Round of 16 (p.m.)
August 15 – Quarterfinals (a.m.) and Semifinals (p.m.)
August 16 – Final Match (18-holes)
A collection of notable players in the 2024 Mass Women’s Amateur:
EMMA ABRAMSON, 18, a Sandwich native and member of The Ridge Club, is going to have valuable local knowledge coming off her first year competing for the Williams College women’s golf team, which plays at practices at Taconic. Abramson was named the NESCAC Rookie of the Year after earning medalist honors in the Jekyll Island Intercollegiate and placing second in the conference championships. She also played in the NCAA Division III Championship. Abramson has made the semifinals and Round of 16 in recent years in the Women’s Amateur, but this year presents another chance to go deep.
MEGAN BUCK, 36, a North Easton resident and member of Thorny Lea Golf Club, the 2022 Anne Marie Tobin Women’s Player of the Year, placed 4th in this year’s New England Women’s Amateur Championship and also won her fifth straight Mass Women’s Four-Ball Championship for the Townshend Cup with Shannon Johnson. She has made match play each of the past seven years, including two quarterfinals appearances.
MEKHALA COSTELLO, 18, a Canton native and member of Blue Hill Country Club, is set to play soccer for the Amherst College soccer team. Before that, she’ll try to make her fourth consecutive appearance in match play after earning the No. 2 seed and making the quarterfinals in 2023. Costello previously set a program record for Canton High School with a 36.8 scoring average.
ANNIE DAI, 18, a Longmeadow native and MIAA Student member, is also an Amherst College commit and a former Massachusetts Girls’ Junior Amateur champion (2021, Orchards Golf Club) and two-time Connecticut Girls’ Junior Amateur champion. Dai qualified for match play in 2021 and 2022, the latter being at Orchards.
JAELYN DEBOISE, 20, a Springfield native and member of Springfield Country Club, was a top-3 player on the Stonehill College women’s golf team during her sophomore season and has the ability to get through to match play just like in 2022. In high school, she won the Western Mass. Girls Golf Individual title by eight strokes at The Country Club of Wilbraham
KYLIE EATON, 19, a Smithfield, R.I. native and member of New England Country Club, placed top five in this year’s Massachusetts Women’s Stroke Play Championship for the Baker Trophy. Eaton has previously won the 2022 Rhode Island Women’s Amateur Championship and the 2021 Junior – Amateur Championship. After a year at IMG Academy in Florida, she announced that she will attend the University of Illinois in the fall.
CARYS FENNESSY, 17, a Dover, N.H. native and Youth On Course/Mass Golf Member, has won the New Hampshire Women’s Amateur each of the past two years, taking home the 2024 win by 18 strokes. Last year, Fennessy placed runner-up in the New England Junior Amateur (girls division) and fourth in the New England Women’s Amateur. The rising senior has verbally committed to the College of Charleston.
LILLIAN GULESERIAN, 17, a Westwood native and member of Blue Hill Country Club, made a spectacular run to the semifinals in 2023 at Dedham, knocking off past champions Mary Chamberlain and Shannon Johnson and making an ace to defeat junior standout Isabel Brozena. Her best performances this year include making the finals of the Mass Girls’ Junior Amateur and a third-place finish in the New England Women’s Amateur Championship. During the high school season, she finished T2 in the MIAA Girls’ Golf state championship at South Hadley’s Ledges Golf Club and won the MIAA individual title in the North/Central/West girls’ golf sectional at Westfield’s East Mountain Country Club.
TATE HADGES, 22, a North Easton resident and member of Thorny Lea Golf Club, took home the Osgood Memorial Trophy for the Low Net score in stroke play last year, carding a net 67 in the second round of stroke play. Hadges, a recent Holy Cross graduate and former captain, won her first match and, two years ago, made a run to the semifinals.
JULIA IMAI, 18, a Brookline native and KOHR Golf member, represented Mass Golf on the Girls’ Junior InterCity squad this year. In 2023, she qualified for match play in the Women’s Amateur and has since committed to play golf at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
SHANNON JOHNSON, 41, a North Easton resident and member of Thorny Lea Golf Club, shot a course record 69 at Oakley Country Club in the second round of the 2023 Ouimet Memorial Tournament en route to winning the championship for the first time this year. Johnson, who won the 2018 Mass Women’s Amateur title and played in the final match in 2021, also won the Mass Women’s Four-Ball Championship for the Townshend Cup with Megan Buck for the fifth consecutive year.
PIPER JORDAN, 19, a Hingham resident and member of Boston Golf Club, made an ace during last year’s Mass Women’s Amateur en route to her second straight appearance in match play. Jordan is fresh off her first year at Middlebury College and has experience playing at Taconic. Last fall, she competed in the Williams College, shooting rounds of 78 and 89.
MYA MURPHY, 17, a Bourne resident and MIAA Student member, made a run to the quarterfinals last year in her first match play appearance in the Mass Women’s Amateur, earning a match with eventual champion Rebecca Skoler. A Merrimack College commit, Murphy won the MIAA Girls’ Golf South Sectional individual title during her senior year at Sturgis West and made it to the semifinals of the 2024 Mass Girls’ Junior Amateur.
ALLISON PAIK, 22, a Sharon resident and member of The Cape Club of Sharon, won the 2020 Mass Women’s Amateur at Essex County Club and has made match play each of the past three years. Paik is coming off her senior season at Columbia University, where she captained the squad and earned All-American Scholar honors from the Women’s Golf Coaches Association.
KAYLIE PORTER, 19, a resident of Sunderland, Vermont, and a member of Taconic Golf Club, will be the lone representative from the host club. Porter is coming off her freshman season with Hofstra University, where she competed in three events this past fall. Last year, she won the Junior Division of the Vermont Women’s Golf Association Amateur Championship.
MADDIE SMITH, 16, a Westford native and member of Vesper Country Club, won the 2023 Massachusetts Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship, becoming the first Smith sister to do so. She is also fresh off an appearance in the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship in California and finished 7th overall in the New England Women’s Amateur Championship.
MOLLY SMITH, 19, a Westford native and member of Vesper Country Club, finished runner-up in last year’s Mass Women’s Amateur Championship, her furthest run in five attempts. Smith is fresh off her first year at the University of Central Florida, where she posted four top-5 finishes, including a victory in the Merecedes-Benz Intercollegiate. In addition, she has played in the past two Mass Women’s Amateur and recently competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur for the fourth straight year.
MORGAN SMITH, 20, a Westford native and member of Vesper Country Club, won the 2022 title at Orchards Golf Club, also located in Western Massachusetts. Smith, who is transferring to the University of Georgia this fall, made match play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur and played in the event alongside her sisters Molly and Maddie. Earlier this year, she finished second in the Massachusetts Women’s Stroke Play Championship.
MACKENZIE WHITNEY, 20, a Westminster native and member of Oak Hill Country Club, recently finished her junior season at Division I Siena College, where she was named the MAAC Golfer of the Week twice during the spring season. Whitney recently broke the women’s course record at Oak Hill Country Club, shooting a 9-under-par 64 with eight birdies and an eagle. Whitey has made match play each of the past three seasons and will look to get beyond the Round of 16 for the first time.
All competitors in the field will compete in two 18-hole rounds over the first two days of competition. The low 32 scorers will advance to match play beginning Wednesday, August 16.
AWARDS: Stroke Play Medalist | Low Net Qualifier – Osgood Memorial Cup | Amateur Champion – Championship Bowl | Amateur Finalist – Curtis Memorial Trophy.
SPECTATORS AMENITIES: Admission throughout the event is FREE OF CHARGE for the general public. Restrooms are also available in the clubhouse and at any of the on-course restrooms.
FOLLOW ALONG: To help spectators and other individuals keep up with the action, starting times and live scoring links are always available on MassGolf.org through Golf Genius.
Starting Times & Live Scoring: massgolf.org/scoreboards/2024-womens-amateur/
The Taconic Golf Club will be set up at approximately 5,879 yards and will play to a par of 35-36-71.
TACONIC GOLF CLUB HOLE BY HOLE
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Total |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 35 |
| Yards | 480 | 335 | 373 | 280 | 160 | 335 | 350 | 360 | 165 | 2828 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Total |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 |
| Yards | 498 | 366 | 310 | 360 | 155 | 360 | 332 | 175 | 495 | 3051 |
For complete coverage of the 121st Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship, visit MassGolf.org or follow Mass Golf on Facebook, X, and Instagram at @PlayMassGolf and use the hashtag #MassWomensAm.
