REHOBOTH, Massachusetts – The skies parted over Crestwood Country Club on Tuesday, revealing a cheery parkland routing for the Division 1 field to enjoy on a beautiful, breezy day.
There were plenty of storylines to keep an eye on: might Pamela Kuong (Charles River Country Club) capture her fourth Mass Women’s Senior Amateur title? Would Jayne Pardus (Boston Golf Club) build on a decorated career in South Carolina and stake her place in the Mass Golf pantheon? As a Hall of Famer, she’s hardly a dark horse, but could Tara Joy-Connelly (The Kittansett Club) make a move after a disappointing opening 78? Or maybe Natalie Galligan (Pocasset Golf Club) would build on her own substantial legacy, which includes a women’s am title (1990), stroke play title (2001), and a senior title (2018).
They say the Masters doesn’t start until the back-nine on Sunday, well, this year’s Women’s Senior Am didn’t either. With just five holes remaining, all four of the aforementioned players were within one, leaving Kuong clinging to the slimmest of leads, then suddenly tied, then leading again.
At last, after a comfortable two-putt par on the 36th hole, Kuong could breathe easy, one shot clear and one title the richer.
“We had fun. It’s always good to get a win, there’s no question about it. It’s hard, especially with the quality of the field, this year in particular,” said Kuong.
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Meanwhile, in the Legends Division, Linda Melanson (Shining Rock Golf Club) took home the hardware, winning by a six shot margin. “The course was beautiful. The weather was difficult on day one and we all really did our best out there. The camaraderie amongst the women is outstanding and it was a really fun time.”
With little to parse out the four hard charging players atop the leaderboard, a final stretch of superb golf was going to be required, and Pamela Kuong put together just that, playing the final four holes in one-under.
After she fell back to the pack with a bogey on the 14th, a clutch birdie on the par-3 15th righted the ship. Her playing partner Natalie Galligan also birdied the 15th, leaving the two tied at the top. But Galligan suffered an unfortunate triple bogey on the 16th, while Kuong made par.
“I had just made a bogey on 14 and Natalie stuck it pretty close on 15. She had parred 14. So I was just like, you’ve got to get a putt to the hole. I mean, everything has been short,” said Kuong. That is not to say she was giving away strokes on the greens. “This is the first tournament all year that I haven’t had any three putts.”
Though Kuong dodged Galligan’s best shot, the ever-dangerous Tara Joy-Connelly was still in hot pursuit. Joy-Connelly put together the best round of the tournament with an even par 72. She just missed a short birdie putt on the par-3 17th, then birdied the 18th to keep the pressure on Kuong.
It turns out Kuong was unaware of just how tight things were down the stretch, which was perhaps to her benefit. “Well, probably if I knew that I had to shoot one under [over the final four holes], I think I probably would have been nervous,” said Kuong. “I was fortunate today that I ended up on top. I mean, you know, Tara’s just playing unbelievable golf, so, I was very fortunate.”
Needing two pars to seal the victory, Kuong’s comfort playing with the lead was evident. She stuck a sensible approach on the 17th in the center of the green and two-putted. Then on the par-5 closing hole, she put together a clinical par. Drive in the fairway, lay up in the fairway, approach to the dead center of the green, about 25 feet away.
At that point, many of the players that had already finished were gathering to watch the finish.
“I couldn’t believe how many people were around the 18th green and they waited for us to finish. This is a far away place for a lot of people, a lot of people have hour-plus drives, and the fact that they stayed that long just to cheer us on was really probably the most special part of today,” said Kuong.
Cheer they did, as Kuong knocked her birdie putt to about two feet and casually brushed it in for a fourth Mass Women’s Senior Amateur title.
Located just a few miles from East Providence at the Rhode Island border, Crestwood Country Club was constructed in 1959 under the direction of prolific golf course architect Geoffrey Cornish. The club has played host to several Mass Golf events in recent years, including the 2022 Father Son Modified Scotch and the 2023 Dolly Sullivan Team Best Ball.
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