Fennessy's Four Under Par Round Leads NH Women's Amateur After Round One
Enfield, NH – She started with a bogey, but that score was not indicative of what was to come in her opening round of the New Hampshire Women’s Amateur Championship presented by Vigilant Wealth Management. Carys Fennessy (Cochecho CC) shot 68 (-4) to turn some heads at Montcalm Golf Club as the state’s top female golfers teed in up in hopes of being crowned the New Hampshire Women’s Amateur champion. Fennessy holds a staggering eight-shot lead as everyone heads to the second round of the championship, with 36 holes remaining.
With a refreshing change in the weather, the 70-degree temperatures and low humidity were ideal for those competing at Montcalm in the New Hampshire Women’s Amateur. Carys Fennessy had a fantastic first round, setting the pace for the field and herself as there is still plenty of golf to be played in the tournament.
“I started on the 10th hole, which was a tough one, straight down the hill”, stated Fennessy. “I made bogey. I think that was one of three that I made on the day.”
Right after that, she rolled in her first birdie putt of the day and went on to make two more birdies by the time she played five holes, getting herself to two-under par in a hurry. With one more bogey and a birdie on Montcalm’s 18th hole, she made the turn at two-under par with a four-shot lead over the rest of the field.
With a perfectly placed tee shot on the 1st hole, Fennessy made another birdie getting to three-under par. She made one more bogey on the back nine but finished her round with back-to-back birdies to finish with an impressive 68 (-4).
“I made seven birdies which was great”, commented Fennessy. “The putter was working today, I made pretty much everything I looked at inside of ten feet.”
With the putter hot, she hopes to rectify a few of the mistakes she made out there in the first round to go even lower in Round 2 to open up her lead even further. She said, “I might be more aggressive on my chips, I only had a few today because I only missed a few greens. I think I can be more aggressive there, that’s where my bogeys came from.”
With an eight-shot lead, she sits comfortably in first place. Fennessy stated, “Going into this, I think my biggest competition is always myself. I felt pretty comfortable out there.”
Sitting in second place is Amy Dickison who finished in fifth place at last year’s New Hampshire Women’s Amateur at Concord Country Club. She already has a win under her belt, winning the Legend division of the Senior/Legend/Classic at Lochmere. With a calm demeanor about herself, Dickison had a front row seat to the seven birdies Fennessy made in the first round.
Dickison started with a smooth and steady first nine at Montcalm only making two bogeys and rolling in seven pars, making the turn at two-over par, but four shots back of the lead. Making the turn and playing Montcalm’s front nine, Dickison made three bogeys but made one birdie on the par-4, 7th hole. She finished the day with a 76 (+4) and now joins the group that will look to keep Fennessy in their sight heading to Round 2.
Defending New Hampshire Women’s Amateur champion, Julianna Megan is also among the top four golfers, carding a 79 (+7) in her first round of the championship. Megan recently won the New Hampshire Junior Championship, held a couple weeks ago at Beaver Meadow Golf Course. Looking to draw upon her successful past experiences, she will look to work her way back and gain a few strokes on Fennessy in the coming rounds.
Montcalm Golf Club is playing to about 5,600 yards for the Championship division of the tournament. With ideal weather conditions, the challenges end up being the elevation changes on the course, avoiding the rough and placing your shots in ideal positions to make par and birdie. As 36 holes remain in the championship, Carys Fennessy now has a target on her back with a strong field of golfers looking to take advantage of any mistakes she might make.
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