Carys Captures Her First NH Women's Amateur Title
Enfield, NH – At just 16 years old, Carys Fennessy has captured her first New Hampshire Women’s Amateur Championship title. After shooting 68-73-74 at Montcalm Golf Club, Fennessy finished the 54-hole championship at one-under par overall, a staggering 15 strokes better than the next competitor in the field. Fennessy has overcome so much in the last year and now proudly hoists the New Hampshire Women’s Amateur trophy.
Coming into the final round, Fennessy had a 13-shot lead on the field so it was a matter of challenging herself and playing the game she wanted to play. Her front nine was steady and consistent with eight pars and just one bogey, making the turn at one-over par, which may have been disappointing to her and she wasn’t able to roll in any of her birdie chances.
Heading to the back nine, she bogeyed the downhill 10th hill hole after leaving her approach shot short of the green. The lone birdie on her card came on the par-5, 14th hole where she narrowly missed the greenside bunker with her second shot and she was able to hit a great chip shot and roll in the putt. With the pressure of the crowd watching on the 18th hole, she made one final bogey and carded a final round 74 (+2) to win the championship.
“Today was a grind”, stated Fennessy. “I didn’t hit it the way I wanted to the first couple holes, but I was able to make as many pars as I could. I only had one birdie today, I couldn’t get the putts to fall.”
She set the pace for herself on the first day, going four-under par and needed to work hard to keep up with that pace. Although she wasn’t able to match that score, she played great golf and met the goals she set for herself. She said, “I definitely wanted to finish under par for the three days, that was my goal. I just wanted to keep hitting the shots I have been hitting and keep putting myself in position to make putts.”
Fennessy hasn’t always had an easy road to success. Last year while attending the U.S. Open at The Country Club, she was struck in the head by an errant shot, causing a concussion. Due to her injury, she wasn’t able to play golf for most of the summer, but she persevered to get her golf game back.
“I’m proving to myself and other people how hard I’ve worked, where I was at, to come back, to where I am now”, stated Fennessy. “The hard work I’ve been in, it’s crazy. To finish like this, it means a lot.”
Now with another trophy to add to her collection, Fennessy has proven to everyone that setbacks happen and it’s the hard work you put in that will take you far.
While Fennessy ran away with this victory, the race for second place was a close one between defending champion, Julianna Megan and Amy Dickison. Dickison had a one stroke edge on Megan coming into the round, but let it slip early with three-straight bogeys to start her final round. While Megan wasn’t bogey-free in those first three holes, she did roll in a birdie to jump into second place, which is where she stayed for much of the round.
It came down to the back nine where Dickison was able to roll in a birdie putt on the par-5, 14th hole to get herself back to a tie for second place with Megan. The two bogeyed the 15th hole and made par on 16 and 17 for the 18th hole to be the deciding factor. Unfortunately for Dickison, her par putt hit the hole but didn’t go in. Settling for bogey, Megan confidently made her par putt and finished in second place.
The New Hampshire Golf Association would like to extend a sincere thank you to the golf shop staff, maintenance crew, food and beverage staff and owners at Montcalm Golf Club for hosting the New Hampshire Women’s Amateur Championship. The owners have graciously presented Carys Fennessy with a one-year membership for her win in the tournament.
NH Women’s Amateur | Results