Fennessy Finds Her Stride on the Back Nine at Rochester to Lead NH Women's Amateur
Rochester, NH – After a slow start to the round and easing back into tournament golf, Carys Fennessy finds herself back in the lead of the New Hampshire Women’s Amateur Championship presented by Vigilant Wealth Management. Fennessy fired an even-par, 72 and now leads by one stroke as she looks to capture her second championship title of the season and defend her title from last year. One of the youngest competitors in the field, Mady Savary, sits just one shot back of Fennessy with a 73 (+1) after a strong front nine performance.
Earlier this season, Fennessy picked up a big win against the top female amateur players in the region by winning the New England Women’s Amateur Championship in Maine, giving her confidence heading into the rest of the season. However, her opening round of the New Hampshire Women’s Amateur did not go exactly as planned. She started the round with a double bogey on the first hole at Rochester Country Club, which included an uncharacteristic three-putt.
While she did roll in three birdie putts on the front nine, she added two more bogeys to her front nine score to make the turn at one-over par. From there, she was able to turn it around and went birdie-eagle to start off her back nine.
“I finally found it on the back nine and I was always birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey”, stated Fennessy after her round.
Her back nine was steadier as she made just two bogeys and pars on the remaining holes after the birdie-eagle start. When asked about the difference between the front nine and back nine, she commented, “I was more comfortable with my shots, I know the score was only two shots better on the back, but I just felt more like myself out there.”
While it was not necessarily the round she wanted or the typical Carys Fennessy golf, she admitted that she is just easing back into tournament golf after a slower July. However, most of her struggles revolve around confidence in herself and the shots she can hit. She said, “I know I can do and hit the shots, I just need to believe that I can.”
Fennessy now looks to shake off the bad holes and prepares for the second round of the competition, with strong competitors following her heels. One of those is 15-year-old Mady Savary who had a strong performance in the opening round, proving that she can compete with those older than her. Savary shot 35 (-1) on the front nine, which was good enough to get her name to the top of the leaderboard after nine holes. That 35 included two birdies and just one bogey, very steady golf.
Savary’s round was going along in a similar fashion on the back nine, she rolled in another birdie on the 11th hole but followed it up with a bogey. Unfortunately, Savary ran into trouble on the last two holes of the course where she carded bogey-bogey to finish her round with a 73 (+1). Despite her disappointment in the last two holes, she is just one shot back of Fennessy, in great shape as she heads into the next round.
Coming into the tournament, Savary had goals in mind, including finishing inside of the top 10 of the field as her previous two times competing in this tournament, she finished in 11th place. She also said,” My goal for today was to hit fairways and get on the greens in regulation. My putting was actually pretty good today which I’m happy. I’ve been working on it and I’m happy to see it pay off a little bit.”
With the last two holes replaying in her head, Savary looks ahead to the next round, thinking about some changes she might make to her game. She commented, “On 18, I hit driver and that didn’t work out for me. So, I might hit hybrid and lay up a little bit and play safer. Just playing safe overall gets you a pretty good score.”
After the completion of the opening round of the competition, it’s the young guns leading the way – Carys Fennessy, Mady Savary, Eva Gonzales and Julianna Megan make up the top 4 on the leaderboard. Two of those golfers are past champions, winning the last two titles and have hopes of claiming another this year.
NH Women’s Amateur | Leaderboard
Earlier this season, Fennessy picked up a big win against the top female amateur players in the region by winning the New England Women’s Amateur Championship in Maine, giving her confidence heading into the rest of the season. However, her opening round of the New Hampshire Women’s Amateur did not go exactly as planned. She started the round with a double bogey on the first hole at Rochester Country Club, which included an uncharacteristic three-putt.
While she did roll in three birdie putts on the front nine, she added two more bogeys to her front nine score to make the turn at one-over par. From there, she was able to turn it around and went birdie-eagle to start off her back nine.
“I finally found it on the back nine and I was always birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey”, stated Fennessy after her round.
Her back nine was steadier as she made just two bogeys and pars on the remaining holes after the birdie-eagle start. When asked about the difference between the front nine and back nine, she commented, “I was more comfortable with my shots, I know the score was only two shots better on the back, but I just felt more like myself out there.”
While it was not necessarily the round she wanted or the typical Carys Fennessy golf, she admitted that she is just easing back into tournament golf after a slower July. However, most of her struggles revolve around confidence in herself and the shots she can hit. She said, “I know I can do and hit the shots, I just need to believe that I can.”
Fennessy now looks to shake off the bad holes and prepares for the second round of the competition, with strong competitors following her heels. One of those is 15-year-old Mady Savary who had a strong performance in the opening round, proving that she can compete with those older than her. Savary shot 35 (-1) on the front nine, which was good enough to get her name to the top of the leaderboard after nine holes. That 35 included two birdies and just one bogey, very steady golf.
Savary’s round was going along in a similar fashion on the back nine, she rolled in another birdie on the 11th hole but followed it up with a bogey. Unfortunately, Savary ran into trouble on the last two holes of the course where she carded bogey-bogey to finish her round with a 73 (+1). Despite her disappointment in the last two holes, she is just one shot back of Fennessy, in great shape as she heads into the next round.
Coming into the tournament, Savary had goals in mind, including finishing inside of the top 10 of the field as her previous two times competing in this tournament, she finished in 11th place. She also said,” My goal for today was to hit fairways and get on the greens in regulation. My putting was actually pretty good today which I’m happy. I’ve been working on it and I’m happy to see it pay off a little bit.”
With the last two holes replaying in her head, Savary looks ahead to the next round, thinking about some changes she might make to her game. She commented, “On 18, I hit driver and that didn’t work out for me. So, I might hit hybrid and lay up a little bit and play safer. Just playing safe overall gets you a pretty good score.”
After the completion of the opening round of the competition, it’s the young guns leading the way – Carys Fennessy, Mady Savary, Eva Gonzales and Julianna Megan make up the top 4 on the leaderboard. Two of those golfers are past champions, winning the last two titles and have hopes of claiming another this year.
NH Women’s Amateur | Leaderboard