By Tori Schuller
BERNARDSTON, Massachusetts – The first day of the 92nd Massachusetts Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship Powered by KOHR Golf came down to the wire at Crumpin-Fox Club. Lillian Guleserian (Blue Hill Country Club), a Penn State commit and previous runner-up, dropped a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to take the lead at 2-under-par 70 for the Championship Division. Guleserian finished her front nine at a 1-over-par 37, but found her rhythm with a timely eagle on the 14th.
“I just got a new hybrid in the bag, and I knew the distance I had in was perfect,” Guleserian said. “I felt confident, just happened to hit it close, and made a good putt.”
After the eagle, Guleserian held steady, earning par after par until her birdie on the 18th, as she continued to read the course well.
“My practice round was useful yesterday, there’s a few greens you definitely want to know before you hit into them, so I knew which to attack and what to play safe on,” Guleserian said. “The front nine, my wedge shots weren’t great, but by the back nine I was able to figure those out a little better.”
The leader for the majority of the round was Lucy Wang (MIAA), an incoming senior at The Middlesex School in Concord (MA). Wang lit up the front nine, with an impressive four birdies on the scorecard.
“I treated the par fives like par fours, so it gave me more space to actually attack the hole,” Wang said. “All of my birdies were around nine to twelve feet, so it was a combination of the approach and putting.”
On her back, Wang carded a birdie on hole 11 along with two bogeys, and finished her round with a score of a 1-under-par 71.
“There wasn’t much of an expectation [today] since I haven’t been playing well lately,” Wang said. “But I have a lot of confidence in my techniques, and my golf game in general. I get to see a lot of my friends, and this tournament is my favorite of the year, so it’s all about enjoyment.”
The other two divisions for the tournament are Silver, for higher handicapped players, and Junior-Mite, for players 13-and-under.
The leader in the Silver division was Genevieve Taylor (North Hill Country Club), who carded a 27-over-par 99. The leader in the Junior-Mite was Reese Hunsinger (Fall River Country Club) with a 3-over-par 39 for 9 holes.
The Silver division will continue Tuesday with a final 18 holes. The Junior-Mite division will play another nine, also concluding Tuesday. The low 16 in the field of the Championship Division after Tuesday will continue on to match play Wednesday and Thursday.
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