By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
WINCHESTER, Massachusetts (July 6, 2026) – Winchester Country Club had barely come down from its own club championship weekend when the field of 144 stalwarts arrived Monday morning for the start of the 118th Massachusetts Amateur Championship.
The Fourth of July energy was still lingering. Six Winchester members were in the field, and they seemed to bring the club with them: supporters moving in caravans from hole to hole, others posted up in chairs near the turn shack by the 9th, cold drinks nearby and Mass Am merchandise in hand, as if the party was still going.
The Monahan family had three players grouped together at their home course, including the club champion. And after a week of thick summer heat across Massachusetts, the day broke gray, cool and mercifully subdued.
Somehow, all of it seemed to fit Winchester.
The layout has long been described as a second-shot test, the kind of old New England layout where a tee shot is hardly half the battle. The real judgment comes next, when players have to work the ball into tilted fairways and greens, avoid false fronts and leave themselves something other than a defensive scramble from the wrong side.
Patrick Kilcoyne’s opening round followed that second-shot mindset on Monday. Kilcoyne (Woodland Golf Club), last year’s runner-up in the Mass Amateur, opened with back-to-back bogeys, steadied himself almost immediately and closed with a birdie on the par-3 9th to post a 3-under-par 68 and share the lead after Round 1 of the 118th Massachusetts Amateur Championship.
Carson Erick (Boston Golf Club) and Jake Mrva (Worcester Country Club), playing in the first two starting times of the day, also carded 3-under 68s to join Kilcoyne at the top of the leaderboard.
Their paths to 68 were different, but Kilcoyne’s was the day’s best repair job.
“I just, I really just tried to tell myself, like to stay in it,” Kilcoyne said. “Bogeying my first two holes is not the most ideal start, but I just told myself I had 34 holes left and try to get it back, and I’m glad I was able to get it back.”
Kilcoyne did exactly that. He birdied the second par-5, then added birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 to erase the early damage. After making one bogey on his second nine, he spun his shot back on the par-3 9th inside 10 feet and drained the putt to finish tied for the lead. Yet, that closing birdie came from a shot he said was aimed much more conservatively than it finished.
“Yeah, I wasn’t trying to hit that anywhere close to the hole, just going in the middle of the green,” Kilcoyne said. “But the wind was off the left and it pushed it close to the flag, so that was definitely a little lucky there.”
For a player who reached the 36-hole final a year ago, this week has been sitting in the back of his mind for a while. The first two days are still about reaching the top 32 and resetting for match play, but Kilcoyne has not forgotten how close he came to winning. He also has recent history on his side: Ryan Downes and Matt Naumec each won the Mass Amateur in 2023 and 2024, respectively, after finishing runner-up in the championship the year prior.
“I’ve definitely been thinking about this week for about a year,” Kilcoyne said. “I mean, losing in the finals last year is a bittersweet feeling. I played well, but didn’t quite get the job done, but I’ve been looking forward to this week for a while.”
One shot back are Joey Lenane (George Wright Golf Club) and Aidan Emmerich (Kernwood Country Club), both semifinalists last year and recent college graduates from NC State and Temple, respectively. They were joined at 2-under by 2024 champion Matt Naumec (Framingham Country Club), who was one shot better before bogeying his final hole, the par-3 9th. Max McColgan (Nashawtuc Country Club) also reached 2-under with the day’s lone bogey-free round, making birdies on the par-5 2nd and 13th.
Like McColgan, Mrva made his move early and kept the round light. He eagled No. 12, where he had 195 yards in and hit 5-iron to tap-in range, and later holed out from the fairway on No. 4.
“I just kind of came out and played relaxed and was lucky enough to make eagle on one of the first few holes and just get to like under par, and just kind of play golf from there,” said Mrva, who has made the Round of 16 each of the past two years.
Now living in Manhattan and working full time, the Fordham graduate said he had long looked forward to getting back to Massachusetts for the summer. He added that playing Winchester reminded him of Worcester.
“It’s similar in the sense that you can kind of hit it a little bit everywhere and then just get good at taking spin off and avoid these false fronts,” Mrva said.
Away from the top of the leaderboard, one of Monday’s most fitting storylines belonged to the host club.
Aidan Monahan, fresh off a club championship run at Winchester that ended less than 24 hours earlier, teed it up alongside his father and cousin, making the Mass Amateur’s return feel even more personal for one of the club’s most familiar families.
The Trinity College standout had every reason to be running on fumes. His club championship final went 39 holes Sunday, capping several long days of match play before he turned around and went right back to the first tee at 8:22 Monday morning for the Mass Amateur. The run included a 19-hole semifinal victory over Joey Monahan, who led the family Monday with a 1-under-par 70. Aidan shot 1-over 72, and Brendan Monahan shot 75.
“I was very tired,” said Aidan, underscoring the obvious. “And then I got to come out this morning, obviously playing with my family, so I was ready to go. I always will be for the Mass Am.”
“Playing with my family has definitely been the highlight of my year,” he added. “Winchester is in unbelievable shape, and it’s awesome to play.”
The match-play reps could matter later in the week if Monahan works his way into the bracket. He pointed to the 5th hole as one example of how Winchester can change once the format shifts from protecting a score to winning a hole.
“Many guys here are probably hitting an iron,” Monahan said. “But in match play, some guys can rip driver and hit it over the left tree and get yourself maybe on the green or just short. That’s really a big advantage.”
Round 2 tees off at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. If there’s a tie for the final match play spot(s), there will be a sudden-death playoff right after stroke play concludes. Visit @playmassgolf on Instagram for a live stream of the playoff and the 36-hole final match Friday.
Here are some other tidbits from Day 1 at the Massachusetts Amateur Championship.
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