AUBURNDALE, Massachusetts (July 25, 2025) – The Green Line’s D train frequently and screechily bisects pristine Woodland Golf Club. I’ve always been partial to that route, as the stop list is a bit airier than that of the B or the C. But depending on your destination and willingness to walk a bit, any of those three tracks can do the trick.
Following the action on Friday at the final day of the 2025 Ouimet Memorial Tournament, with three divisions interwoven into a condensed tee sheet, felt a bit like monitoring the outbound train screen at Kenmore. Hop on the congested B line, akin to the Championship division, where five players began the day within one shot of the lead? The speedy D train, the Women’s division, in which sisters Morgan & Maddie Smith (Mount Pleasant GC) looked poised to run away from the pack? Or perhaps the C line, the Lowery division, of which Brendan Hester (Pleasant Valley Country Club) had been the steadfast conductor since taking the wheel with an opening round 71.
If you chose the C line, you’d find Hester methodically steering his way through the narrow corridors of Woodland, maintaining his wire-to-wire lead by way of consistency. He carded 15 pars en route to a 1-over round of 72, securing a one-shot victory in the Lowery division.
Caught the D line and hopped off at Woodland? Then you’d have seen Morgan Smith close out her first Ouimet title with a dominant final round performance. Her 2-under par 69 afforded an 8-shot victory over Maddie in the Women’s division. Like Hester, she took it wire-to-wire.
If you boarded the B line down Comm Ave, you’d find that things are changing all the time: new restaurants replacing the old, glassy apartment buildings springing up amid centuries-old stalwarts. There was plenty of young talent in the Championship division, but stalwart Matt Parziale (Thorny Lea Golf Club) nabbed his fourth Ouimet victory 16 years after he first won it. The tried and true neighborhood fixture.
Starting off the day, Matt Parziale (Thorny Lea Golf Club) and Ben Spitz (George Wright Golf Course) were tied at 2-under-par in the Championship division.
Wrestling with the lead back and forth, this isn’t Parziale and Spitz’s first time on the course together.
“Ben and I have had battles for 20 years now,” Parziale said. “We’ve met at the Mass Am maybe four times, and at other down the stretch tournaments.”
Parziale earned his first full lead of the day on the 9th hole, after a successful 6-foot birdie putt to bring him to 3-under-par. After a birdie by Spitz on the 10th and 11th, Parziale’s 40-foot-putt from the front fringe on 16 secured his spot at 4-under-par, giving him a comfortable two hole finish to secure his victory.
“That was a nice one to get going there, I was pretty happy with the way I played all day,” Parziale said. “It’s always a pleasure to play with [Spitz}, he played great, and I was just fortunate enough to get him by one in the end.”
This win is Parziale’s fourth, having grabbed his first three in 2009, 2013, and 2017.
“I haven’t been in contention in awhile, so it’s nice to know that it doesn’t go away,” Parziale said. “Once you get back out there, it’s kind of like riding a bike, all the adrenaline comes back and it’s fun to be in it.”
Morgan Smith isn’t short on trophies, but the Ouimet had eluded her. After a third place finish in 2023, then second in 2024, the next logical step was a win in 2025.
“It definitely means a lot. I’ve played in this tournament a handful of times, and this is definitely one that I was chasing down, trying to win,” said Smith. “But it definitely is just a little bit special, being part of the Francis Ouimet Foundation. You know, seeing how much he has given back to the game of golf and the incredible opportunities that you have as a Ouimet Scholar. It is definitely just something that I’m really proud to now be able to say that I’ve won.”
Smith entered the final round at Woodland with a two-shot lead over her sister Maddie, and she appeared driven to widen that gap. She played her first 5 holes in 2-under, which stretched the lead to five. “I hit a couple of really good shots. I mean, I almost dunked one on three, made birdie there, and then I hit a good shot on five. Made the putt, I was like ten feet,” said Smith.
She would add two more birdies on the back nine, keeping the tournament well in hand. Smith’s putter was working throughout the week, particularly her lag putting. She noted that she did not suffer a single three-putt across the three days, an impressive feat in any tournament, but even more so when you weigh in the mid-tournament course change.
A mere 31 years after he won the Championship division title at the 1994 Ouimet Memorial, Brendan Hester hoisted the Lowery division trophy, with a one-shot victory over David Pierce (Thorny Lea Golf Club). Hester, a Ouimet alumnus, lit up when asked about the tournament’s namesake:
“He was so important to creating golf in the United States. You know, they think about the Arnold Palmers and all of the great golfers, Bobby Jones. But Ouimet came first, and winning the U.S. Open really created such an environment for golf in the United States that’s continued on. So it’s great to be part of this tournament, and I’m excited to win the golf tournament.”
Hester entered the final day with a one-shot edge over Pierce, and while they battled it out in the final group together, Steven Tasho (Thorny Lea Golf Club) made a charge from behind with five birdies in his first eight holes. That pace may not have been sustainable, but Tasho lingered a shot or two behind Hester for much of the day. For his part, Hester was focused on the task at hand, and was blissfully unaware of Tasho’s push. By the time he checked the leaderboard, Tasho had bogeyed his final three holes. “I wasn’t aware of his run early, I didn’t look at the leaderboard until 16, so I knew I had a couple shot lead and just tried to manage my game from there,” said Hester.
Hester battled his way to the finish with a tricky up-and-down on the 15th and a gritty par from a tough spot in the fairway bunker on the 17th. On the 18th, his par putt hung out on the lip. He gave it a few hopeful seconds to see if the stiffening winds of an incoming thunderstorm might topple his ball in for a four. It didn’t, which was no bother. He had earned a two-shot cushion. Hester gave it a soft knock and holed what is surely one of the shortest winning putts of all time.
The Ouimet Memorial Tournament is a 54-hole, stroke-play tournament featuring an exempt-only field of top junior, amateur, mid-amateur and senior players who belong to Mass Golf Member Clubs. In its current form, the first two rounds of the event take place at an alternating venue, with the final round taking place at Woodland Golf Club.
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