By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
BREWSTER, Massachusetts (May 27, 2025) – The sun was on their shoulders with a steady breeze through the pines. For most of the day, it was warm enough to shed the extra layer yet still comfortable enough to keep moving. That’s how the 121st Inter-State Matches for the Griscom Cup opened Tuesday at Cape Cod National, one of those perfect New England days made for golf with few, if any, distractions.
The women’s game has undergone significant changes over the past century. Swings stronger. Schedules fuller. But this week, tradition takes precedence. Three of the oldest women’s golf associations in the country, Mass Golf, the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association, and the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia, gather a blend of elite college talent, decorated mid-ams, and seasoned veterans with rich personal stories and serious golf résumés.
While every point is for the team, it’s a welcoming kick-off to the summer season, especially for college standouts Molly Smith & Mackenzie Whitney.
“I think this is probably the most fun I’ve had on the golf course recently, which is nice because, at the end of the day, golf is supposed to be fun,” Smith said, “It’s serious a lot of the time, and you can forget that the reason you golf is for fun.”
“It just relaxes you and reminds you why you picked this sport,” Whitney added.
The Griscom competition began Tuesday afternoon with traditional Nassau-style match play. Two players from each team competed in foursomes (alternate shot), with one point awarded for the front nine, one for the back, and one for the overall match. Halved matches earned half-points. Singles matches are set for Wednesday morning.
Now in its third edition, the Senior Inter-City Matches add an intergenerational layer to the competition. The senior players teed off with a sweepstakes round Tuesday afternoon and will compete in a single round of singles matches Wednesday.
After Day 1, the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association (NY) has the lead with 16.5 points, with Mass Golf sitting in second with 10 and defending champion Philadelphia with 9. Quinnipiac teammates Samantha Galantini and Vaidehi Shah and Bowling Green’s Sammie Dolce and Penn’s Claire Lu each earned 5.5 of a possible 6 points in their matches.
Shannon Johnson & Megan Buck, the Thorny Lea Golf Club duo, led the way for Mass Golf with 4 points in the afternoon, with Johnson sinking a birdie putt after a nice approach from Buck on the 17th. Smith and Whitney also found some magic on the 17th. After Smith punched out from the right side of the trees, Whitney’s approach stopped on a dime inches above the cup for a conceded par.
Team captain Chelsea Curtis (The Country Club) and 2024 Mass Women’s Amateur finalist Julia Imai (KOHR Golf) tallied 2.5 points, and Blue Hill Country Club teammates Lillian Guleserian and Mekhala Costello earned a point against WGAP to get Mass Golf into double digits.
Although the event is primarily a three-team competition, on Tuesday, it offered a unique chance for players to mix it up with their opponents in a lighthearted, inter-squad practice and sweepstakes round.
In the morning, Mass Golf’s Julia Imai and Shannon Johnson, Vaidehi Shah (WGAM), and Kristina Ortiz (WGAP) shot 8-under 64 (net) in a best-best of four format. Johnson eagled the opening hole to help lead the way.
In the afternoon, Fran Gacos (WMGA), Loraine Jones (WGAP), Amy Bender (WMGA) and Natalie Galligan (Mass Golf) teamed up to shoot 9-under 63 (net) to win the Senior Sweepstakes. Galligan, a member of Pocasset Golf Club, made a net eagle on the par-5 15th to lift the pair to victory.
Adding to the collaboration of this event, each pairing in the Griscom Cup had caddies wearing bibs representing the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, which awards millions in need-based college scholarships each year to deserving young men and women who have worked at Massachusetts golf courses.
Cape Cod National endowed an award within the Ouimet Fund in 2006 to be given annually to a deserving Ouimet Scholar who had worked at least two seasons at the club.
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| Griscom Players | Senior Inter-City Players |
| Megan Buck (Thorny Lea GC) | Pam Kuong (Charles River CC) |
| Shannon Johnson (Thorny Lea GC) | Tara Joy-Connelly (The Kittansett Club) |
| Molly Smith (Vesper CC) | Jayne Pardus (Boston GC) |
| Mekhala Costello (Blue Hill CC) | Natalie Galligan (Pocasset GC) |
| Lillian Guleserian (Blue Hill CC) | Sue Curtin (Boston GC) |
| Julia Imai (KOHR Golf) | Danielle Lee (Renaissance) |
| Mackenzie Whitney (Oak Hill CC) | Mercedese Large (Taconic GC) |
| Captain: Chelsea Curtis (The Country Club) | Stacey Freda (Andover CC) |
| Griscom Players | Senior Inter-City Players |
| Michelle Cox (Lehigh CC) | Diane Cardano-Casacio (Cedarbrook CC) |
| Isabella DiLisio (Philadelphia Cricket Club) | Angelia Coleman (DuPont CC) |
| Clare Gimpel (Whitemarsh Valley CC) | Liz Haines (Merion GC) |
| Barbora Millichip (Honeybrook GC) | Stephenie Harris (Philadelphia Cricket Club) |
| Ava O’Sullivan (Applecross CC) | Loraine Jones (Merion GC) |
| Kristina Ortiz (Yardley CC) | Lisa McGill (Sunnybrook GC) |
| Riley Quartermain (Llanerch CC) | Karen Siegel (Commonwealth National GC) |
| Jackie Rogowicz (Merion Golf Club) | Suzi Spotleson (RiverCrest GC & Preserve) |
| Katrin Wolfe (Northampton CC) |
| Griscom Players | Senior Inter-City Players |
| Sammie Dolce (Basking Ridge CC) | Amy Bender (Ardsley CC) |
| Samantha Galantini (Montclair GC) | Cheryl Brayman (North Shore CC) |
| Corinna Limbocker (The Country Club at Otterkill) | Judy Cuttone (Somerset Hills CC) |
| Claire Lu (Independent) | Fran Gacos (Copper Hill CC) |
| Grace Lu (Independent) | Allison Kucinski (The Tuxedo Club) |
| Christina Parsells (Somerset Hills CC) | LeeAnn Lewis (Southward Ho CC) |
| Alyssa Roland (Watchung Valley GC) | Connie Marlatt (Westchester CC) |
| Vaidehi Shah (Fiddler’s Elbow CC) | Sue Sardi (Cherry Valley CC) |
| Grace Cuttone (Somerset Hills CC) |
About 30 years ago, before several players on this year’s Griscom Cup rosters were even born, the land now occupied by Cape Cod National was densely wooded and required major earthmoving. Roughly 750,000 tons of dirt were removed, relocated, or reshaped, and more than 850,000 square feet of sod were laid to form the playing corridors.
Despite the scale of the transformation, architect Brian Silva aimed to make the finished course appear natural to the Cape Cod landscape. The par-72 layout, which spans between 5,800 and 6,900 yards, winds through rolling, wooded terrain accentuated by kettle ponds, cranberry bogs, and native fescue grasses. Fairways are wide enough to remain playable for all skill levels, yet strategic bunkering encourages smart angles off the tee. The greens are large and varied, often protected by sand on one side and runoff areas or grassy hollows on the other.
Since opening in 1998, Cape Cod National has earned national acclaim, being named the “4th Best New Private Course” in the country by Golf Digest, and has remained a fixture in top state rankings ever since.
The course has hosted a range of elite competitions, including U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Open qualifiers. It was also the site of the 2021 Tri-State Matches, won by Team Massachusetts, and the 2023 Massachusetts Women’s Mid-Amateur, where Shannon Johnson claimed her fifth Keyes Cup title. Each fall, the club welcomes many of the state’s top high school players for the Cape Cod National High School Invitational. PGA Tour pro Michael Thorbjornsen (Wellesley, MA) competed in the event in 2019.
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Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged and inclusive community around the sport.
With a community made up of over 130,000 golf enthusiasts and over 360 member clubs, Mass Golf is one of the largest state golf associations in the country. Members enjoy the benefits of handicapping, engaging golf content, course rating and scoring services along with the opportunity to compete in an array of events for golfers of all ages and abilities.
At the forefront of junior development, Mass Golf is proud to offer programming to youth in the state through First Tee Massachusetts and subsidized rounds of golf by way of Youth on Course.
