Final Four Set In Mass Junior Amateur & Mass Girls' Junior Amateur Powered By KOHR Golf - MASSGOLF

Top Seeds, Cape Locals Still Standing in Junior Amateur & Girls’ Junior Amateur

By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org

WEST YARMOUTH, Massachusetts (August 7, 2024) – Mya Murphy isn’t sure whether this week will be the last time she’ll be able to tee it up in a junior amateur event. With her 19th birthday falling in mid July next year, favorable scheduling might lend her one more shot. But if this is indeed her final junior event, she, like others, is hoping to end it on the highest note possible.

Murphy, a Bourne native, incoming Merrimack College student, and caddie at Sacconnesset Golf Club, is one of eight players remaining this week in the combined playing of the Massachusetts Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship and Massachusetts Junior Amateur Championship, both powered by KOHR Golf. Murphy and 2022 champion Emma Abramson (The Ridge Club) of Sandwich each won both their matches Wednesday ay Bayberry Hills Golf Course in the first-ever utilization of match play since the Girls’ Junior Amateur began in 1930. 

“There’s not many competitive golfers from Cape, so being able to represent it, it feels really good,” said Murphy, who played home high school golf matches for Sturgis West on Bayberry Hills’ Links course. “It’s awesome playing all the amazing competitors, and just being a part of something that’s just so great is amazing.”

Online: Junior Results | Girls’ Junior Results | Five Big Things From Day 3 | Mass Golf Home

Girls’ Junior co-medalists Lillian Guleserian (Blue Hill Country Club) & Isabel Brozena (Indian Ridge Country Club) have a chance to meet head-to-head once again. The two have had epic bouts throughout the past year, including a quarterfinal showdown in the Mass Women’s Amateur, with Guleserian making an ace in her victory. In the spring, Guleserian, a Penn State commit, edged Xavier University-bound Brozena in the MIAA regional tournament, with Brozena getting the nod in the MIAA state championship. Two days ago, Brozena edged Guleserian by a stroke by making eagle on the 18th, but Guleserian took medalist honors.

On the Junior Amateur side, defending champion and Georgetown commit Carson Erick (Boston Golf Club) survived a quarterfinal bout with his former high school teammate Drew Golden (Black Rock Country Club), going 19 holes to keep his hopes alive of being the event’s first back-to-back champion since James Imai (2018-2019). Josiah Hakala (Northern Spy Golf Club) played just 26 holes combined in his two matches to reach the semifinals for the second time in three years. Meanwhile, Gunnar Moore (Country Club of Greenfield) and Reese Jensen (Duxbury Yacht Club) are through to the final day for the first time.

Hakala, who made the Round of 32 in the U.S. Junior Amateur and won the PGA Boys High School Golf National Invitational, knocked off his fellow U.S. Junior Amateur match play competitor C.J. Winchenbaugh (Oyster Harbors Club) in the first match and followed suit with a runaway victory in the afternoon. A win Thursday would mark his first Mass Golf victory and cap off his best campaign yet heading into his senior year of high school.

“I have a lot of confidence in the game,” said Hakala, a Division I golf prospect who has yet to commit to a school. “I hit the ball really nicely, both 18s. I just hit it on the green and gave myself good looks. I made a putter switch (Odyssey Jailbird) two months ago and it’s made the world of difference. I rolled it really nicely today, and I was able to roll some in.”

Josiah Hakala has made it to the semifinals twice in the past three years. (David Colt)

Scroll down for capsules from all 24 matches played Wednesday at Bayberry Hills Golf Course.

Girls’ Junior Amateur (Quarterfinals)

1-Lillian Guleserian def. 8-Jillian Johnson, 2&1

Lillian Guleserian (Blue Hill Country Club) made a 15-foot birdie on the par-4 16th hole to extend her lead to 2-up in a close match with Merrimack College commit Jillian Johnson (Hatherly Country Club). Guleserian continued to lean on a reliable short game as she tries to capture her first Mass Golf championship title. She matched Johnson with a birdie on the 15th to maintain her lead.

4-Mya Murphy def. 5-Julia Imai, 19 holes

In a back-and-forth match between two upcoming college players, Murphy tied the match late with a par on the 16th hole. Despite hitting a chip long to the back of the green on 18, Murphy extended the match with a conceded par, as did Imai with a 2-putt from pin high. On the extra hole, Murphy said she hit her best drive of the day down the right side, setting her up to win the hole with a par.

“I just tried to focus on my swing thoughts and just keep everything back to the fundamentals and just really focus on where I wanted to hit it and try not to put it in the woods like I did the first time playing,” Murphy said of her final drive.

2-Isabel Brozena def. 7-Kaitlyn Doe, 5&3

In a matchup of good friends who were paired in stroke play together this week, Newton’s Kaitlyn Doe (Student Member/MIAA) started out by making birdie on the first two holes to get the early lead. However, North Reading’s Isabel Brozena (Indian Ridge Country Club) countered by winning the short par-4 5th (295 yards) with a birdie and making another on the par-4 7th to take the lead for good. Brozena then won holes 13-15 to close out the match.

6-Emma Abramson def. 3-Abby Zhu, 1-up

Williams College standout Emma Abramson (The Ridge Club) took the lead late, hitting her approach to 6 feet on the 14th and regaining the lead on the 16th with a birdie. Abramson, the 2022 champion, was the only player to reach the 18th hole in both her matches. Abby Zhu (Indian Ridge Country Club) kept the match going as both made par on the 17th, and though Zhu had a chance to extend the match with a par attempt from above the hole, it just slid by on the right edge to end it.

Junior Amateur (Quarterfinals)

1-Carson Erick vs. 8-Drew Golden, 19 holes

In a matchup of former Hingham High School teammates, defending champion Carson Erick (Boston Golf Club) eked out a win over Drew Golden (Black Rock Country Club with a par on the first playoff hole. Erick took control of the match early with three birdies on the front nine, but Golden clawed his way back with a birdie on the 12th and 14th to tie the match.

5-Gunnar Moore def. 4-Max McColgan, 3&2

Gunnar Moore (Country Club of Greenfield) took advantage of both par-5s on the front nine, making birdie on each to make it through to the semifinals for the first time. Moore, who is in the Class of 2025 at Deerfield Academy, increased his lead with a birdie on the 11th and a par on the 12th.

2-Josiah Hakala def. 7-Colin Gleason, 8&7

Josiah Hakala (Northern Spy Golf Club) made the semifinals for the second time in three years with a convincing victory over Barnstable native Colin Gleason (Barnstable Golf). Hakala won eight of 11 holes in the match, including making birdies on holes 1 and 6. Gleason had to take an unplayable on the final hole but incredibly struck his next shot to 5 feet. However, Hakala won it with a par.

3-Reese Jensen def. 6-Tripp Hollister, 2-up

Reese Jensen (Duxbury Yacht Club) hit his 2nd shot on the 18th hole to about 5 feet above the hole with a hybrid from 208 yards to close out his match with a conceded eagle against Tripp Hollister (Nashawtuc Country Club). Though Jensen won the match, Hollister kept it close by winning the 15th and 17th with birdies to cut the deficit in half. Still, Jensen hit an excellent tee shot on the 18th, with Hollister hitting his second shot into the left rough and unable to make a birdie to put the pressure on Jensen.

Gunnar Moore will compete in the Mass Junior Amateur semifinals for the first time. (Mass Golf)

Girls’ Junior Amateur (Round of 16)

1-Lillian Guleserian def. 16-Adriana Eaton, 2&1

Top-seeded Guleserian held a 2-up lead at the turn and held off KOHR Golf’s Adriana Eaton with a flurry of par saves over the final six holes to move on to the quarterfinals. Guleserian, a Penn State commit, made the semifinals of the Mass Women’s Amateur last year.

8-Jillian Johnson def. 9-Skyler Kotzen, 5&4

Johnson had the putter rolling well all morning, going bogey-free throughout her opening match against Wellesley’s Skyler Kotzen (Belmont Country Club), who, at 12, was the youngest player to make match play. She also earned her first AJGA victory back in June. Johnson, however, took a 2-up lead at the turn and pulled away with birdie putts on holes 10 and 13.

4-Mya Murphy def. 13-Reva Machanavajhula, 8&7

Murphy made quick work in her opening match, winning seven of the first nine holes to defeat Reva Machanavajhula (Student Member/MIAA), a past winner of the Junior-Mite Division of this event. Murphy, who will start at Merrimack College in the fall, made birdie on the fourth and fifth holes and closed it out on the 11th with a par.

5-Julia Imai def. 12-Riley Eames, 5&4

Neither player managed to make a bogey in this opening-round match, but Julia Imai (KOHR Golf) won five holes with a par to advance to the quarterfinals against Sandwich native Riley Eames (Student Member/MIAA). Imai closed it out with a series of two-putt pars on the 13th and 14th holes.

2-Isabel Brozena def. 15-Sophie Redmond, 2&1

Isabel Brozena, this year’s Ouimet Memorial Tournament champion, struggled to find her rhythm early on, but with a birdie on the par-4 6th, took control of the match to defeat Concord’s Sophie Redmond (Student Member/MIAA), one of three sisters competing in the Girls’ Junior Amateur this week. Brozena made par on every hole on the back nine except for the 13th, which she won with a bogey.

7-Kaitlyn Doe def. 10-Annie Dai. 5&4

Doe trailed for almost the entire first half but powered ahead by winning the final six holes to move on to the quarterfinals against former champion Annie Dai of Longmeadow. Doe won the 9th hole to tie it and then hit a couple of wedges in close on the 10th and 11th for tap-in birdie putts. She then finished it out with three consecutive pars.

3-Abby Zhu def. 14-Sabrina Wu, 3&1

Andover’s Abby Zhu made a pair of birdies on the front nine and led nearly the entire match to defeat 14-year-old Sabrina Wu (Youth on Course/Mass Golf) of Lexington. Wu cut the deficit to 2 with a birdie on the par-3 12th and drove the green in two on the par-5 15th, but Zhu got up and down for a birdie to tie the hole and closed it out with a par on the 17th.

6-Emma Abramson def. 11-Sophie Lim, 2-up

In the only match to go the distance in the morning, both players had the lead at various points of the match. Abramson, however, pulled ahead late by winning three of the past four holes. Sophie Lim (Woodland Golf Club) pulled ahead with a birdie on the 14th hole, but Abramson made eagle on the par-5 15th, won the 17th with a par, and closed it out after Lim was unable to make par on the 18th.

Junior Amateur (Round of 16)

1-Carson Erick def. 16-Christopher Morrow, 4&3

Erick began his title defense by winning four of the first five holes against Christopher Morrow, 15, the recent club champion at The Milton-Hoosic Club and the co-Pre-Junior Division winner in this event. Erick made his first birdie on the par-5 2nd, and though Morrow answered with a solid birdie putt on the par-4 10th, Erick closed out the youngest remaining player with consecutive birdies on the 14th and 15th.

8-Drew Golden def. 9-Cole Banning, 3&2

Golden made four birdies on the front nine, as the bogey-free stretch helped lift the Lehigh University commit to victory in his opening match. Banning, a Bryant University commit, tried to battle back with a couple hole victories on the back, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Golden’s early lead.

4-Max McColgan def. 13-Kyle Harsh, 3&1

McColgan was one of two Nashawtuc Country Club members to advance to the quarterfinals (also Tripp Hollister). Harsh, who qualified for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Bayberry last year, made birdie on the 14th to get to 2-up, but McColgan won the par-3 17th to win the match.

5-Gunnar Moore def. 12-Will Spring, 4&2

Gunnar Moore (Country Club of Greenfield), the lone player from Western Massachusetts remaining, won four of the first six holes to earn his first match play victory in the Mass Junior Amateur. Moore, who missed out on match play in a playoff last year, made birdie on the par-4  6th to take a 3-up lead, and though Spring answered with birdies on the par-3 8th and 12th, Moore won the last two holes to close it out.

2-Josiah Hakala def. 15-CJ Winchenbaugh, 4&3

In a highly-anticipated matchup of 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur match play qualifiers, Josiah Hakala had the putter working well early and often, making four birdies with several made putt attempts between 10-20 feet. Hakala made a birdie on the 9th to take a 2-up lead, won the 11th, and then stuck one to five feet on the par-3 12th to win the hole. Winchenbaugh won the 14th with a birdie, but the duo split the 15th to end the match. “This morning was a lot of fun,” Hakala said. “CJ was a tough draw as the two seed but played really solidly.”

7-Colin Gleason vs. 10-Gavin Lane, 4&3

Cape Cod’s Colin Gleason (Barnstable Golf) sank an eagle putt from nearly 50 feet from the edge of the 15th green to close out his match against Wayland’s Gavin Lane (Nashawtuc Country Club). Gleason never trailed in his match as he made a birdie on the 6th to go 2-up and another on the 11th to extend his lead to 3-up.

3-Reese Jensen def. 14-Sascha Robinson, 3&2

In one of the most even matches of the morning, Duxbury’s Reese Jensen (Duxbury Yacht Club) managed to win three holes and lose none to advance to the quarterfinals over Florida A&M commit Sascha Robinson (Plymouth Country Club) of Plymouth. Jensen, who shot 5-under 67 on Tuesday, finally broke the deadlock with a birdie on the 7th hole and a par on the 8th to go 2-up. Robinson matched Jensen with par on the following five holes before Jensen won the par-5 15th with a birdie.

6-Tripp Hollister def. 11-Zachary Georgantas, 3&2

Sudbury’s Tripp Hollister joined his Nashawtuc Country Club mate Max McColgan in the quarterfinals with a convincing win over Foxborough’s Zachary Georgantas, 16. Neither player managed a birdie until Hollister made one on the par-3 12th to move his lead to 3-up. He then won the next hole and closed it out with par on the 16th.

Watch: Five Big Things From Day 3

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