By: Tori Schuller
CONCORD, Massachusetts (August 11, 2025) – Despite the fast greens and high heat, Shannon Johnson (Thorny Lea Golf Club) conquered Concord Country Club in Monday’s opening round of the 122nd Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship.
Johnson started her round in the midst of an all-star showing, with groups that featured recent or current college standouts Lillian Guleserian (Blue Hill Country Club), Rebecca Skoler (Pine Brook Country Club), Megan Buck (Thorny Lea Golf Club), Phoebe Brinker (George Wright Golf Course), Catie Schernecker (The Country Club), Isabel Brozena (Indian Ridge Country Club), and Mekhala Costello (Blue Hills Country Club).
Guleserian is an incoming freshman at Penn State University this fall, while Skoler and Brinker recently finished their collegiate careers at the University of Virginia and Duke University, respectively. Buck has been Johnson’s long-time teammate at the Massachusetts Women’s Four-Ball, collecting their sixth consecutive win this June. Costello and Brozena just finished their first years at Amherst College and Xavier University, respectively.
“This is the biggest state tournament we have all year, and we have an awesome venue at Concord,” said Johnson, the 2018 winner of the Mass Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. “Obviously we see a lot of familiar faces, but there’s a lot of new ones as well, some of these younger juniors coming up. So it’s fun to see how your game stacks up with the state’s best.”
Despite the competition around her, Johnson pulled ahead of the pack with four birdies in her first eleven holes. Johnson took advantage of the shorter par-fives, getting home in two on hole 5 (445 yards) for an easy two-putt, and again from the greenside bunker on 17 (500 yards), claiming two important birdies for the day.
“I thought the course was playing fair and difficult all at the same time,” Johnson said. “I think it rewarded a lot of good shots off the tee, get in the right position for the par fives, good drives you can easily get home in two, or set yourself up for an easier birdie look.”
Concord is one of the longer courses in the Women’s Amateur rotation, playing to 6,030 yards on Monday.
“There definitely are some tougher driving holes where you have to be in the correct spot in the fairway, but if you were, you got rewarded, with a shorter iron,” Johnson said. “There’s definitely some longer holes, and I’m all for the longest course set possible.”
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Bringing in the round of the afternoon and grabbing solo second, was Molly Smith (Vesper Country Club) with a round of 2-under-par 70. Playing in the final group of the day, Smith started her round off hot with a birdie on the first, leading to a front nine score of 1-under-par 35.
“I just wanted to keep hitting it straight and keep hitting greens,” Smith said. “I did stumble on 10 [triple bogey], but tried not to get too frustrated, just keep my head up and do the best I can going forward.”
Smith ended her round with a successful 7-foot eagle attempt on 17, and a 10-footer for birdie on her 18th, cementing her spot in solo second.
“I played pretty well for most of the day today, and I didn’t see a lot out of my good play,” Smith said. “So it was nice to get that done at the end, see some putts fall, and post a pretty solid score for day one.”
Smith is no stranger to the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur, competing this year in her seventh, having previously earned a spot in the semifinals twice and a runner-up finish in the 2023 tournament.
“My first Mass Women’s Am was at Weston Golf Club, and I’ve played it every year since. It’s a nice tournament,” Smith said. “It’s the last tournament of the summer, so it’s fun to get the family together and all come out and try to play some good golf right before we leave for school.”
Entering tomorrow’s round, Smith leaves herself two shots back of the lead, and a strong look at the cut for match play.
“I feel like the tougher the course is, the more comfortable I feel out there. It’s one of my favorite things when the holes are tough and you got to really execute shots to make pars, that’s when I feel like I play my best golf,” Smith said. “So coming here to Concord, I knew this is a tough setup, and I was excited for it, and I’m excited to continue to play the rest of the week.”
Joining Smith and Johnson at the top of the leaderboard is Brozena, carding an even-par 72 with back-to-back birdies to close out her round. The Xavier standout also took advantage of the short par-5 5th with an eagle, something in common with other players sniffing the lead. Skoler and Regan, both tied for 4th place at 2-over, made their eagles by way of longer putts, while Brozena grabbed hers with a short 4-footer.
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Here are some other tidbits from Day 1 at the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship:
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