By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
NORTON, Massachusetts (November 24, 2025) – For nearly half a century, Mass Golf’s Player of the Year Awards have recognized the players whose seasons stood out across state championships, regional battles, and national stages stretching from the cold, soggy openers of spring to the scorching heat of midsummer, and through the quarter-zip, friendly conditions of fall.
Matt Parziale, already a fixture atop the rankings, earned the Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year Award for the 10th time, setting a new all-time record and further solidifying his place among the most accomplished players in Massachusetts golf history. His achievement leads a group of seven individual honorees, each of whom hoisted at least one Mass Golf trophy this year, and in many cases, much more.
“Ten of them is incredible,” Parziale said. “Looking at the list and seeing Frank with nine, it’s kind of surreal. I’ve always said good, consistent golf gets you that award, and that’s what I’ve tried to do.”
Delta Air Lines, the official airline partner of Mass Golf and presenting sponsor of the awards, is the No. 1 global airline out of Boston. Each recipient of the award will receive the opportunity to see the world via the official airline partner of Mass Golf.
MATT PARZIALE (Home Club: Thorny Lea Golf Club, Brockton; Hometown: Brockton)
SHANNON JOHNSON (Home Club: Thorny Lea Golf Club, Brockton; Hometown: North Easton)
MADDIE SMITH (Home Club: Vesper Country Club, Tyngsborough; Hometown: Westford)
THOMAS CONSTANTINE (Home Club: Franklin Country Club, Franklin; Hometown: Franklin)
TARA CONNELLY (Home Club: The Kittansett Club, Marion; Hometown: Middleborough)
BRENDAN HESTER (Home Club: Pleasant Valley Country Club, Sutton; Hometown: Northbridge)
STEVEN TASHO (Home Club: Thorny Lea Golf Club, Brockton; Hometown: North Easton)
SHANNON JOHNSON (Home Club: Thorny Lea Golf Club, Brockton; Hometown: North Easton)
Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year – 793 Points (Standings + Results)
For almost a decade, Matt Parziale has been the marquee name in Massachusetts amateur golf, sometimes carrying the banner in places few New England players have ever reached. His 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur win sent him to the 2018 Masters and back-to-back U.S. Opens, turning him into the state’s defining amateur while still working as a firefighter in Brockton. Year after year, as new challenges have emerged, including some early-season swing struggles, he’s continued to play at a high level, rarely out of position to contend for a title.
By adding more trophies to a seemingly endless shelf and placing well in several others, Parziale has now earned the Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year Award for the 10th time, moving past Hall of Famer Frank Vana, Jr. for the most in history. Surely, Parziale will one day share the Hall of Fame moniker. In the meantime, he remains one of the most formidable golfers in the 125-year history of the state.
“I’ve played in these events for about 20 years, but it still feels like it was Day 1 where I do it as well as I can,” Parziale said.
As proof of that longevity, Parziale won the Ouimet Memorial Tournament in 2025, outlasting fellow mid-amateur standout Ben Spitz for his fourth Ouimet title dating back to 2009. The 40-footer he buried on 16 felt like vintage Parziale: calm, confident, right on cue. He also executed a trick fairway bunker shot on the 18th to close out the event.
A few weeks earlier, he teamed with Shannon Johnson to win the Mixed Four-Ball at Renaissance, posting a 9-under 63 before half of the field had even teed off. Nine birdies, an eagle, and the lowest winning score since the event became a championship. He kept the momentum rolling with a brilliant final-round 64 at the New England Amateur, matching eventual champion Eli Spaulding, a standout from Maine who is 19 years his junior. For the second straight year, Parziale also played his way into the U.S. Amateur through Final Qualifying.
After Labor Day, he logged a top-five at the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur, pushing champion Nick Maccario early and giving himself another chance at a title. The two later teamed up to win the John R. Williams Four-Ball at the historic Oak Hill Country Club (NY). This followed a trip to the prestigious Crump Cup at Pine Valley (NJ), where Parziale made the final match of the second flight.
Add top-10s at the Worcester County Amateur and The Amateur Invitational, along with another U.S. Mid-Amateur start, and it became the kind of season that reaffirmed what it takes to win a decade-worth of Player of the Year awards.
In a season packed with rising college stars and big hitters, Shannon Johnson, 42, proved once again that experience, toughness, and sheer will still hold true. Every time she teed it up in 2025, she brought the fight and, as a result, captured the Anne Marie Tobin Women’s Player of the Year honor for the sixth time, second to only Tara Connelly (9).
She also captured her record sixth Women’s Mid-Amateur Award, given to the low combined scorer in 36-hole stroke play in the Mass Women’s Amateur & Mass Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Johnson’s fight was all on full display at the 122nd Massachusetts Women’s Amateur at Concord Country Club. She opened the week by lighting it up in stroke play with rounds of 68 and 70 (6-under 138 total) and the stroke play medalist honors. From there, she gutted it out in match play, winning three straight matches in 18 holes and taking the final match to the 18th against champion Isabel Brozena of Xavier University.
The final against Brozena became an instant classic. Johnson fell 3 down early as Brozena leaned on her power off the tee, but the mid-am veteran did exactly what she has done for years: she settled in, trusted her ball striking, and started applying pressure. She made birdie on 10, with more steady play through the middle of the back nine, and then equalized with her a tee shot on the par-3 15th that finished inside three feet.
Throughout the season, Johnson talked about overcoming putter struggles by switching to a claw grip around mid-July. It paid off at Concord as she rolled putts with confidence, repeatedly converting key saves and momentum builders. With caddie Tim Lenane at her side, offering constant positivity and sharp reads, her short game kept her in matches and allowed her to finish them out.
“The change of my grip was a game-changer this season,” Johnson said. “Ever since then, I have felt like I can make every putt I look at. That has not been the case in the past, so it has really taken more pressure off some short game and even approach shots. I think the more practice and playing I can do over the off-season will give me even more confidence when spring arrives.”
While fellow Thorny Lea Golf Club standout Megan Buck edged out Johnson in the Mass Women’s Mid-Amateur for the second straight year, the two teamed up to compete in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball and a month later captured their sixth straight Massachusetts Women’s Four-Ball Championship for the Townshend Cup. She also teamed with Player of the Year Matt Parziale to win the 2025 Mixed Four-Ball Championship for the Stone Cup with a runaway score of 9-under 63.
Johnson, however, said her favorite course of the year was out west at Monterey Peninsula Country Club for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. Johnson turned around a rough start in Round 2 of stroke play. After an early triple bogey on the 14th, she steadied herself, played cleanly, and closed with two clutch birdies to dodge a playoff and slide into match play. Once there, she handled former UCLA standout Lydia Choi Lin, then battled past event rookie Taryn Walker in a match that saw no tied holes from 5 through 15. Johnson won eight of them, applying pressure at every turn, and sealed it with a par on the 16th.
“The views were incredible, but the course itself provided an amazing test of golf,” Johnson said. “I’m a big fan of Seth Raynor layouts, and you can see a lot of his and Alister MacKenzie’s trademark designs on The Dunes. The green complexes are wildly contoured, so being in the correct shot on your approach was a huge advantage, otherwise, you were going to have to be very creative to get up and down.
“I knew I wanted to have a better performance than the year before, so there was a little more pressure to execute,” she added. “But I felt like I had a little more to fall back on than in previous years.”
For years, the Smith name has carried unprecedented weight in both the Massachusetts golf community and in USGA competition, with all three competing together in the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur. Morgan set the pace with two Mass Women’s Amateur titles and a spot on the roster at the University of Georgia. Molly pushed boundaries by teeing it up in the Mass Amateur twice and winning several state events before heading to the University of Central Florida.
This summer, Maddie stepped into that legacy and made it her own, turning her strongest season yet into a runaway claim on the Girls’ Junior Player of the Year Award, won by both her sisters previously, before she heads to Memphis next fall.
Her year didn’t hinge on one moment. Instead, she piled up the results. Perhaps the largest came at the New England Women’s Amateur, where she surged late and survived a tense two-hole playoff at Haverhill Golf & Country Club to win her first regional title, joining Morgan on the trophy. Despite a slip off the tee and a clipped-tree approach on the final playoff hole, Smith was 8 feet from the pin in two shots and made birdie with the crowd leaning in, earning an extremely motivating victory.
She followed it up by earning medalist honors at the Massachusetts Girls’ Junior Amateur at Crumpin-Fox Club, playing a total of 99 holes that week, capped off with a 2&1 victory over Kaitlyn Doe in the final to win the championship for the second time.
From there, the momentum kept rolling. She finished second overall and Low Junior in the Ouimet Memorial Tournament, reached the Round of 16 in match play in the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur and qualified for the Junior PGA Championship. Smith then closed her summer back at Crumpin-Fox by helping Team Massachusetts clinch the New England Junior Amateur, winning yet another playoff with her usual steady finish.
In the end, Smith pushed far past the “youngest of the Smith trio” label, mixing real competitive fire with the upbeat presence that makes her impossible to overlook.
Christopher Cutler Rich Junior Player of the Year – 350 Points (Standings + Results)
Thomas Constantine’s junior golf days have had their fair share of standout moments, but everything changed in one week at Franklin Country Club in early August. His winning performance in the Massachusetts Junior Amateur, under the weight of a home crowd and the expectations that come with it, is what pushed the 17-year-old to the Christopher Cutler Rich Junior Player of the Year Award.
“I am honored to be the recipient of this award,” he said. “In looking at the list of past recipients, I am incredibly humbled to even be included on a list with them.”
At the Junior Amateur, Constantine opened with a 5-under 137 in stroke play, earning the No. 2 seed, but the real story began once the brackets formed. Twice in match play, he needed the 18th to advance, and each time he took full advantage of his sharp focus and course knowledge, which are essential in these championships.
The 18-hole final against Xaverian High School teammate Christopher Morrow brought it all together. Constantine trailed early and kept refusing to let go. He holed a 25-footer on the 4th to slow the momentum. He scrambled on 14 to keep the match level. He hit a bunker shot on 16 that bought him the chance he needed. One down with two to play, he striped his best drive of the day on 17 and knocked in the birdie that tied the match and shifted the entire afternoon.
And then came the closer. On the 18th, facing a tucked right pin he had mentally bookmarked hours earlier, Constantine left himself the angle he wanted and pitched to three feet and made the putt to capture the most prominent victory of his life.
“Winning the Junior Am at Franklin Country Club was truly a full circle moment for me,” said Constantine, who has held membership at Franklin for the past five years. “It was also special because I had a lot of my family, members, and my coach, Dan Boisvert, out there with me, too.”
Constantine then signed his commitment to Bryant University, a roster filled with several Massachusetts standouts.
“I am looking forward to continuing my golf career at Bryant with Coach Blanchard and Coach Angeli,” he said.
George M. Cohen Senior Player of the Year – 815 Points (Standings + Results)
Just months removed from a year chasing PGA Tour Champions starts, Brendan Hester returned to amateur golf, turned 55, and wasted no time making his mark in the senior ranks.
The centerpiece of his season came at the Massachusetts Senior Amateur at Worcester Country Club, a mile from where he grew up. He had circled the date long in advance, and when the week arrived, he delivered one of the most meaningful wins of his career. He erased an early deficit to Jim Patterson, held off a late run from Dean Godek, and closed with the kind of composure you only earn through years of big moments. The plugged lie he turned into a near tap-in on 13, the up-and-down on 17, and the well-struck wedge into 18 all pointed to a player who still can come up clutch in big moments.
“It’s incredibly meaningful to bring the Player of the Year honors back to my home club, Pleasant Valley Country Club,” Hester said. “PV has played such a big role in my development as a player, and it’s where I’ve built so many close friendships over the years. Being the first Pleasant Valley member to receive a Mass Golf Player of the Year award is something I’m really proud of, and I’m confident I won’t be the last. We have a tremendous group of young players coming up, and I’m excited to see what they accomplish.”
Hester’s season carried plenty of other results to back it up. He won the Lowery Division at the Ouimet Memorial Tournament (an event he first won back in 1994), finished runner-up in the Amateur Invitational (Senior Division), and added a top-10 at the New England Senior Amateur.
Nationally, he earned medalist honors in U.S. Senior Amateur qualifying to secure a spot in the Championship Proper. Earlier in the summer, he qualified for the U.S. Senior Open at The Golf Club At Crown Colony (FL), adding yet another USGA start to a résumé that already included an appearance in 2023.
Hester, winner of the 2001 Mass Amateur, even crossed the Atlantic and reached the final round of the R&A Senior Amateur in second place before finishing T11.
This comes after the grind of Q-School, followed by months spent grinding through pre-qualifiers, Monday qualifiers, and long travel days trying to earn starts on the PGA Tour Champions. While the goals have shifted, there’s still plenty out there that Hester would like to achieve.
“My greatest strength is the trust and belief I have in my abilities,” Hester said. “Over the past two years, I’ve committed to improving every part of my game, both physically and mentally. It’s been a rewarding challenge, and I’m grateful to have an incredibly supportive team around me.
“My goal is to continue pushing myself to get a little better every day, in every aspect of my life,” he continued. “As long as I stay committed to consistent growth, I believe the results will take care of themselves.”
Tara Connelly didn’t need to validate her place in Massachusetts golf history this season. With nine Anne Marie Tobin Women’s Player of the Year titles, a Hall of Fame induction, and a pair of Mass Women’s Amateur titles, she has long been one of the state’s most steady and respected competitors.
However, this year she became just the second person ever to capture the Women’s Senior Player of the Year award, breaking Pam Kuong’s hold on the title since its introduction in 2020.
“It was a nice run,” Connelly said. “It’s a measure of consistency, which is nice, and I played solid all season. The senior competition, especially nationally, is fantastic. You get to see people you haven’t seen in a long time. All the friends you make along the way and those you meet, it’s all about the love of the game.”
Connelly’s season hinged on the Massachusetts Women’s Senior Amateur, where she finally broke through against who else but Kuong. One year removed from a runner-up finish in her debut, Connelly held her nerve through 36 holes at The Cape Club, matching Kuong shot for shot until the turning point arrived on the 15th. After watching putts slide by all afternoon, she buried the one she needed, pulling ahead and never giving it back. A clean finish on the closing stretch secured her first senior title.
Earlier this year, she won the New England Women’s Amateur (Senior Division) and was the second Low Senior at the Women’s Stroke Play Championship for the Baker Trophy, which she won the year prior.
Nationally, Connelly competed in both the U.S. Women’s Senior Open, earning medalist honors in qualifying at Gulph Mills Club (PA), and she carried that form into the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur, where she advanced to the Round of 32 after earning her spot through qualifying.
And while it didn’t count for points, Connelly tacked on an international victory by besting a field of 90 in the Spanish Senior Women’s International Individual Championship with a 54-hole, one-shot victory at Infinitum Lakes, just outside of Barcelona. Connelly said it was her highlight of the season, and she plans to go back and defend her title next year.
Steve Tasho
Super Senior Player of the Year – 630 Points (Standings + Results)
Steve Tasho walked into 2025 with a few goals in mind, and one of them was clear from the start: finish what he couldn’t close the year before. That focus shaped everything he did, and it’s what carried the 66-year-old Thorny Lea standout to his second straight Super Senior Player of the Year title.
His breakthrough came at the Massachusetts Super Senior Amateur, the championship that slipped away from him in his debut in 2024. This year at The Haven, Tasho kept his head down, relied on fairways and greens, and leaned on an iron game that still holds up under pressure. Birdies on 9, 12, and 14 gave him breathing room, and a composed finish on 18 sealed the win he had circled for nearly a year. He also became the first player to win both the Mass Amateur and the Mass Super Senior Amateur.
The rest of his season settled neatly around that peak. He tied for low super senior at both the Massachusetts Senior Amateur and the Ouimet Memorial Tournament, and grabbed a T4 at the Hornblower Memorial at Plymouth Country Club, proving once again that he can still hang with the strongest fields in the state. In the spring, he and Keith Smith picked off the Super Senior Four-Ball title in a playoff, part of an early stretch that gave him confidence. “Two events in the hunt right away gets your mind going,” said Tasho, who also placed T9 with his son Steve Tasho, Jr. in the Mass Four-Ball.
Looking back, however, the Super Senior victory remained the top achievement. “I didn’t like the way I finished last year, so to come back and win it was the highlight,” Tasho said. “The only letdown was not qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur. Hopefully I can get back there next year.”
Next year brings another opportunity that already has his attention: the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship at Thorny Lea. “You don’t get many chances to play a state championship at your home course,” he said. “It’s on the calendar for sure. Maybe my last good shot to capture that.
“As always, I’m thankful for the support of my wife Barbara and son Steve and the membership of Thorny Lea for everything they’ve given me.”
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