By Richard Rapp
rrapp@massgolf.org
WELLESLEY, Massachusetts (July 28, 2025) – Real estate is not cheap in the Great Boston area, and no parcel of land felt of greater value than whatever small swath of shade you managed to find at Wellesley Country Club on Monday. I shared one such cool patch with a spectator above the perched ninth green. We spotted Matt Parziale‘s (Brockton, MA) drive glistening in the sun-drenched rough. A clump of rather tall trees stood between he and the green. My shademate and I exchanged glances. “Well that’s going to be a tough shot,” he said. I nodded my agreement.
Parziale took out a gap wedge and hoisted his approach a mile in the air. I lost it in the bright midday sky. Then a thud like cannonball fire snapped everyone’s attention to the flag, which *if I wasn’t imagining it* quivered from the near miss of the aerial assault. His ball settled a few feet from the hole, which he would tap in for his second birdie on a flawless day. Three birdies and zero bogeys later, a wide-smiling Parziale was hoisting his medal and a ticket to the U.S. Amateur Championship.
He’ll be joined by playing partner CJ Winchenbaugh (Weston, MA), who came out hot with five consecutive 3s (4-under), and ultimately posted the second best round of the day, with a 2-under 68. Also headed to The Olympic Club are Jake Bauer (Franklin, MA) and Philip Minnehan (Rochester, NY), who both birdied the first hole of a three for two playoff to secure their passage.
Earlier in the day, 15 women battled it out for three spots in the 2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Open at San Diego Country Club. Two amateurs, Jayne Pardus (Boston, MA) and Lisa Mcgill (Philadelphia, PA) are in, along with medalist Laura Shanahan Rowe (Hampton, NH).
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A week after winning the Ouimet Memorial Tournament and confessing that it felt good to be back in contention, Matt Parziale had the look of someone who is continuing to move in the right direction.
“This whole month was much better than the beginning part of the year. I was struggling a little bit, but I just kind of stuck with it. You get a little bit of momentum in this game and you get a win and everything starts to flow,” said Parziale.
Flow it did. Parziale kept a clean card and tallied five birdies, including going back-to-back on 16 and 17 to pull away from the pack. “I was very happy with the way I played today. Pretty much didn’t make any big mistakes, but the small ones I did I was able to have a few good par saves and that was the key to the round.”
Parziale, a U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion, is plenty familiar with big USGA events. He’ll be looking to take a step forward at this year’s U.S. Amateur. “I’ve never made match play at the U.S. Am., so that’s the first thing. When I’m in these tournaments like the Mass Am, Mass Mid-Am, U.S. Mid-Am, that’s the first thing and just go from there,” said Parziale.
Playing together, Parziale and Winchenbaugh totaled 10 birdies on a day when they were the only two players to break par. While Parziale has been hot of late, Winchenbaugh conceded that it’s been a difficult summer on the competitive circuit, “I mean if I’m being honest, it’s been a pretty crappy summer in terms of how I’ve been playing.”
So he figured, why not come out firing?
“Me and Chad (Winchenbaugh’s caddie) had talked before, you know it’s a good field, there’s not a lot of spots. So it’s just going for flags, being aggressive. That’s typically when I’ve played my best golf, too.”
After birdieing four of the first five holes to sit comfortably atop the leaderboard, Winchenbaugh throttled back, perhaps a bit too much, “I just took my foot off the gas, made some sloppy mistakes. But I figured it out at the very end, on 17 (a par 5) getting on in two and two putting, then just surviving 18.”
Winchenbaugh will have a chance to build off experience gained at the 2024 U.S. Junior Am. And perhaps he’s entering the type of flow state that Parziale touched on, a little bit of momentum.
“It’s been a long summer of grinding it out. Just waiting for things to start to fall into place. I wouldn’t say I’ve been in top form, but my game is starting to trend in the right direction,” said Winchenbaugh. “I’ve never even been close to the state of California, so it will be something else for me. I’m excited.”
Three players finished at even par, and with just two spots remaining, they headed back to the first tee for a playoff. One drive found the left rough, one the right rough, one the center, but all three approaches fell within a 15 foot radius of the flag.
Jake Bauer’s second from the right rough clipped some leaves and settled a few steps outside of his competitors, which were both within 8 feet or so. No matter, Bauer poured his birdie putt right in the center and allowed himself a restrained fist pump or two.
“My record in previous USGA playoffs hasn’t been awesome, I think I’m 0-2. Crazy stuff happens in playoffs,” said Bauers. “I just tried to do my match play brain and was like ‘these guys are inside of me, the next one is good,’ and I just trusted it and it went in.”
Kellen Dean (Rochester, NY) was next to putt, and his birdie bid ran well by. He was still away, and cleaned up his par, leaving Philip Minnehan with about four feet to clinch a spot at the U.S. Amateur. He cooly dropped it in the center.
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COMPLETE LIST OF U.S. AMATEUR QUALIFIERS AND ALTERNATES FROM WELLESLEY:
QUALIFIERS (Names; Cities); Score
Matt Parziale, Brockton, MA; 65 (-5)
CJ Winchenbaugh, Weston, MA; 68 (-2)
Jake Bauer, Franklin, MA; 70 (E)*
Philip Minnehan, Rochester, NY; 70 (E)*
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Kellen Dean, Saratoga Springs, NY; 70 (E)
Harry Dessel, Barrington, RI; 71 (+1)
*Earned spot with a birdie on the first playoff hole (No.1)
U.S. WOMEN’S SENIOR OPEN QUALIFYING RECAP
It’s been a busy stretch of golf for Jayne Pardus, and thanks to her success in back-to-back USGA qualifying appearances, August may be just as busy. Pardus qualified for the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur last Monday at The Ranch, made the cut to play all three days at the Ouimet Memorial Tournament from Wednesday through Friday, then played her way into the U.S. Women’s Senior Open with a 7-over round of 79.
“I was fortunate enough to be asked to play in the Ouimet, which was a little bit of a challenge, right? You’re playing against youngsters who are bombing it by you, but again you’re only playing the golf course. So I felt like just playing competitive rounds helped me get some more confidence to hit some shots,” said Pardus.
The field was battling sweltering heat and a difficult golf course, and the scores reflected it. But Pardus managed to keep her head and limit the damage.
“This golf course was definitely a challenge. You can be rolling along and all of a sudden,” Pardus snapped her fingers, “it just kind of gets up and it will bite you. But I stayed pretty patient, and I stayed true to who I was and my game. I made a couple mistakes, but you just kind of tried to limit them today.”
Pardus will make her second appearance in the U.S. Women’s Senior Open. She’ll look to build on her 2022 appearance at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio.
“You just show up and it is so special, I made it and I was so excited, I was like a kid in a candy store. You couldn’t believe who you were playing with and the players that were around you. It was just really, really special. And just the USGA, and how they make you feel,” said Pardus. “Not that you feel like Annika, but you do. So this year I think I’m ready for that, I’ll be over that shock and awe. Hopefully I’ll be ready to try to make that cut, which will be a big step. Just be patient and trust myself.”
Pardus will be joined by Laura Shanahan Rowe, a pro from Hampton, NH, who nabbed medalist honors by tallying three birdies on her way to a 4-over round of 76. Rowe will bring plenty of experience as a former U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion and member of the Legend’s Tour.
Lisa Mcgill of Philadelphia, PA, will also be making the trip west after holing a 12-foot par putt on the 18th hole to avoid a playoff.
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COMPLETE LIST OF WOMEN’S SENIOR OPEN QUALIFIERS AND ALTERNATES FROM WELLESLEY CC:
QUALIFIERS (Names; Cities); Score
Laura Shanahan Rowe, Hampton, NH; 76 (+4)
Jayne Pardus (a), Boston, MA; 79 (+7)
Lisa Mcgill (a), Philadelphia, PA; 81 (+9)
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Mercedese Large (a), West Hartford, CT; 82 (+10)
*Tracy Welch (a), Winchester, MA; 83 (+11)
*Earned spot in a playoff
As qualifying-hopefuls marched across the fairways of Wellesley Country Club in dogged pursuit of a spot in a national championship, you might wonder if any of them knew that on the very same grounds 250 years ago, a company of West Needham Minutemen assembled. Led by Captain Caleb Kingsbury, they marched there way to the first battle of the Revolutionary War.
Wellesley Country Club was founded in 1910, when a membership group leased the land from the town. Donald Ross was hired to build the original nine holes shortly thereafter. Only seven of those original holes remain, none of which feature his original green design.
Famed architect Wayne Stiles lived next to the course and was a member of the Greens Committee, so it makes sense that in 1927 he was hired to reimagine the existing course, including plans for nine additional holes. Alas, the club was unable to secure the necessary land from neighboring Babson College.
In 1960, the membership purchased additional land from the Sisters of Charity, and hired Geoffrey Cornish to build nine more holes, solidifying the 18-hole routing that exists today.
The 125th U.S. Amateur Championship is set to take place at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, California, from August 11-17.
The Olympic Club, founded in 1860, is the oldest athletic club in the country. It features two eighteen-hole courses. The Lake Course, originally designed by Sam Whiting and Willie Watson, was recently renovated by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. It has hosted 5 U.S. Open and 1 U.S. Women’s Open. This will mark the 4th U.S. Amateur held at the club. The club will also host the 2028 PGA Championship and the 2033 Ryder Cup.
The Lake and Ocean Course will split up the first two days of stroke play, followed by and three days of match play for the 64 players that make the cut on the Lake Course.
The championship is open to any golfer whose Handicap Index® does not exceed 0.4. 5,245 entries were accepted for a field of 312 players.
Ryan Downes is exempt into the field due to his victory at the 2025 Massachusetts Amateur Championship.
The U.S. Senior Women’s Open, which will be held at San Diego Country Club, was first contested in 2018. This year, the USGA accepted 403 entries for 120 slots in the final field. 72 holes of stroke play will be held from August 21st – August 24th.
Female golfers over the age of 50 as of August 21, whose Handicap Index® does not exceed 7.4., are eligible.
Mass Golf Hall of Famer Tara Joy-Connelly (The Kittansett Club) qualified and nabbed medalist honors on 7/21 at Gulph Mills Club in King of Prussia, PA.
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