By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
HINGHAM, Massachusetts (July 13, 2026) — For stretches Monday, U.S. Senior Women’s Open qualifying at Boston Golf Club played out in a low murmur of conversation and crisp ball-striking. Just 22 players navigated Gil Hanse’s rugged, secluded layout, with the New England woods providing a calm backdrop to a high-stakes day.
Then, the quiet backdrop erupted into pure theater.
Over the next several hours, those peaceful woods bore witness to a grueling four-hole playoff between best friends, a late charge to medalist honors, a stellar performance from a former Solheim Cup captain, and a viral, pop-culture crossover from outside the competition that has the golf world buzzing. (If your algorithm hasn’t served it to you yet, we’ve got you covered.)
At the center of the day’s drama, longtime Boston Golf Club members and close friends Sue Curtin and Jayne Pardus finished tied at 5-over par for the final qualifying spot. After four trips to the uphill par-3 18th in sudden death, Curtin prevailed with a par to earn her first U.S. Senior Women’s Open appearance since 2021, just days after defeating Pardus in another playoff during the women’s club championship.
“It’s just hard when you have to play one of your best friends,” Curtin said of Pardus. “You hate when you have to go head to head, but I think we’re really proud how we represented Boston Golf Club today.”
Curtin needed a dramatic finish just to reach the playoff, and Boston Golf Club’s 18th offered a fitting stage. The signature uphill par-3 plays over a grass waste area to an elevated, tiered green built into the hillside, with bunkers guarding the front and right that sit below the green. After nearly holing out for eagle on No. 17 and tapping in for birdie, Curtin came up short with her drive on 18, flubbed a chip in the rough that left her near the same spot, then nearly holed her next shot before making a slippery downhill bogey putt to tie a slightly hobbled Pardus.
“Things kind of opened up a little bit on the back nine as far as pace goes, and I just got in a much better mode of playing shot by shot and not getting ahead of myself,” said Curtin, who birdied the par-5 15th to shoot even on the back nine. “And the next thing I knew, I ripped off a couple birdies.”
Curtin and Pardus had an audience, too, from a celebrity who made the most unexpected shot of the day. Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, a Boston Common Golf ambassador fresh off a record-setting four-night sellout run at Fenway Park, made a hole-in-one on the 11th hole in the afternoon, drawing the attention of nearby competitors. After finishing his round, Kahan came over to watch the playoff and loudly cheered on Curtin as she and Pardus continued trekking back and forth to settle the playoff.
Made a hole in one today at @BostonGolfClub
This is the best day of my life pic.twitter.com/XgVsYXRBVw
— Noah Kahan (@NoahKahan) July 13, 2026
The leaderboard supplied its own late drama as Japan’s Chie Furusawa made four birdies in the first five holes of the back nine to pull away from the field and earn medalist honors at 2-under-par 69. Furusawa qualified for the second straight year after advancing through a Minnesota qualifier and tying for 30th in last year’s championship. “Hard,” Furusawa said when asked to describe Boston Golf Club, speaking briefly alongside fellow Japanese player Chiaki Nagano, who also competed in last year’s championship but missed out Monday after shooting 83.
Sweden’s Catrin Nilsmark also advanced with a 1-over-par 72 that included three birdies, two of them on Nos. 13 and 16. The captain of Europe’s victorious 2003 Solheim Cup team tied for 24th last year and ranked among the top 10 in driving distance at 234.4 yards. After missing an exemption by four spots, Nilsmark traveled from Sweden for the qualifier and left impressed by Boston Golf Club.
“It’s one of the most special and beautiful places I’ve played at,” said Nilsmark, a three-time top-10 finisher in LPGA major championships, who said she has one major goal remaining. “My goal is to keep going until 2030. I’m aiming to win [the U.S. Senior Women’s Open] before I quit.”
Susan Fasoldt, a PGA professional based out of Sarasota, Florida, earned the remaining qualifying spot, carding 75 after holing out from 90 yards for eagle on the par-4 14th, a shot that ultimately kept her out of the playoff after she bogeyed the next three. This will be the first USGA championship appearance for Fasoldt, adding one more Vermont thread to an already memorable Monday.
“Oh, I’m so happy,” Fasoldt said afterward. “It’s been a lifelong goal, and I couldn’t be happier.”
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COMPLETE LIST OF QUALIFIERS AND ALTERNATES FROM BOSTON GOLF CLUB
QUALIFIER (Name, Home, Score)
*a- denotes amateur
Chie Furusawa, Japan; (-2) 69
Catrin Nilsmark, Sweden; (+1) 72
Susan Fasoldt, Sarasota, FL; (+4) 75
a-Susan Curtin, Westwood, MA; (+5) 76*
ALTERNATES (In Order)
a-Jayne Pardus, Boston, MA; (+5) 76
a-Linda Jeffery, Prattville, AL; (+9) 80
*Advanced on fourth playoff hole (hole 18)
Boston Golf Club grew from the vision of the late John Mineck, who sought a course that would demand high-caliber shotmaking while continually drawing members back. Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner considered nine possible routings before settling on one that moves naturally across more than 300 acres of forest, former quarry land and rolling Hingham terrain. Opened in 2005, BGC has an old-world character shaped by irregular fairways, rocky ledges, stone walls, creeks and heavily contoured greens that feel like natural extensions of the landscape. Some have said BGC feels like it has 50 years despite its merely two decades of existence.
At just over 7,000 yards from the back tees, Boston Golf Club relies more on strategy and execution than sheer length. Players must continually weigh safer routes against bolder lines that offer more favorable angles, with strategic bunkering, exacting approaches and fast greens sharpening every decision. The short par-4 5th, “Shipwreck,” captures that risk-reward spirit, while the varied inward nine builds toward a match-play-minded closing stretch and a memorable par-3 18th beneath the clubhouse.
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