One fine day for Gonzalez
Tops phenom Nash in quarters
MASS. WOMEN’S AM
Growing up in West Roxbury, Jackie Gonzalez was just a few miles away from George Wright Golf Course.
She had experience at the city’s other municipal course, William Devine Golf Course at Franklin Park, while playing high school matches for Ursuline Academy, but the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur marked the first time she had played the Donald Ross design.
The rising junior at Holy Cross is finding George Wright to her liking, as she reached the semifinals for the first time thanks to a 3 and 1 win over Emily Nash in the quarterfinals yesterday. She started her day with a 1 up win over Sue Curtain in the morning.
“It’s been a lot of fun to play out here for the first time and get a lot of rounds under my belt,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez used six birdies to get past Nash, the Lunenburg High standout who won the MIAA girls championship in June and played in both the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball and U.S. Girls Junior this year.
Gonzalez grabbed her first lead of the match with a birdie at the par-3 14th, stuck her approach at the par-4 16th to about 3 feet, and then sealed it at the par3 17th with a 7-iron to about 5 feet and sank the putt.
In the morning, Gonzalez was 2 down with seven holes to play against Curtain, but was the steadier player coming down the stretch, taking her first lead of the day after winning the 17th hole.
Gonzalez was the 13th seed after shooting a 5-over par 77 in Monday’s qualifying.
She will take on medalist Shannon Johnson in the semifinals. The Norton resident defeated Elise Keane, 5 and 4, in the morning before knocking off Angela Garvin, 2 and 1, in the afternoon.
A tight match early, Johnson briefly had a 3 up lead after winning Nos.11, 12 and 13, only to bogey Nos. 14 and 15 and see her lead cut to 1 up. But she used her putter to steady the ship, making a birdie putt at No.16 from about 18 feet to get back to 2 up and was able to close out the match a hole later.
“Overall, I hit the ball pretty ball well. I think each day it’s getting a little better, which is great,” said Johnson. “I hit more putts (yesterday) than I did (Tuesday).”
Johnson, who shot a 1-under par in Monday qualifying, has the most impressive resume of the semifinalists, having reached the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur final in 2016 and the semifinals a year ago. Her best showing in the state amateur, however, has been as a finalist in 2015 at her home course of Thorny Lea.
Two-time champion and No.2 seed Claire Sheldon survived the morning round, defeating Gabrielle Shieh 1 up, winning with a par on the 18th hole, but was much steadier in the afternoon to dispatch Pam Kuong, 3 and 1.
Sheldon, a Cambridge resident moving to Australia later this month, had two birdies in the afternoon, a 30-footer at No. 5 to tie up the match and took the lead for good at No.8 on a 12-footer.
Sheldon won the 13th with a par and then closed out the match when Kuong was unable to get out of the front bunker at the 17th.
Merrimack College rising senior Krystal Knight of Groveland rolled through her day with two more 6 and 5 routs after starting match play with the same score. The first over 2014 and 2015 champion Isabel Southard, and then doing the same to Megan Buck.
Knight, the No.3 seed in her tournament debut, only dropped four holes on the day and played better as the day moved along.
The reigning Northeast-10 individual champion made an eagle 3 at the 10th against Buck and closed out the match with a solid up-and-down from the long grass left of the 13th green.
“I’ve really worked on my wedges in the last couple weeks and that really comes into hand on the shorter holes, especially the short par 5s,” said Knight. “My driving has been really good this week, putting myself in position where I can score, making birdies and avoiding bogeys.”
Sheldon and Knight each shot 73 in qualifying on Monday.
The semifinals are scheduled for this morning, with an 18-hole final in the afternoon.