Drive, Molly, drive

Smith named Mass Golf ’s Girls Junior Player of Year

Whenever she approaches the green, Molly Smith’s sheer determination and drive inevitably takes over.

It’s those same unmistakable intangibles that has led her to become Mass Golf’s Girls Junior Player of the Year. The Westford resident tallied 971 points this season for the Vesper Country Club in Tyngsboro.

Smith took a big leap forward in 2021. The young phenom had already established herself as a long hitter off the tee, but this year she emerged as more of an all-around golfer and was rewarded with a bevy of accolades.

Smith, 16, who was the token Massachusetts representative in this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, became the second-ever winner of the Mass Golf Girls’ Junior Player of the Year Award. The Westford native also finished third in the Anne Marie Tobin Women’s Player of the Year race.

“It was a goal I set for myself back in the spring, so it definitely feels really good to achieve it,” Smith said. “It kind of proves that all the hard work I put into golf is paying off and it shows improvement from years past.”

The Smith family is full of successful golfers, so it was only fitting that her season began by winning the Massachusetts Mixed Four-ball Championship for the Stone Cup with her father, Phil Smith, at Twin Hills Country Club. As the year progressed, Molly and her sister Morgan Smith (2nd place in Girls’ POY standings) also qualified for the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur together for the first time.

Smith concluded June with a runner-up finish in the Massachusetts

Women’s Stroke Play Championship for the Baker Trophy and a top-five finish in the New England Women’s Amateur (low junior) before really turning on the jets. On her way

COURTESY OF david colt molly Smith hits a tee shot during the New England Women’s Amateur championship at Agawam Hunt. The Westford resident has been named mass golf’s girls Junior Player of the Year.

COURTESY OF david colt molly Smith lines up a putt during the massachusetts Women's Amateur championship in August as her father and caddie Phil looks on.