WORCESTER — On Friday, Vincenza “Vinnie” Papa hit the first shot — a long drive down the middle of the fairway — in the inaugural Worcester Country Women’s Golf Championship at Tatnuck Country Club.
On Saturday, Papa, who is only 14 years old, calmly rolled in the last putt of the tournament and became the first champion. With terrific rounds of 69-73–142, Papa, from Foster, Rhode Island, carded a 36-hole total of 4 under par, four strokes better than runner-up Mackenzie Whitney (69-77-146) of Westminster and Oak Hill CC.
Both Papa and the 19-year-old Whitney broke the women’s 18-hole record at Tatnuck with their opening rounds of 69. On Saturday, Papa pulled away with the lead from the 21-player field by playing a steady round of even-par golf
“I found out about this tournament on Instagram, and I was very excited to play,” said Papa, who carries her drives in the 250-yard range. She blasted her tee shot all the way to the green on the 238-yard, par-4 fifth hole in the final round before two-putting for a birdie.
Although pleased with her Saturday round of 73, Papa said that she left “a few shots out there,” especially on the par-5 holes. “I was able to stay aggressive all day though, and on every shot I tried to make it as perfect as possible,” she said.
The smooth-swinging Papa, who turns 15 in October, fired nine-hole segments of 35-38 on Saturday to clinch this first Worcester County Women’s Amateur.
“We had a great tournament, and we’re hoping to continue this for many years to come,” said Tatnuck head professional PJ Breton, who praised his staff and the grounds crew, especially for creating excellent playing conditions even with recent heavy rainfall.
“We want to have twice as many players here next year and continue to grow the tournament, and make it as good or even better than the Worcester County men’s amateur which is held on the same weekend,” Breton added.
“We had an incredible field of great players,” Tatnuck Golf Committee chairman Bob Spellane said, “and it was an honor to host them and their families here at Tatnuck on the 125th anniversary of our club. It was a great success all around.”
Runner-up Whitney, an Oakmont Regional graduate and rising sophomore on the Siena College women’s golf team, said she was very pleased with posting, along with Papa, the competitive women’s course record at Tatnuck.
“I’ve been struggling this spring and early summer with the mental part of the game, but it’s improving,” said Whitney, who three years ago became the youngest club champion at Oak Hill in Fitchburg as a 16-year-old.
In third place with rounds of 75-73–148 was Merrimack College rising sophomore Morgan Macleod from North Attleboro, followed by former Tantasqua Regional star Grace Farland (73-78–151), a rising junior at the University of Hartford. Holy Cross rising sophomore Phoebe Chamian, from Belmont, finished fifth (75-77–152).
Watching his younger daughter, Vinnie, accept the championship trophy from Tatnuck head pro Breton, Paul Papa told a bystander that there was a bigger story here than the championship winner.
“The biggest story of the day is not Vinnie, but it’s about another player in the field, her sister, Gianna,” Paul Papa said while pointing to his older daughter. “A year ago, she wasn’t even walking because of her epilepsy.”
And before the inaugural Worcester County Amateur, Gianna’s last golf tournament was in late September 2021.
“It feels great to be back playing because it’s been so long. About 22 months since I’ve been able to play golf,” said the 16-year-old Gianna, who explained that she is on her third type of medicine to treat her severe epilepsy symptoms.
Still, Gianna Papa, after rounds of 82-76, tied for fifth with Green Hill’s Christine Coughlin (78-80) and rising Holy Cross junior Manuela Herrera (78-80) from West Palm Beach, Florida.
—Contact Jay Gearan at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @tgsports.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 14-year-old Vincenza Papa takes inaugural Worcester County Women’s Amateur