CONCORD – Through the opening four holes of Saturday’s NHIAA girls individual tournament, it was apparent that two-time defending champion Carys Fennessy of Dover High School wasn’t playing nearly to the level of excellence she had established.
Thanks to an uncharacteristic start that featured a bogey and a pair of double bogeys, the junior’s four-stroke lead over Winnacunnet’s June Doerr evaporated and it was Doerr who took the lead heading to the fifth hole.
Fennessy responded like the champion she is by shooting 1-under par the rest of the way to secure her third straight individual title with an eight-stroke victory over Doerr at Beaver Meadow Golf Club.
“It started off pretty bad but I was able to keep it together,” Fennessy said. “Everyone has a bad day and I think mine was today. My bad day was better than somebody else’s and that’s how it works sometimes. I hope to do it for the fourth time next year. That would be a grand slam.”
More: HS golf: Exeter’s Johnston, Dover’s Fennessy enjoy leads heading into individual tourney
Fennessy was leading the tournament after shooting 4-under par via her score of 67 in the qualifier two weeks ago at Scottish Highlands in Salem. Her 4-over par 76 on Saturday left her at even-par for the tournament.
“She struggled early and she had been fighting her swing earlier this week and she had a couple of three-putts in the first four holes, but I saw her dig deep,” Dover coach and Carys’ father, Matt, said. “I think that was the important thing to learn that sometimes you just don’t have your swing and you’ve got to find a way to get it in the hole. She did a nice job of that today.”
Doerr came into Saturday even-par and was still in striking distance trailing by three strokes before she double-bogeyed the 16th and 17th to finish the round (80) and tournament at 8-over par. It was the third straight year Doerr placed second.
“The course was in beautiful condition and it was a really fun round and I was excited with how I finished,” Doerr said. “Carys is a great player, so congratulations to her.”
Oyster River’s Delany Nadeau finished third (15-over-par) and her sister, Teagan, placed sixth (30-over-par).
A successful turnaround
Carys Fennessy immediately got into trouble on the 318-yard, par-4 first hole when her tee shot went into the woods and her attempt to punch out hit a rock leading to a double bogey.
After bogeying the third hole, she was forced to take a penalty shot on the fourth for another double bogey.
With those holes out of her system, she settled down and parred the remaining holes to finish the front nine at 41. Meanwhile, Doerr double-bogeyed the fifth hole and bogeyed the sixth and the ninth to give Fennessy a three-stroke cushion heading into the back nine.
“After the first four holes I was like ‘all of my bad shots or out of the way’,” Carys Fennessy said. “I just tried to make some putts. I knew I wasn’t going to be under par, so I had to change my expectations for the day. It was just keeping it together.”
It took until the par-4, 283-yard 12th hole, but Carys Fennessy finally got her first birdie of the day. She bogeyed the 13th, but made up for it with a beautiful chip that helped her birdie the par-5, 464-yard 16th and parred the final two.
“That birdie on the 16th was probably the most pivotal,” Matt Fennessy said. “To be able to say you won the state championship, that’s pretty neat.”
Full season back
Last year, Carys Fennessy was just thankful for being able to play in the tournament after a health scare she suffered after being hit in the head by an errant shot while in the gallery with her father at the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. The injury forced her to miss the rest of her summer schedule, and she made last year’s high school season the goal to be ready for.
More: Dover’s Carys Fennessy wins second straight state girls golf title
One of those tournaments she missed was the Women’s Seacoast Amateur Golf championship, but she didn’t miss it this summer as she blitzed the field by 15 strokes to win the tournament.
“Last year meant a lot to me and I worked hard everyday and just being able to accomplish all that this summer solidified all the hard work and time I put in,” Carys Fennessy said. “It feels good to claim my title again. It was definitely tougher this year, but it was all worth it.”
Matt Fennessy said that after the No. 1 priority of making sure his daughter was healthy again. The attention to her golf game was getting her back to where she was before the injury.
This year was all about getting better.
“She’s had a great year and she’s past being back; she’s better,” Matt Fennessy said. “As a Dad I’m obviously proud, but as a coach, I’m proud because she worked on the areas that were her weakness or weren’t her strengths, and she made them strengths.”
Doerr closes and start a new chapter
Winnacunnet coach Pat Snow took over the program four years ago at the same time Doerr came in as a freshman. He could tell early on that she’d be a force and leader on the team, and has been thrilled by her progression and the spotlight she has shined on the Warriors.
“She came out right away in tryouts her freshman year and immediately made an impact on the team,” Snow said. “She made a comment that the team has really grown and I think in part she has a lot to do with that. A lot of kids took golf more seriously and tried to be more competitive and I think June deserves a lot of credit for that.”
With high school golf over, Doerr made her dream come true a few days ago when she committed to playing golf collegiately at Division I Merrimack College.
“When I was 10 or 11 years old I wanted to play Division I,” Doerr said. “Now I’m here.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Girls golf: Dover’s Fennessy wins third straight state championship
