Mary and John Mulcahy celebrate after winning their first Massachusetts Father & Daughter Championship at Wentworth Hills Golf & Country Club.
PLAINVILLE, Mass. (Aug. 17, 2010) -- In one of the most impressive 18-hole performances recorded in recent memory, the team of John Mulcahy (Hatherly CC) and Mary Mulcahy (Hatherly CC) carded a 5-under par 66 to capture the 2010 Massachusetts Father & Daughter Championship by two strokes at Wentworth Hills Golf & Country Club.
The duo, who reside in Scituate, carded six birdies and just one bogey en route to their first MGA Championship victory.
In the always demanding selected drive, alternate shot format, the Mulcahy team jumped out to a quick start by making birdie on the 358-yard, par 4 1st hole.
Following three straight pars – on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes – they capped off the front nine by making birdies on the 488-yard, par 4 5th and 142-yard, par 3 8th holes.
"This is the second year we've played in this... and last year we finished in second place," said John. "I thought a lot about it after that, so this year I knew we wanted to finish well."
After making the turn at 3-under par 32 and with several teams on their heels, the Mulcahy team knew that they had to keep the momentum going, and that's exactly what they did. Through their final nine holes, they posted three birdies – on the 13th, 14th and 18th holes – and just one lone miscue on the 471-yard, par 5 15th hole.
"I think we only missed two greens in regulation all day," said Mary, a 16 year old rising junior who plays on the boys golf team at Scituate High School. "We hit the ball pretty well... we made six birdies and one bogey and we hit a lot of greens."
This latest victory puts a bookend on what has been a memorable 2010 season for Mary. This past fall, she successfully recovered from knee surgery in March (to repair a torn meniscus) to win the MIAA Individual State Girls Golf Championship and then just last week she advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2010 Women's Amateur Championship.
Along the way, she also captured her third straight Hatherly Women's Club Championship title which is something that has become a tradition in the Mulcahy family. After all, her father John won the men's championship several times as did her grandfather John "Biff" Mulcahy and her great grandfather Charles.
That type of pure talent was on display all day but especially on the 18th green when John watched as his daughter drained a 20-foot birdie putt to secure a huge victory for Team Mulcahy.
Finishing in second place with a final score of 3-under par 68 were two-time champions of this event - Ken Kotowski (The Kittanset Club) and Meredith Kotowski (The Kittanset Club). The always dangerous duo made the turn at 1-under par 35 and made a run at the title by carding back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes. They made a par on the finishing hole and simply ran out of holes and had to settle for second place overall.
Bob Thomka (Oak Ridge CC) and Lindsey Thomka (Springfield CC) were the only other team in the field to finish in the red (they registered a 1-under par 70), while the team of Mark Lemons (Cyprian Keyes GC) and Elise Lemons (Cyprian Keyes GC) claimed sole possession of fourth place with a score of even par 71.
"I look forward to playing in this event every year because I enjoy her company and I enjoy playing with other people with a similar passion," said Bob about the unique experience. "Competition and family together... it doesn't get any better than that."
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ABOUT THE Massachusetts Father-Daughter
Entries are open to any Father and Daughter
team who are both members of an MGA
member club. A father may only play one
round, with one daughter, in the Championship.
Competition will be 18 Holes at Foursomes
Stroke Play (selected drive). The field is limited
to 50 teams.
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