Ronan Mooney has already enjoyed a successful golf season, but it’s about to become even more memorable.
In April, Mooney, 18, of Holden won the U.S. Challenge Cup Junior Match Play Championship at Newport Country Club in Newport, R.I. On June 30 and July 1, he captured the Massachusetts Chapter of the New England Junior PGA at The Haven CC in Boylston. He fired a 64 in the opening round and finished the two-day event at 4-under 140.
That 64 was one shot off his lowest round, a 63 at his home course of Worcester Country Club, but the 64 was 8 under par and the 63 was 7 under.
Beginning Sunday, Mooney and his St. John’s High golf teammates will compete in the PGA High School Golf National Invitational at Pinehurst Resort and CC in Pinehurst, N.C.
The Pioneers earned an invitation by repeating as the Division 1 state high school champions last fall. They captured the school’s ninth state title in golf and fittingly won by nine shots at The Haven CC. Mooney shot a 4-under 68 to earn medalist honors by six strokes.
“One of the best rounds of high school golf in my memory at the finals,” St. John’s golf coach Sean Noonan said.
His teammate, Adam Trani, shot a 74 to share second place. Savar Bhasin carded a 75 to tie for fourth and Cael Duggan posted a 77 to finish 13th. Derek Mulligan will also compete in the nationals for St. John’s.
Trani and Duggan will be seniors at St. John’s in the fall. The others graduated in the spring, but they’re allowed to play in the nationals. High school coaches are not permitted to attend the nationals because the event is held out of season, but Noonan has a family wedding to attend anyway.
Mooney and his St. John’s teammates tied for 16th among the 50 schools in their first trip to the nationals last summer after they captured the Division 1 high school title in the fall of 2023. Last year’s nationals were held in Frisco, Texas, site of the PGA of America headquarters.
Noonan said his golfers told him playing golf in Texas in July was the hottest experience they’ve ever had.
The PGA High School Golf National Invitational debuted in 2019 at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida with 300 boys and girls and has expanded to more than 500 boys and girls.
“It is such an honor to be able to do this with my friends,” Mooney said. “Tournaments are always fun. Traveling for tournaments is always fun. You get to play golf in a different state. You get to play golf on Bermuda grass instead of bent grass. That’s always a cool experience, but you’re always doing that alone or maybe your parents go down with you. But being able to do this as a team is such an extra boost.”
Mooney said it was also an honor to represent his home state.
“This is honestly probably the tournament I look forward to most all year,” he said. “It’s really, really cool, really exciting.”
Mooney shot a final-round 69 in the nationals last year, but wasn’t pleased with his first two rounds. He doesn’t have a specific score he wants to shoot in the nationals this year.
“I want to be able to leave Pinehurst,” he said, “knowing that I didn’t leave any shots out on the course and that I gave it my best.”
Mooney believes St. John’s can improve upon its 16th place finish of a year ago.
After competing in the three-day, no-cut invitational at Pinehurst, Mooney and his family will return to Massachusetts so he can compete for the first time in the Ouimet Memorial Tournament July 23-25 at Wollaston GC in Milton and Woodland GC in Newton. Then he’ll head to West Lafayette, Ind., to play in the National Junior PGA Championship at Purdue University’s home course. His victory in the Mass. Chapter of the New England Junior PGA qualified him for those nationals.
“It’s good to be able to test my game before going down to college,” he said.
Mooney will play golf in the fall for Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.
“Ronan has had an unbelievable summer,” Noonan said.
Being a member of Worcester CC has helped prepare Mooney to play other top-notch courses.
“Irons, approach shots, putting, chipping, all of that,” he said, “I don’t believe there’s a better course to get your game sharp in those aspects than Worcester. The greens are elevated above you. You have to trust your shot, trust your swing. There’s no real bailouts.”
Mooney has never played in the junior club championship at Worcester, but he reached the semifinals of the men’s club championship last year. He won’t compete in the men’s club championship this year because he’ll be in Pinehurst for the qualifier.
Mooney regularly drives the ball 305-310 yards and he’s worked with Worcester CC teaching pro Bob Bruso to make putting another strength.
“He made huge strides,” Noonan said, “in confidence and mentally. Physically, he’s always been gifted, but he just got better and better and better.”
In a St. John’s match at Wachusett CC, Mooney shot 6 under for nine holes, which Noonan said is the lowest score he can remember in his 11 years as head coach.
“That’s pretty insane,” Noonan said.
Sullivan captures Worcester County Women’s Amateur title
Erin Sullivan hadn’t won a golf tournament as an individual since she played junior golf many years ago so she was thrilled to finish on top in the third annual Worcester Country Women’s Amateur at Tatnuck CC last weekend.
Sullivan, 21, of Norwood 69-75 for a total of 2-under 144 to win by two shots.
“I was very surprised,” she said. “I didn’t know I was capable of that. So it was very exciting. It was nice to know that practicing has paid off and to have a win is so exciting.”
On June 30, Sullivan combined with Lauri Giffin to win the tournament division of the Mass. Golf Women’s Four-Ball Championship for the Townshend Cup at their home course of Walpole CC. They shot a 3-under 69 to win by eight strokes.
A few days earlier, Sullivan tied for eighth in the New England Women’s Amateur at Haverhill CC.
But she considers her victory at Tatnuck to be the highlight of her golfing career so far.
“That was probably some of the best golf I’ve ever played,” she said.
Her 4-under 69 in the opening round was three shots lower than her previous career-best which she scored at Walpole a few weeks earlier. She tied her career-high with six birdies and would have had a seventh if she had missed her 20-foot eagle putt on the 420-yard, par-5 fourth. Of course, she preferred to card the eagle, which was the first of her career.
Sullivan hopes to defend her title next year at Tatnuck.
“It was definitely a challenging golf course,” she said, “but I liked the layout and how it played.”
Sullivan played golf for two years at Bryant University before transferring to the University of West Georgia last year. She’ll be a senior on the women’s golf team this fall.
Katie Cullen (72-74-146) placed second at Tatnuck and 2024 champion Erin O’Hara (76-71-147) finished third in the field of 23 golfers.
Cyprian Keyes to host Massachusetts Amateur
Cyprian Keyes GC in Boylston will host the Massachusetts Amateur Public Links July 29-30.
Owen Quinn was the last Central Mass. golfer to win the event that is open to amateur golfers who belong to public courses. The Holden resident played out of Wachusett CC when he won in 2018 and he has since turned pro.
There will be plenty of Cyprian Keyes golfers in the field, including Joe Macauley, who shot a 3-under 68 to win the qualifier at Gardner Municipal GC, and Michael Dinola, who fired a 71 to finish second in that qualifier.
Cyprian Keyes is a 1997 Mark Mungeam design that should present an interesting challenge.
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—Contact Bill Doyle at [email protected].
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