WEST BOYLSTON — This one was special for Sean Magarian.
With a large contingent of family and friends on hand to watch him play at Wachusett Country Club Sunday, the former West Boylston High and Assumption University golfer rolled in his final putt of the day — a birdie — to win the Worcester County Amateur in a landslide.
“This event means a lot to me,” Magarian said. “Just growing up in Worcester, you kind of always see it as your local event. So, I always want to play in this each year and play well. So, it’s a special one to win.”
The 23-year-old from Worcester wrapped up the two-day, 36-hole tournament with a total score of 11-under par. The next lowest score came in six shots back of Magarian.
It was a spectacular performance from the hometown kid, who claimed his second victory in the event in the last four years.
“He’s such a good golfer and I’m just super happy to see him continue to play well,” said former Assumption teammate Chad Bartlett.
“He’s a great player and it’s only getting better,” said Assumption golf coach John O’Hara. “He’s (got) a long ways to go, he’s going to have many more wins in this game.”
Magarian leads an Assumption takeover
Fresh off winning the Amateur Invitational at New England Country Club in Bellingham on June 25-26, Magarian came into the Worcester County Amateur feeling good about his game.
On Saturday, the 5-foot-5 left-handed golfer continued his hot streak by grabbing the top spot on the leaderboard after shooting a 4-under-par 68 at Kettle Brook Golf Club in Paxton.
Sitting on the overnight lead heading into Sunday’s final round, Magarian was admittedly a bit nervous.
“You’re trying to win a golf tournament — so the nerves are kind of natural,” Magarian said. “But I just tried to calm myself and just kind of play golf like it’s any other day, and I think I did pretty well.”
That he did.
Holding a one-shot lead over former Assumption teammate Jack Moy (of Sutton) to start the day, Magarian extended his advantage to a few strokes heading into the back nine at Wachusett. Then, with five holes left to play, the 2020 West Boylston grad stepped on the gas and ran away with the tourney when he chipped in for eagle on the par-4 14th hole.
“That was probably the shot of the tournament,” Moy said. “To see that back nine and how he kind of turned it on, that was really cool.”
Magarian managed to birdie his final three holes and carded a 7-under-par 65. His 11-under, two-day total was well ahead of the next two players on the leaderboard in Sam Russell (5-under, second place) and Matt Parziale (2-under, third).
“Being from Worcester, I always circle this event on the calendar, I love playing in it,” Magarian said. “The Marrone family is great to me, and the courses were spectacular this year. It means a lot.”
As Magarian walked off the 18th green at Wachusett, the former Assumption golf star (he graduated in 2024 and spent one year at the University of Rhode Island) shared a hug with his former college coach in O’Hara. Magarian then embraced his family and friends.
“To have them here, to have the Assumption connection, it was a lot of fun out there,” Magarian said. “And then to see my coach play so well in his first event (in a while), very proud of him.”
With a handful of current and former Assumption players competing in the Worcester County Amateur this weekend, O’Hara joined in on the fun and participated in the 115-player field. It marked the first amateur event in nearly 30 years for the Assumption golf coach.
Some even had a new name for the event.
“The Assumption Open,’” said Bartlett, a 2019 Wachusett Regional grad who also played golf at Assumption University.
“We always jokingly call it ‘The Assumption Invitational,’” Moy said.
Sunday was a good day to be a Greyhound.
“It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” O’Hara said.
How other golfers fared at Worcester County Amateur
Playing in a foursome a few groups back of Magarian were Leominster’s Luke Grebinar and Holden’s Ricky Narain.
Grebinar, a 2025 Leominster High grad, and Narain, a rising junior at Wachusett Regional, both competed for a second time in the Worcester County Amateur. And they both had their fathers serve as caddies on Sunday.
“I had to play against all these kids when I was younger and now seeing them grow as players, it was fun,” said Grebinar, who finished 6-over par and in a tie for 19th place. “Played two courses I love playing and, especially today, I played very well.”
“It’s fun,” said Narain, who is 16 and finished tied for 45th. “It’s tough to try to compete with them but I like to just try to go out and shoot my best and I played a lot better than I did last year, which was great.”
Other locals competing in the tournament included Moy, a Sutton High grad who played with Magarian on Sunday. Moy finished tied for fourth at even par while Ray Dennehy, a St. John’s alum, came in tied for sixth at 1-over.
Holden’s Matthew Quinn placed 19th and Hopedale’s Lucas Levasseur, a rising sophomore at Assumption, finished tied for 29th.
Last year’s champion, Nick Maccario, placed sixth while 2023 champ Weston Jones finished tied for 10th at 3-over par. But this year, the Worcester County Amateur belonged to Sean Magarian.
It was home cooking for the hometown kid.
“It’s special,” he concluded. “I love this event.”
—Contact Tommy Cassell at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
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