LONGMEADOW — When Carol Pignato and her friends won the South sectional girls golf title just last week, it was a dream scenario. In Bishop Feehan’s inaugural spring season as a program, the Shamrocks had already made history on a grand level.
Now, she and her teammates can add one more piece of hardware to the trophy case at 70 Holcott Drive — a state championship. The senior led the way by shooting a 78 on the day (6-over-par), as the Shamrocks simply followed things up by winning it all in convincing fashion at Longmeadow Country Club.
“It feels great,” said Pignato. “Kind of unreal at the moment, but we are all super excited. We put up some great scores today.”
You can say that again. In addition to Pignato, the Shamrocks had two other individuals finish with scores under 90, with Nora Charnley (83) and Hanley Correia (84) also having sustained success. This all came in spite of the dramatic dips and dives that are generally associated with playing at Longmeadow.
“Just (about) keeping it in play,” said Bishop Feehan golf coach Angel MacLeod. “Obviously, the greens are pretty tough. Pins were in some tough spots, place played hard. Very windy, but they played tough. They played really tough. We stayed strong.”
Wellesley finished as the 2023 runner-up, with Katie Ng firing a 79 on the afternoon to lead the Raiders.
“It’s unbelievable,” said MacLeod. “Unbelievable. Can’t put it into words how great this feels. I’m happy for the girls. They took a chance, and it worked out for them.”
Westford Academy standout Molly Smith finished as the tournament’s individual medalist by shooting a 70 (2-under-par) on the afternoon, outpacing North Reading’s Isabel Brozena by one stroke for the honor. Needing a clutch moment on the 18th hole, the senior fired a chip shot from about 30 yards out, which soared through the air and graciously landed just feet from the hole. She proceeded to sink the winning putt in dramatic fashion, with all the pressure on.
“I was kind of thinking: ‘Don’t flub it,’” said Smith. “I’m serious when I say that. That’s not what you’re supposed to think, but sometimes it creeps in. I had a similar chip on six… they were on the green, then they rolled way off to the false front. I kind of tried to do the same thing, make sure I landed up there, be aggressive… and just accept that you’re going to have to make par.”