When the Hawks teed off on Monday at Canterbury Woods, Evan Fairneny did so in the No. 1 spot. When the Hawks finished, Fairneny topped the scorecard. That’s been a common feature of Hopkinton’s golf program for the last decade.
Now a senior, Evan is the last of three Fairneny brothers who have been on every Hopkinton squad since 2013. They have been with the Hawks through a coaching change, the program’s first state championship in 2018, a move up to Division III and a transition back to Division IV. This season, Evan has helped the Hawks fly to the top of the D-IV standings with the state championship looming on Oct. 11 at Mount Washington Golf Club.
Hopkinton scored 70 points in the Stableford system, topping Woodsville (62), Concord Christian (52) and White Mountains (47) to improve to 26-1.
Fairneny scored 23 points, shooting 4-over, to earn medalist honors, while sophomore Bronson Ammann (19), seniors Hal Stokes (19) and Jake Staples (9) and junior Adam Richter (8) scored for the Hawks and added depth.
Seniors Owen Carney (19) and Owen Heizer (15) led Concord Christian, which is competing in its inaugural season as a varsity program.
Nick – the oldest Fairneny brother – joined the team in 2013 and played through 2016, his senior year, and head coach Dave Chase’s first year with the program. He finished as the medalist in eight of nine matches (he tied for top honors in the other match), averaged 38.3 strokes per nine holes and shot a 77 in the state championship that year.
Andrew – the middle brother – was a senior in 2018 and was the No. 4 golfer the year the Hawks won the D-IV championship, before Evan joined the team in 2019. Hopkinton was the D-IV runner-up that year, before starting a two-year stint in D-III.
“The biggest similarity is that golf was the No. 1 thing,” Chase said. “All three of them are good golfers who play golf outside the season. Evan is closing the gap on his brother Nick. He really loves the game. He’s getting better and better, and more consistent. They’re all good kids. They’ve anchored our program. All three are very coachable kids.”
The Fairneny brothers were all homeschooled, but still found the program.
“My oldest brother, he played his freshman year and we live not far from the school and we saw they had a team,” Evan said. “We’re a golfing family. Everyone plays golf. I followed in my brother’s footsteps.”
The senior added that while he and his brothers enjoy golf and can play independently, it was the team aspect, and connection to his teammates and coach, that he loves – and the aspect that has propelled the Hawks to the top.
“We can play golf at a competitive level and it’s also good to connect to my teammates,” Evan said. “I love the team aspect. It’s meant a lot to me, it’s four years of my life. We’re 26-1 and I feel like (it’s because) the team has a lot of depth. Our Nos. 1-4 can all score in the 20s on any given day. If we didn’t have each other we wouldn’t win as much. I’ve had an amazing coach for the last four years. My oldest brother Nick had him one year, Andrew had him for four. He’s taught me a lot.”
With only five players teeing off on Monday (a few were missing due to illness), Hopkinton needed big performances from all of them, and Chase echoed Evan’s sentiment that “Our depth really played big for us.”
The Hawks spent the last two seasons in D-III and did well, finishing fourth at last year’s D-III championship, but a D-IV title is far from a lock. Hopkinton lost to Mascenic (21-1) in its first match of the season on Aug. 24, but avenged that loss with a victory over the Vikings on Sept. 7.
Monday’s victory was also Hopkinton’s second victory over Woodsville (18-2), while the Hawks have also beaten fourth-place Conant (22-2).
“Woodsville is pretty good,” Chase said. “They had a couple of kids out today, so they did not bring their No. 2 and No. 5. They’re legit. Conant is pretty legit. Mascenic is pretty good. There’s other schools like Gilford who have guys on any given day that are pretty good, as does Campbell. It comes down to depth. While Mascenic probably has the best golfer in the division (Josiah Hakala), we’re pretty good with Nos. 1-4 as far as consistency. It’s whatever school is hottest on that Oct. 11 day at Mount Washington.”
The top eight teams in the division (plus ties) qualify for the Oct. 11 championship, and teams like White Mountains (13-12) and Concord Christian (8-11) are also battling for the seventh and eighth spots.
“If (Hopkinton’s golfers) stay consistent like they have all season, I like our chances,” Chase said.
Hopkinton has one more regular season match remaining on Oct. 3 at Farmington prior to the championship. And if things stay consistent, as they’ve been for almost a decade, you can expect a Fairneny to be leading the way.