Bishop Brady senior Mady Savary finally captured the NHIAA girls individual golf championship after three years of being just short of the summit.
She qualified for the girls championship every year of high school. She finished fourth her first year, and the last two years she finished runner-up to Carys Fennessy and Teagan Nadeau.
This time around, Savary trailed by three strokes to Manchester Central junior Josie Lefebvre after the first round at Campbell’s Scottish Highlands on Oct. 3. This was her last shot.
Returning to her Bishop Brady home course at Beaver Meadow gave her an edge. and she made up just enough ground to win by one stroke on Saturday.
“It was honestly such a relief. It is one of the last tournaments I’ve been wanting to win in New Hampshire, and I’m so happy to finally win it my senior year,” she said.
Making up ground came down to winning on the margins. Everyone was over par for the day, with leaves scattered everywhere amid tough conditions.
Savary shot an 8-over-par 80 on Saturday, finishing at 13-over 156 for the 36-hole championship, to squeak by Lefebvre (12-over 84 on Saturday, 14-over 157 overall) in a tightly contested tournament.
Freshman Naw Whar of Winnacunnet High finished in third place at 160, tied with Pelham senior Madelyn Giampa but just ahead of her in the final tally by virtue of a lower score at Beaver Meadow.
Savary capped her high school career in New Hampshire with a cool head and calm play, something that characterized her performances over the summer . The Bishop Brady senior won the N.H. Girls Junior Amateur, the N.H. Women’s Amateur and the New England Girls Junior Amateur.
The Murray State commit said having the support of her coach, Jason Bird, along with her team, friends and family all provided a big boost on a familiar course.
“It was really about staying calm and realizing everyone would be making mistakes. The conditions were brutal, making it difficult for anyone to play exceptionally,” Savary said. “I know I just had to take it one shot at a time.”
She’s not done yet. Savary still has her sights set on the New England Interscholastic championship coming up at Mohegan Sun Golf Club in Baltic, Conn., on Monday.
As Savary ramps up for that and collegiate golf, she can at least rest easy in that she checked off all the New Hampshire boxes she wanted. It came down to the wire, but Savary proved she’s got the stuff to compete at the NCAA Division I level.
Other results
Concord’s Zach Nelson finished as the Division I runner-up with a two-stroke lead over third-place Evan Trepanier of Spaulding. Nelson’s 36-hole total score of 3-over-par 147 over was good, but it was not enough to reach Portsmouth senior Grey Gagnon, who finished at 5-under 139.
Division II was won by St. Thomas senior Ryan Allard (3-under 141). Bow senior Jacob Gancarz finished fifth at 11 over, and John Stark sophomore Connor Carson was 14th at 22 over.
Division III also had a very close race, with Kearsarge sophomore Hazen Weathers finishing as runner-up and Bishop Brady junior Chase Connor in third place behind champion Caleb Skoog of Laconia High.
Connor and Weathers entered the day with the lead, tied at even par. They were both surpassed by Skoog, a junior who shot 9 over at Beaver Meadow to finish 13-over 155. Weathers ended up at 14 over and Connor was 16 over.
Bishop Brady senior Joseph Rawnsley got his name up there, too, with a fifth-place finish at 19 over. Other local competitors included Bishop Brady senior Luke Bedard (eighth, 23-over 165), Hillsboro-Deering junior Cooper Gelinas (12th, 29-over 171), Kearsarge junior Madden Gagnon (13th, 34-over 176) and Bishop Brady senior David Cameron (16th, 39-over 181).
Hopkinton won the Division IV team championship thanks to its depth and consistency across the board, but individually the Hawks weren’t able to beat out Gorham senior Cooper Ladd (9-over 152).
Hawks senior Devin Allen tied for fifth place with a total score of 23-over 166, followed by junior teammate Beckett St. Cyr in seventh place at 28 over. Hopkinton junior Aidan Clay was 10th at 31 over, senior Coley Wells was 14th at 39 over and Chet Behner was 16th at 50 over.