Winning the first two holes gave Isabel Brozena the confidence she could capture the 122nd Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship.
And that’s exactly what she did.
Temperatures were much cooler Friday than the first four days of the tournament at Concord Country Club. But Brozena, a North Reading native and Xavier University student, kept up her hot play by defeating Shannon Johnson, 42, of North Easton and Thorny Lea Golf Club, 2 up.
Johnson rallied to win the fifth hole, but then Brozena, representing Indian Ridge CC of Andover, captured No. 6 and 7 to take a commanding three-hole lead. Johnson put a scare into Brozena by winning No. 10 and 11 and then she won No. 15 to pull into a tie.
But Brozena was not flustered, winning 16 and 18 to end the match. After two days of stroke play, Johnson was the medalist at 6-under and Brozena was third at 3-under.
It didn’t matter because match play decided the champion, but Brozena finished with a 71 over the 18 holes, while Johnson carded a 74.
During her march to the championship, Brozena knocked off the top two seeds and ruled the 80-golfer field.
She opened with a 6-and-5 win over 30th-seeded Annie Dai of Orchards Golf Club, then defeated 19th-seeded Amanda Adams of Winchester CC, 3-and-1, sixth-seeded Kaitlyn Doe of Needham GC, 2-and-1, and second-seeded Molly Smith of Vesper CC, 3-and-2, to advance to the championship match.
Brozena added to her trophy collection. She won the Massachusetts Girls Junior Amateur and the Ouimet Memorial Tournament in 2024. Concord CC, which played over 6,000 yards, hosted the championship for the sixth time.
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