A Relaxed Magarian Is Seeking To Repeat At Worcester County Amateur

After Sean Magarian won the Worcester County Amateur in 2022, he put too much pressure on himself to repeat the following year.

Magarian, 24, of Worcester learned his lesson and he plans to take a more relaxed approach when he tries to repeat this weekend after winning his second Worcester County Amateur championship last year.

The 40th Worcester County Amateur will be held at Kettle Brook Golf Club in Paxton on Saturday and at Wachusett Country Club in West Boylston on Sunday.

In 2022, Magarian shot a 5-under 67 at Kettle Brook and a 3-under 69 at Wachusett for a total of 8-under 136, five shots ahead of runner-up Ethan Whitney of Oak Hill CC in Fitchburg.

In 2023 in defense of his championship, Magarian shot 70-74-144 to tie for fourth. He fared well, but not well enough to repeat as champion.

“I was very nervous the first day defending,” he recalled, “and I put almost too much pressure on myself instead of just going out there and playing and having fun. That’s something I’ll do this year - just have more fun.”

Last year, Magarian shot a 4-under 68 in the opening round at Kettle Brook and a 7-under 65 in the final round at Wachusett. His total of 11-under 133 was six shots ahead of runner-up Sam Russell of Cranberry Valley Golf Course in Harwich. When he wins, he leaves no doubt about who the best golfer was. Russell is scheduled to return this year as well.

In the opening round at Kettle Brook last year, he sank a 10-foot bogey putt on 17.

“That was huge,” the Pleasant Valley CC member said, “because I played so well all day and if I had made double there, that would have been a real unfortunate way to end my round.” 

In the final round at Wachusett, he chipped in from 30 feet for eagle on the par-4 14th hole to more than make up for a bogey on 13.

“That kind of settled the nerves and put me in the driver’s seat,” he said.

Looking back, Magarian believes he tried too hard to make birdies and to avoid bogeys in 2023. This weekend, he plans to try to hit fairways and greens and see what happens and enjoy the moment rather than put too much pressure on himself.

“Because at the end of the day, it’s just golf,” he said.

Magarian has learned to put golf in proper perspective because since last fall he’s been working at Fidelity as a business analyst in healthcare operations. His competitive golf is limited to weekends now.

“I’ve been hitting it pretty good the last few weeks,” he said. “I’m adjusting to learning how to work full-time and balance my golf game and it’s coming along. I like where my game’s at and I feel confident.”

How does he feel about his chances of repeating as champion?

“I’m confident,” he said. “I like them. I love Kettle Brook and Wachusett so much. I grew up pretty much playing there and that’s kind of where I got into competitive golf with the start of high school. So I’m just feeling so comfortable and any time I tee it up there I feel like I can shoot a low number.”

His low round at Wachusett is an 8-under 64 and at Kettle Brook it’s a 5-under 67.

Magarian will try to become the first three-time winner of the Worcester County Amateur since Owen Quinn of Holden won three years in a row, in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

“It would be special,” he said. “The Marrones run this event extremely well and they’ve been very good to me over the years. From high school until now, they’ve been nothing but nice to me. So it would mean a lot to me. I love this event. I think it’s a ton of fun.”

Quinn was also the last golfer to repeat as champion.

“I never realized how hard it was to defend,” Magarian said, “until you do it the first time. I feel if I can learn from my past, I’ll have a good chance. It would mean a lot to show I’m capable of repeating. I’m excited for the opportunity.”

Being from Worcester, Magarian said he looks at the Worcester County Amateur as his major event.

Magarian has been a lifelong resident of Worcester, but he attended West Boylston High School as a school choice student. He was medalist at the Central Mass. championship at Blissful Meadows GC in Uxbridge as a junior and senior.

He went on to help Assumption University win the conference championship as a sophomore and junior, and he earned medalist honors at the conference championship as a senior.

After graduating from Assumption in 2024, he played a year of golf at the University of Rhode Island while earning a degree in Master of Business Administration. At URI, Magarian was named an All-American Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association. He credited his parents, Kristen and Jay, for instilling in him the drive to do well in school.

Magarian is only 5-foot-5 and 140 pounds, but he can drive the ball 275-280 yards.

“I try to use my legs when I swing from playing hockey my whole life,” he said.

At the Hornblower Memorial at Plymouth Country Club in May, he finished 13th. It was his first competitive event in quite awhile so he was pleased with how he played.

In the Walter Cosgrove Four-Ball at Green Hill Municipal Golf Course June 6-7, he and his brother Zach shared the first-round lead by carding a 9-under 63, but they closed with a 1-under 71 to finish tied for fifth.

The following week at the QuinnVitational Four-Ball at Holden Hills CC, he and Chad Bartlett finished second. They bogeyed the final hole to end up a shot behind Magarian’s brother Zach and Tim Murphy.

So what was it like losing to his brother?

“It wasn’t fun, I can tell you that for sure,” he said, “but they played great. I can’t knock them, but it definitely stung to lose to them.”

Zach, 28, worked as an assistant pro at TPC Boston for a few years, but he regained his amateur status last September. He’ll compete in the Worcester County Amateur for the first time in a while.

“We always try to compete against each other,” Magarian said, “but at the same time we want each other to play well.”

Magarian didn’t try to qualify for the Mass. Amateur or Mass. Open this year because he didn’t have the time off. He made the cut at the Mass. Open in four of the previous five years.

Last year, he played in the Northeast Amateur for the first time. He missed the cut by three shots.

“Who knows if I’ll ever play in one again,” he said, “but to get that experience was the thrill of a lifetime. The way they treat you is great.”

Magarian plans to play in the Worcester County Amateur for as long as he can, long enough to play in the senior division for golfers aged 55 and older.

“I don’t see why not,” he said. “I love it.”

A total of 96 golfers, including 11 seniors, are scheduled to tee off in the Worcester County Amateur. That’s 20 fewer golfers than last year, but director of golf and part-owner Nick Marrone said the field has more lower handicappers this year.

“The field overall is a great one,” Marrone said, “one of the better ones.”

Wes Jones, the 2023 winner, is another past champion in the Worcester County Amateur field.

Nic Gebhardt, Wachusett’s club champion the past two years, will play. The Rutland resident starred in golf at St. John’s High and will be a sophomore on the golf team at Bryant University in the fall.

Conner Willett, the 2022 Mass. Amateur champion, is one of four members of Kittansett Golf Club in Marion who are scheduled to play. The others are Ray Dennehy, a former standout golfer at St. John’s High, Lafayette and UConn, Ouimet Scholar Markus Pierre, president of the UMass club golf team, and Phillip Le Gassick, who combined with his mother Loren to capture the last two Mass Golf Mother Son championships.

Geoff Holt of Red Tail Golf Club in Devens will try to repeat as senior division champion. Past senior champ Michael Mertes of Wyckoff CC in Holyoke will also tee it up.

Sunday will mark the opening of Wachusett's new back tee box that will lengthen the par-4 14th from 294 to 318 yards.

Marrone said his late father, Don Jr., had wanted to add a back tee on 14 for a long time to play the hole the way Donald Ross designed it.

With new technology in designing golf clubs, long hitters could drive the green from 294 yards out, but from the back tee the smarter play would be to hit an iron or hybrid off the tee.

Nick Marrone’s brother, Matt, Wachusett’s superintendent, built the new tee.

Marrone’s grandfather, Don Sr. started the Worcester County Amateur at Wachusett in 1986. The Marrone family bought Kettle Brook in 2008 and the following year the first round of the tournament was moved there and the field was expanded to everyone after having been limited to Central Mass. golfers.

Next year, Wachusett will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its 1927 opening.

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—Contact Bill Doyle at bcdoyle15@charter.net.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: A relaxed Magarian is seeking to repeat at Worcester County Amateur