Lynn’s Friedman impresses in WGAM Amateur Championship

Lynn golfer Tara Friedman concluded her run in the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts (WGAM) Amateur Championship with a loss to Lisa Anderson on the 15th hole in the round of 16 at Salem Country Club on Wednesday.”I had a very difficult start this morning,” said Friedman, who lost the first four holes in an eventual 4-3 defeat. “I pulled myself together and won a few holes to keep it continuing. She finished me off on the 15th hole. It was a good match. I didn’t play as well as I would have appreciated.”However, she said, “I had probably the biggest gallery there.”Her supporters included members of her family, including her parents, Wayne and Judy Johnson, and her nine-month-old niece, Morgan McGarvey. (Her husband, Ben Friedman, was unable to attend, but Tara Friedman said, “I had great support at home.”) Between 10 to 12 fellow Gannon members also attended. Most were members of the Gannon Inner Club, and Friedman said she received additional support from John Manning and her boss, Mike Foster. She said that she was “so overwhelmed” by the support.To participate in the tournament, Friedman needed to pay an entry fee of $100 and qualify with a handicap between zero and 14. (Hers is a nine, out of Gannon.) She qualified on Monday and was seeded 13th. Last year, when the tournament took place at The Country Club in Brookline, she didn’t make the cut.Before playing yesterday, she practiced in the morning.”I hit some balls and putted a little bit,” she said. “I was kind of tired.”That’s because she was playing for the fifth straight day, beginning with the first round of the Gannon club championship on Saturday and Sunday and continuing with the tournament on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. She returns to the club championship this weekend, when she faces Gina Mantino on Sunday.Friedman saluted her opponent, Anderson, of Ferncroft, calling her “a great golfer.” Anderson, who was seeded fourth, lost in the championship qualifiers later in the day to Tara Joy Connelly, 5 & 4.Today will still be busy for Friedman, in part due to an 11:30 a.m. physical therapy appointment for a strained lower back muscle, and in part for an award she will receive later in the day.”I did get some good news on the first hole,” Friedman said. “One of the people from WGAM asked, ‘Can you come back to receive an award?'”Due to Friedman’s qualifying score on Monday, she earned the lowest net score award for an individual player. This was calculated by subtracting her handicap from her score.”It just gave me another great feeling,” said Friedman, who plans to vie for a tournament spot again next year. “I know I have a good enough game to be able to hold my own with some of the great golfers in Massachusetts.”