Leaderboard tight after Round 1 of 92nd Mass. Girls Junior Amateur at Crumpin-Fox

BERNARDSTON — The 92nd Massachusetts Girls Junior Amateur Championship got underway Monday at Crumpin-Fox Club, with Granby’s Ryley Regan, representing Orchards Golf Club, putting herself in a good position heading into the second day of the tournament.

Regan — who attends Hopkins Academy where she plays on the golf team — was in the first group to hit the links on Monday and started out hot, scoring birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 to ultimately card an even-par 36 in the front nine.

A few holes set Regan back on the back nine but she still finished the day with a 5-over 77 which placed her ninth overall heading into the second round on Tuesday.

While Regan is from the area, she had only played CFC twice going into Monday and had to learn the course like everyone else.

“I did a practice round here [Sunday] but have [only] played here one other time,” Regan said. “It went OK out there. I had a great front nine at even par but struggled a little bit on the back.”

The top 16 scorers after the two rounds advance to match play. The Round of 16 and quarterfinals are set for Wednesday before the semifinals and finals follow on Thursday.

There were 35 golfers competing with Regan in the Championship Division on Monday, and just three — Blue Hill Country Club’s Lillian Guleserian, MIAA student member Lucy Wang and Needham Kaitlyn Doe — managed to break par.

Guleserian enters the second round with the low score of a 2-under 70. Wang sits in second with a 1-under 71 while Doe shot an even 72.

“It’s a tough course,” Regan said. “It’s tight and definitely has tricky greens.”

Going into the second day of the tournament, Regan understands she’ll need to bring her best to assure a spot in match play. After the opening round, Country Club of Pittsfield’s Madelyn Vetri, Youth on Course’s Cincy Cao and MIAA student member Champa Visetsin are holding the final three spots, locked in a tie for 14th with scores of 7-over 79.

Four golfers are in a tie for 17th with scores of 8-over 80 so it should be a tight race on Tuesday to see who can clinch those final match play spots.

“It is a great event,” Regan said. “I’m super excited I get to come here and play in it. I’m excited to see how it goes tomorrow. I just want to keep the ball in play, play some solid golf and try to make up a few strokes.”

Three players who are in good shape heading into Tuesday are Erika Redmond, Sophie Redmond and Maddie Smith. Redmond was the MIAA state champion on the girls side this past spring representing Concord Carlisle. Her sister, Sophie Redmond, took second while Smith, playing for Westford Academy, came in third.

That championship experience showed on Monday.

Erika Redmond played an even 36 on the back nine to finish with a 3-over 75, putting her in a tie for sixth after Day 1.

“It went well,” Redmond said. “I played here [Sunday] in a practice round for the first time. It went about how I expected.”

For Redmond, it was all about figuring out the course on Monday. Now, she has a game plan going into Tuesday which she plans to execute.

“I’m hoping to stay consistent and have accurate shots,” Redmond said. “Getting greens in regulation is important on this course. If you hit them in the right spot, they’re not too bad.”

Sophie Redmond and Smith finished in a tie for fourth after each carded rounds of 73. Sophie Redmond was 1-over on the front nine and even on the back nine while Smith was 2-over on the front nine and one under on the back nine.

“It went about as I expected,” Smith said. “A few bumps but that’s OK.”

The first group will take the course at 8 a.m. on Tuesday while the last group is set to begin their round at 10:48 a.m.