The Youthful Nature of Chasing the Sun

+ News, Notes, and weekly favorites

Author

Sean Melia
July 25, 2025

Hey Everyone,

We got out of the city and our kitchen renovation this week. A few days in the suburbs and then a bit of time on Nantucket.

I got to play a round at Miacomet and crushed a twilight round. More on that below.

News and Notes

Pro Golf

🏌️‍♀️ In the Women’s Scottish Open, Megan Khang shot 70 (-2) and Alexa Pano shot 75 (+3) on Thursday. Live Scoring

🔨 Michael Thorbjornsen struggled in the 3M Open on Thursday. He shot 76 (+5) and has plenty of work to do to make the cut. Live Scoring

🇨🇦 Chris Francoeur shot an opening round 70 in the Ottawa Open on the PGA Tour Americas. He is very much in the hunt to earn Korn Ferry status. He is 12th in the Fortinet Cup standings and the top 10 earn full status. Live Scoring

🌽 Davis Chatfield leads the NV5 Invitational on the Korn Ferry Tour. There’s a very real world where he is on the PGA Tour in 2026. Live Scoring

Amateur Golf

🏌️ Ouimet Memorial is heading into the final round after two rounds at Wollaston GC. The final round will be at Woodland GC. Live Scoring and a MassGolf recap

🏌️ Championship Division

🏌️ Lowery Division (Seniors)

🏌️‍♀️ Women’s Division

⛳️ The Monroe Invitational will cut the field to the top 45 and ties after Friday’s third round. Three Bay State golfers are in the field and need strong Fridays to stick around. Live Scoring

🇺🇸 Jack Carew, Lukas Schleyer, and AJ Bodnar all competed in the U.S. Junior Am last week. They each missed qualifying for match play.  Live Scoring

Plugs

I played Woodland GC last week. I recorded a bunch of footage from the day. Here it is. 👇️ 

The Youthful Nature of Chasing the Sun

Certain things remind me of playing golf as a junior. This week, as I raced around the back nine at Miacomet GC, a lot of that nostalgia came rushing back. I was carrying my clubs (a rarity these days) after teeing off at 5:21 p.m and paying the $125 twilight rate. I made the turn at 7:11. My two playing partners, rising NYU freshman, headed home after nine holes.

The back nine stretched out ahead of me, and so did the shadows.

About an hour later, I was walking up the 18th hole with a kind couple who invited me to play the final hole with them. The sun had dipped well below the horizon. A peach colored sky remained, but it disguised the golf ball after 25 yards of flight, and it hid the green and flagstick, too. The large clubhouse lights led us home.

In that hour alone on the back nine, I found myself hunting for yardage markers in the fairway. I paced off numbers to the middle of the green, my clubs clanging on my back. My half-set forced me to hit different types of shots. I walked up to the ball on the green, took a quick look, and rolled it along the well-groomed (and speedy) surfaces. I listened for the ball to land on those final few holes, unsure of where it was flying, using feel and 30 years of playing this game to figure out where it might have gone.

The front nine, played in the golden hour, with the heather (fescue?) waving in the breeze was a time for scoring and trying to hit the appropriate shots.

But that back nine was all about getting 18 holes in the books like I used to do as a kid.

When the round was done, I had to do one more thing I used to do as a kid - wait for my ride.

Back then, it was my mom who would collect me after a full day of golf at Maynard CC. I’d call her from the clubhouse payphone and then kill those last few minutes on the putting green, lit by the clubhouse lights. This time, though, I waited dutifully for my Uber.

My mom would probably always give me a five-star review, even if I made her wait a few minutes in the parking lot. But I couldn’t risk it with a stranger in an Uber…

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When I’m not golfing…

I’m reading…

📖 I finished James this week.

I’m listening to…

I’m eating… Nantucket Edition

🦀 The Blue Crab Fried Rice and Fried Oyster Tacos at Nautilus on Nantucket are exceptional.

🥪 The breakfast sandwich at Born and Bread

🌮 The birria tacos at Surfside

I’m watching…

🛳️ Amy Bradley is Missing is a riveting documentary on Netflix

Know someone who might enjoy this newsletter… send it along to them!

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