<\/p>\n
Kai Chiarenza of Edison accepts the winner’s trophy from New York State Golf Association director of operations Andrew Hickey after capturing the Capital Region Amateur men’s championship Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at Ballston Spa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pete Dougherty\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Louis Walsh of the host club hits a chip on the 14th hole during the final round of the Capital Region Amateur men’s championship Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at Ballston Spa. Walsh finished in second place.<\/p>\n
Pete Dougherty\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Kai Chiarenza, left, of Edison looks for the playability of his ball on the 10th hole during the final round of the Capital Region Amateur men’s championship Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at Ballston Spa. Playing partner Louis Walsh of Ballston Spa looks on.<\/p>\n
Pete Dougherty\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Kieran Cummins of Wolferts Roost watches his chip on the 10th hole during the final round of the Capital Region Amateur men’s championship Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at Ballston Spa.<\/p>\n
Pete Dougherty\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Samantha Schuffenecker of Shaker Ridge tees off on the 14th hole during the final round of the Capital Region Amateur women’s championship Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at Ballston Spa.<\/p>\n
Pete Dougherty\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Louis Walsh of the host club walks toward the hole after missing a putt during the final round of the Capital Region Amateur men’s championship Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at Ballston Spa.<\/p>\n
Pete Dougherty\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Maria Jackson of the host club watches her birdie putt miss on the 13th hole during the final round of the Capital Region Amateur women’s championship Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at Ballston Spa.<\/p>\n
Pete Dougherty\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Katlynn Smith of Rip Van Winkle watches her birdie putt go in on the 13th hole during the final round of the Capital Region Amateur women’s championship Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at Ballston Spa.<\/p>\n
Pete Dougherty\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
BALLSTON SPA\u00a0\u2014 Par golf can be enough to win a tournament, something Kai Chiarenza of Edison proved Sunday in the final round of the Capital Region Amateur Championship.<\/p>\n
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Through two rounds Chiarenza led Louis Walsh of Ballston Spa by one stroke and Kieran Cummins of Wolferts Roost by two. They were in the same grouping for the final round, and each shot even-par 71 over the 6,310-yard Ballston Spa Country Club course.<\/p>\n
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They finished where they started. Chiarenza, a recent Shenedehowa graduate who will attend Le Moyne in the fall, was the wire-to-wire winner with a 54-hole score of 7-under 206, followed by Walsh at 207 and Cummins at 208. They were six shots clear of the rest of the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to be honest,\u201d said Chiarenza, who parred 16 holes, \u201cmy attitude was try to win as many strokes as I can, but with the nerves today, knowing that there\u2019s really good players in the field, it just felt tense. Sometimes you\u2019ve got to learn to play, even with nerves going off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chiarenza clinched the victory with a difficult two-putt for par from above the 18th hole.<\/p>\n
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Kai Chiarenza of Edison hits a chip out of a hazard on the 10th hole during the final round of the Capital Region Amateur men’s championship Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at Ballston Spa. Chiarenza led wire-to-wire and took home a one-stroke victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pete Dougherty\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
Walsh, 33, the only player among the top four finishers not currently in college, moved into contention with a 6-foot birdie on 17 and had a 10-foot uphill putt on 18 to tie Chiarenza.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI just didn\u2019t give it enough gas,\u201d said Walsh, a Siena University graduate who had three birdies and three bogeys on the day. \u201cAll day, I had a hard time adjusting to the greens. They were a little slower today (because of rain) and I just couldn\u2019t figure out how to hit it hard enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cummins, a rising sophomore at Fordham, had two early birdies to catch Chiarenza but finished with bogeys on the final two holes to finish third.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pretty aware,\u201d Chiarenza said. \u201cI didn\u2019t look at the scoreboard too much. I made sure to stay focused on my game and take every shot, just step-by-step, shot-by-shot, and never get too far ahead of myself and see good shots out there. That\u2019s what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A two-time medalist in the Section 2 Class A tournament, Chiarenza didn\u2019t show many nerves the first two days, shooting rounds of 67 and 68. He had two eagles and three birdies Friday, then started his Saturday around with three straight birdies and later added another eagle.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have all the scar tissue that some of us have,\u201d Walsh said with a laugh, \u201cbut he\u2019s got a really nice game. He kept his composure. Really impressive young man.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Tekla Fine-Lease, a Queensbury High graduate from Essex, accepts the winner’s trophy from New York State Golf Association director of operations Andrew Hickey after capturing the Capital Region Amateur women’s championship Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at Ballston Spa.<\/p>\n
Pete Dougherty\/For the Times Union<\/p>\n
In the women\u2019s championship, Tekla Fine-Lease emerged from the pack with a 4-under-par 70 in the final round to take a four-stroke victory over Maria Jackson of Ballston Spa.<\/p>\n
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Runner-up the past two years, Fine-Lease, a Queensbury graduate who will be a junior at Quinnipiac, had seven birdies in her final round to finish at 4-over 226.<\/p>\n
She started her second round Saturday with six birdies and an eagle on the first 10 holes but wound up giving all of those strokes back over the final seven holes to shoot 75.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never been 8-under (in) my life,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s just a new feeling that you have to figure out how to deal with. My swing is good. My game is good. I just wasn\u2019t there mentally.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what happened on the last couple of holes, but then I found myself. I birdied the first three today, so I was, like, OK, I think I\u2019m going to be in the same position again. I just tried to take it shot by shot and started to do some deep breathing and figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Capital Region Amateur Championship scores<\/p>\n
Men<\/p>\n
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Women<\/p>\n