Tara Joy-Connelly had a shining amateur career that earned her a spot in MassGolf's Hall of Fame in 2021. She is a nine-time Anne Marie Tobin MassGolf Player of the Year, including a string of six straight honors from 2005-10. She won the New England Women's Amateur in 1995 and 1996 and the 2003 and 2013 Mass. Women's Amateur. Joy-Connelly used to split her time between Florida and Massachusetts, and in 2015, she made quite an impression on the Sunshine State. She won the Florida Women's Mid-Amateur and the Women's Stroke Play Championship, which earned her Player of the Year honors from the Florida Golf Association.
Having recently turned 50, Joy-Connelly's opportunities opened up and she took advantage, as she qualified for the U.S. Women's Senior Open and the U.S. Women's Senior Amateur. On top of that, she once agains qualified for the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur. After a golf cart injury that left her nursing a serious shoulder injury for all of 2022, Joy-Connelly has happy to be back competing on the golf course again.