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Keene, NH – In a whirlwind two days where the New Hampshire Senior Championship was condensed into one day at Keene Country Club, Danny Arvanitis (Derryfield CC) was able to emerge as the New Hampshire Senior Champion, snapping the two-year win streak Phil Pleat (Nashua CC) had going. Arvanitis went 73-73 to finish the tournament at two-over par to capture the win by one stroke over Craig Steckowych (Portsmouth CC).

The rain and forecast on the first day of the New Hampshire Senior forced the tournament to just one day where competitors would tee it up for 18 holes in the morning and play the second round in the afternoon, keeping the tournament at 36 holes. Arvanitis, along with the remainder of the field, had to mentally prepare for a long day of championship caliber golf.

Despite his trouble at this year’s New Hampshire Amateur held at Abenaqui Country Club, Arvanitis felt good coming into the day knowing what was ahead of him. He said, “The pro at Derryfield gave me a long putter and the short putts now I can make, so coming in I felt very confident.”

Round one at Keene brought some pars, birdies and bogeys for Arvanitis, much like the rest of the field. Arvanitis did card one double bogey on the par-3, 8th hole at Keene but recovered well with a birdie on the 9th hole. He was able to finish up the first 18 of the day at one-over par but knew in his head he had players like Bob Mielcarz (Concord CC), Craig Steckowych, and defending champion Phil Pleat to stay ahead of.

Heading to the second nine, Steckowych had a strong front nine, making the turn at one-under par and put the pressure on Arvanitis. Steckowych ended up the second round at one-under par, but his first nine of 76 (+4) kept him at three-over par for the tournament. Keeping a close watch on the leaderboard, Steckowych was kicking himself for three-putting his last hole.

Arvanitis played more steady golf in the second round of the tournament, making birdies, pars and just a few bogeys, carding another 73 (+1) to post a two-over par total of 146. As the group waited on other top golfers from the first round to finish up, Arvanitis slowly realized he had sealed the deal when Pleat posted a pair of 74’s for the day to finish at four-over par of the tournament.

“You have to stay away from the double bogeys, I think I had one double bogey out here today, but I putted very well”, stated Arvanitis. “To beat Phil [Pleat], Steck [Steckowych], Bobby Mielcarz, it’s great.”

While Arvanitis has won the New Hampshire Amateur and New Hampshire Mid-Amateur, the New Hampshire Senior is something he has been striving for since he began competing in the tournament. He stated, “I’m 69 years old and I’ve been playing in this for 14 years. I’ve come close a few times, but it feels good. It’s something I haven’t won, so this is great and to win it is a feather in my cap.” Arvanitis’ fall season is not just filled with tournaments he competes in; he is also a high school golf coach. As he walks away with this win, Arvanitis is an inspiration to his team, and it will hopefully give them some motivation going forward in their season. He said, “Hopefully they see something positive from it.”

As Arvanitis claims first place, Craig Steckowych settles for second in a tournament where he often finds himself among the leaders but hasn’t been able to claim the championship. Steckowych did card the low round of the entire day in his second-round with a 71 (-1) but his total ended up just one shot short of Arvanitis. Eight-time New Hampshire Senior champion, Phil Pleat finished in third place, two shots back of Arvanitis.

The NHGA would like to extend a sincere thank you to the entire staff at Keene Country Club for preparing the golf course and for allowing us to complete this 36-hole championship despite the challenging weather conditions the day brought.

NH Senior | Results