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Keene, NH – With warm temperatures, calm winds, and perfect conditions on their side, Lachy Barker (Ames, IA), Matt Oshrine (Baltimore, MD) Kyle Gallo (Berlin, CT) and Matt Paradis (Lincoln, NH) set the pace for the 89^th New Hampshire Open Championship field as each shot 66 (-6) on the North course at Bretwood Golf Course in the first round of the tournament.  Barker, Oshrine and Gallo benefited from being in the morning wave of golfers, while Paradis used course knowledge to his advantage, propelling all four to a tie for the lead.
 
Barker, one of the first of the day to card a 66 (-6), came into the tournament without having seen either course at Bretwood.  He said, “Sometimes it’s a blessing so I came in here with nothing to expect and just hit the shots that I know I can hit.”
 
“I was hitting shots without knowledge of potential hazards that exist and it did come back to bite me a couple of times”, continued Barker.   “I hit two balls in the water but overall, I think it allowed me to play my natural game.”
 
Although he started off slow, going par-par-bogey on his first three holes, starting on the back nine on Bretwood’s North course, he got the birdies rolling on the 13^th hole and went on to roll in two more birdie putts on his opening nine to make the turn at two-under par.  From there, he made three more birdies and was able to eagle the tricky par-5, 7^th hole to get himself to seven-under par.  A bogey on his final hole, the 9^th at Bretwood kept his score to six-under for the day, but good enough to lead the way.
 
There’s always a sense of comfort when you put up a strong score on the leaderboard, especially early on, putting pressure on the rest of the field.  Barker commented, “It’s always good to see the result.  We talk about ‘trust the process’ and it’s not always about what’s on the scoreboard but when it happens it’s always good to see.”
 
Barker is joined at the top by three additional golfers, so he’ll need to keep his momentum going as he awaits the start of the second round to be played on the South course.  One of those golfers joining him at the top is Matt Oshrine, who also came into the tournament without having seen or played the course before. 
 
“I did a good job off the tee, I hit my driver well on the holes I hit driver”, stated Oshrine following his round.  “I hit a lot of fairways and had some good wedge opportunities.  I gave myself a lot of looks, I didn’t make all the ones I wanted to.”
 
Oshrine took full advantage of the opportunities he earned for himself, making birdies on the majority of the par 5’s.  He even went bogey-free on the back nine and rolled in five birdies to shoot himself up the leaderboard in a hurry.  With the opening round under his belt, he will look to keep a similar game plan and take advantage of the opportunities he gives himself.
 
One more morning wave golfer was able to tie the lead with a 66 (-6), Kyle Gallo.  Gallo had a completely bogey-free round, beginning with a birdie on the first hole.  From there, he played steady golf, making pars where he needed to and rolled in two more birdies to make the turn at three under par.  He started his back nine similar to how he began the front nine, with a birdie.  Once again, he made two more birdies on his back nine to finish up at six-under par.
 
The only golfer in the afternoon wave that was able to tie the lead was New Hampshire native, Matt Paradis.  Paradis may have an advantage over most of the field with his course knowledge, especially on the North course where he has found success in college and even advanced to the final match of the 2017 New Hampshire Amateur Championship.
 
“I got off to a really hot start, I birdied 1 and 2 and that really got me going”, stated Paradis.
 
After those two birdies, he was able to birdie the 4^th and 6^th holes before carding his first bogey of the day on the 9^th hole.  Despite that, he made the turn at three-under par and went on to birdie his next two holes.  Anytime he made a bogey, he followed it up with two birdies to recover strong, which is what happened on 14, 15 and 16.  He missed a short birdie putt on the 17^th to try to get to seven-under but finished steady for a 66 (-6).
 
Paradis had a specific mindset coming in that worked well for him.  He said, “I told myself I was going to stay aggressive all day and that’s kind of what I did.  The ball was going where I wanted it and I made a few putts, so it all came together really well.”
 
He was one of the numerous golfers coming to the New Hampshire Open directly from the Vermont Open.  Paradis came to Bretwood off a strong final round in Vermont, carding 64 (-6) to give himself confidence heading into another championship.
 
With a packed leaderboard of nearly 40 golfers under par, the 89^th New Hampshire Open Championship will continue on Friday, June 23^rd as the field heads to the South course at Bretwood Golf Course.
 
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