Barker Brings It Home to Capture His First NH Open Victory
Keene, NH – In a day unlike the previous two, riddled with rain and the threat of storms in the air, Lachy Barker started with a two-shot lead ahead of the final round of the 89th New Hampshire Open Championship held at Bretwood Golf Course. As the 40 players who made the cut moved back over to the North course, Barker settled right in again and was able to shoot another 67 (-5) to improve to 15-under par for the 54-hole championship and win by a margin of three to capture his first New Hampshire Open title.
Barker came to New Hampshire and to Bretwood without knowledge of either golf course, but he proved it’s not always necessary to have local knowledge to win a tournament. This time around Bretwood, however, he knew what the course was like and what to potentially avoid. He started his day strong, making birdie on the first hole of the North course to set the tone for the day. He went on to make another birdie on the 5th hole, extending his lead even further.
“Through the middle of the round, it felt a little bit rocky”, commented Barker after his win. “I made one or two bogeys, but I really came home strong and got the job done.”
With a bogey on the 9th hole, he turned around and make three straight birdies to make up for it. After 12 holes in the final round, he was already four-under par but made another bogey on the 13th hole, a tricky hole simply based on the amount of water surrounding the green. Once again, he followed it up with a birdie and carded another assurance birdie on the 17th to finish on a strong note for the win. He ended up with the 67 (-5) for the round and a total of 15-under for the tournament.
“My round today was good. It looked solid on the scorecard but maybe didn’t feel quite that way”, Barker said. Regardless, the Australia native is leaving New Hampshire with a win.
Barker’s gameplan all week has been to simply hit the shots he knows how to hit and if that works out, he will find success. He says he has been doing all along but one change to his bag may have made the different. He said, “I got a brand-new putter the day before the event started so I’m going to have to attribute it to the new putter.”
Starting the day, Barker had numerous golfers on his tail looking to make more birdies than him to overtake the lead he claimed from the first round. Brandon Berry had a very strong round, especially on the back nine where he went bogey-free, but unfortunately he came up just short with a 68 (-4) in the final round which brough him to 12-under for the tournament, three shots back.
Steven DiLisio was hanging around near the top of the leaderboard all week, having a great final round until the back nine where he ran into two bogeys. While he came up short as well at 11-under par for the tournament, he made eagle on the final hole to card a 68 (-4) in the final round, finish four shots back of Barker.
Through all the rain and adversity the final round of the championship brought, Barker persevered to come out on top. He stated, “It feels great, it doesn’t happy that often in golf, so I’ll cherish it.”
The New Hampshire Golf Association would like to thank the entire maintenance, pro shop and food and beverage staff at Bretwood Golf Course for being so accommodating the entire week of the championship. The number of compliments on the condition of both golf courses is a testament to the hard work from the entire staff! Both courses were a true test for the professionals and amateurs that came to New Hampshire to compete at a high level.
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