Wednesday was a Scorcher: Playoff & Round of 64 Provide Excitement
Bedford, NH – Before the heat of the day, 12 golfers queued up on the 10th tee at Manchester Country Club hoping to capture one of the eight remaining spots into match play of the 120th New Hampshire Amateur Championship presented by Wedü with support from Irving Energy. After three holes, the eight golfers moving on were determined and the Round of 64 got underway. With a few upsets along the way, many of the top seeds survived the first round of matches to settle into a new format moving forward.
Jim Cilley (Laconia CC), last year’s Runner-up and 2011 State Amateur Champion, breezed through his Round of 64 match against Ryan Rankins (Manchester CC), ending up as one of the first matches done in the day. Cilley came through Stroke Play qualifying with the 20 seed after firing 75-73 for a 148 (+6) total, knowing he would have to go up against the young players if he wanted a chance at it.
Cilley drew Manchester Country Club junior golfer, Ryan Rankins in the first round. He admitted that he can’t hit the ball nearly as far as he used to or as far as some of the younger golfers. He said, “Being at Laconia the last couple years with the practice facility, my wedge game and my putting has certainly improved quite a bit. I think I just have to play to my strengths.”
He did just that in his Round of 64 match, making the putts and playing to his strengths to win the match 5&4 on the 14th hole at Manchester. He now goes up against Ryan Zetterholm in the Round of 32 who also breezed through his first match to win 5&3 over Garrett Sturges.
Another golfer who has visited the final match of the New Hampshire Amateur and survived their Round of 64 match this year is Pat Pelletier. Pelletier returns to the State Amateur after a two-year hiatus and captured the 10 seed after the 36-hole stroke play qualifying. In his Round of 64, he faced Kevin Gaynor who did not make things easy on him to open up match play.
“You always want to get off to a good start in match play and I started right off and made a nice birdie putt”, stated Pelletier after the match.
While he started off well, his birdie putt on the first hole did not necessarily give him the momentum he was hoping for. The two went back and forth for much of the match and Gaynor forced the match to the 18th hole, but Pelletier was able to close it out, 1UP.
“We both played pretty solid but neither of us could get the momentum to kick in our favor”, commented Pelletier.
Pelletier will now face Bryce Zimmerman in the Round of 32, another tough competitor that will put up a strong fight. Zimmerman has confidence and momentum on his side as he got redemption over Brett Wilson in his Round of 64 match, defeating Wilson in 20 holes.
Last year, Zimmerman and Wilson met in the Round of 32, but Zimmerman bowed out losing 6&4 at Abenaqui. He was determined not to let that happen this year, especially not in the first round of match play.
“I kind of had the underdog mindset”, stated Zimmerman. “I felt like I was playing well the first two rounds, my putting was just awful. I couldn’t make anything, and my pace was terrible.”
“I worked on some putting this morning, I still didn’t feel good but I rolled in a birdie putt on 1, probably about 15 feet and I felt really good”, continued Zimmerman.
Zimmerman and Wilson exchanged holes most of the way around, but especially on the back nine. They had a four-hole stretch where they alternated who won the hole with birdies, so they were playing great golf and it was exciting for those watching. The match came down to the 18th hole and after tying the hole with bogeys, they headed to extra holes. Zimmerman closed it out on the 20th hole to advance.
Now moving on to face Pelletier, he knows he has a tough road ahead of him but he has confidence after proving to himself that he can play good golf. He said, “If I do what I did today, then I’m going to feel really confident. I’ve had a really tough year, I’ve been struggling for awhile, so maybe this is a sign for good things to come.”
Other top-seeded golfers will also be moving on to the Round of 32, including Tommy Ethier, Ryan Brown, and Will Ducharme. All three comfortably closed out their matches no later than the 15th hole at Manchester to advance. Mat Gover, the Championship’s 1 seed, had a tough match against Sam Barton. Barton was 2up at the turn, but Gover made a comeback on the back nine to win it on the 18th hole to continue his run this year.
Defending champion, Brandon Gillis is still alive in the tournament. He defeated Kurt Eddins on the 18th hole as Eddins narrowly missed holing out his chip shot from just off the green to extend the match to extra holes. Gillis is joined in the Round of 32 by other past champions, including James and Phil Pleat, Mark Stevens and Matt Burroughs. James Pleat and Mark Stevens will meet in the Round of 32, a match many will have their eyes on.
As the tournament progresses, the Round of 32 will begin at 7:30am on Thursday, July 13th with the Round of 16 to follow in the afternoon.
NH Amateur | Match Play Bracket