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Concord, NH – With 36 holes now complete and one round remaining, the leaderboard for each division of the New Hampshire Junior Championship at Beaver Meadow Golf Course has shifted.  Sam Maurice has now taken over control of the lead in the Boys division as he went under par in his second round, now leading by two strokes.  In the Girls division, Julianna Megan jumps into a tie for the lead with Teagan Nadeau after back-to-back 78’s to sit at 13-over par for the tournament.  With Mady Savary just one shot back, it’s going to be an exciting final round of golf.
 
Sam Maurice was one of the three golfers trailing Round 1 leader, Will Miele, by one shot after the first round of the New Hampshire Junior.  The second round was a different story for him.  Learning from his mistakes he made the day prior, he was able to improve on his score.
 
“Yesterday, I didn’t hit many greens and today I was just aiming for the center of the green and to two-putt, sometimes one-putt”, commented Maurice after his one-under par round of 70.
 
Starting off much better than the first day, he parred the opening hole, once again starting on Beaver Meadow’s back nine.  With just one bogey on the more difficult side of the course, he was able to roll in two birdie putts to make the turn at one-under par.  He continued to play some steady, consistent golf with just one bogey and one birdie on his second nine to find himself at the top of the leaderboard by two strokes.
 
Now with the lead and looking to gain redemption from this second-place finish last year, Maurice knows winning the tournament won’t be an easy task.  He said, “I have to just keep the pedal down.  There are some really good players right below me, so it’s not going to be easy.  I definitely have to shoot under par tomorrow to win.”
 
Three golfers sit two-shots back of Maurice, Nick Nowak, Josiah Hakala, and Nate Crowley.  Nowak was tied with Maurice after round one but shot one-over par in his second round to now be among the field chasing him down in the final round.
 
Nowak certainly knows how to roll in the birdie putts as he started out his day with a birdie and rolled in two more on his first nine of the day.  Unfortunately for him, he also carded three bogeys to make the turn at even-par.
 
“Yesterday I had a lot of good birdie looks, but I just wasn’t converting”, stated Nowak.  “Last night I worked on my putting for a little while, so I had some stuff figured out.  I started out hot with a couple birdies on the front which boosted my confidence.”
He went on to make the same number of birdies on the back nine, but two bogeys and one double bogey kept him from an under-par round, finishing up with a 72 (+1).  As he looks to make a run at the lead in the final round, he said, “I just have to keep the same mindset I had the last two days.  Just go in there and not be afraid to play aggressively and hopefully drops some putts.”
 
In the Girls division, Julianna Megan started out the day two shots back of Teagan Nadeau but now finds herself tied for the lead with Nadeau after another 78.  Without any birdies on her card throughout the second round, Megan was able to remain consistent as she slowly worked her way up the leaderboard.
 
For Nadeau, she ran into a few more challenges than she did in her first round that got her to the top of the leaderboard.  With a three-over par first nine at Beaver Meadow, she still found herself in the lead with nine holes left on the day.  Beaver Meadow’s front nine gave her the most trouble in the second round as she carded five bogeys, one double bogey and just one birdie to finish up with an 80 (+9), but still in a tie for the lead.
 
Not to be counted out is Mady Savary, who is just one shot back of Megan and Nadeau but has course knowledge on her side as Beaver Meadow is her home course.  Savary shot 79 (+7) in her first round and tied Megan with a 78 in the second round to be at 14-over par for the tournament, hoping to hunt down the title in the final round.
 
“I feel like my drives were overall better”, stated Savary comparing her two rounds.  “I put myself in better positions more than yesterday.”
 
Savary knows what it will take to catch the leaders and also knows what she needs to do personally to improve on her own score.  She said, “I’m going to try and get on most of the greens in regulation and not try to think too much about other players because I could get into my head.”
 
With an exciting final round ahead, the field will head back to Beaver Meadow for 18 more holes to determine this year’s New Hampshire Junior champions.
 
NH Junior | Boys Leaderboard | Girls Leaderboard