News

Concord, NH – The first round of matches in this year’s Match Play Championships began as golfers took to Beaver Meadow Golf Course for a shift in format.  On this perfect spring day, many of the top seeds prevailed in the Mid-Amateur and Senior divisions, with a couple upsets along the way.  Jalen Rines made easy work of his first match, winning 8&7 over Mike Cole to advance as the #1 seed in the Mid-Amateur division.  On the Senior side, five-time champion Craig Steckowych is moving on with a 7&6 win over Ben Groft.  The Women’s Championship Flight will begin their first round of matches in July at Bretwood Golf Course.
 
Mid-Amateur Match Play
Top seeded Jalen Rines closed out his Round of 16 match against Mike Cole on the 11^th hole at Beaver Meadow, winning 8&7.  Rines got up early in the match and never looked back.  He now moves on to face the #8 seed Ricky Dichard who won this tournament in 2021.  Dichard finds himself in the Quarterfinals after defeating Jim Tokanel 3&2.
 
Ross Oberg and Matt Moore, the 2 and 3 seeds respectively, are also moving forward to the next round of matches, closing out their matches on the 16^th hole of Beaver Meadow.  Oberg went up against Hugo Schieck, winning 3&2.  Matt Moore faced Justin Fogarty and won the 16^th hole of the match to claim the win 4&2.  Oberg will face Justin Jumper in the Quarterfinals, who defeated Aaron Loring 5&4.  Moore goes up against Derek Dinwoodie who won his match 5&3 over Jeffrey Sovis.
 
There was one upset all day where Eric Emeneau, the 13 seed, defeated Jack Kelley, the 4 seed, 2&1.  Emeneau knew he was up against a challenging competitor who advanced far into the New Hampshire Amateur last year.  However, Emeneau brought a strong game to Beaver Meadow, closing it out on the 17^th hole to advance on and play Harvin Groft in the Quarterfinals.  Groft finds himself in the next round with a 4&3 win over Jaxson Roenick.
 
Mid-Amateur Match Play  |  Bracket
 
Senior Match Play
While there were close matches, there were no upsets in the Senior division of the Match Play Championships.  Instead, the top eight seeds are moving on to the Quarterfinals being played at Bretwood Golf Course.  Among the top eight is five-time Senior Match Play Champion, Craig Steckowych.  He faced Ben Groft in the Round of 16, closing it out early on the 12^th hole, winning 7&6.
 
Two matches needed extra holes, including the Peter Keilty and Mike Blair match.  Keilty was 1up on the 18^th hole, but Blair drained his birdie putt to force extra holes.  They ended up needing 22 holes to decide the match where Keily was able to advance on as the 2 seed in the bracket.  Scott Doughty and John Mumford also went into extra holes to decide their match where Doughty came out on top in 19 holes.  Keily will face Bob Mielcarz in the next match, who defeated Bill Everett 2&1.  Doughty will go up against Danny Arvanitis who won 4&3 over Steve Thompson.
 
Senior Match Play Bracket  |  Bracket
 
The next round of matches will be played at Bretwood Golf Course on July 23^rd.