Zimmerman & Zioze Share Stroke Play Lead at Five Under Par
Keene, NH – It was a great day on the course for golfers with a “Z” last name – Bryce Zimmerman and Jack Zioze share the lead in the New Hampshire Stroke Play Championship taking place on the South Course at Bretwood. Both golfers, who started their round on Bretwood South’s 10th hole, fired five-under par rounds of 67 to take a hold of the lead by just one stroke. It’s a strong field of golfers competing this week with four Stroke Play past champions in the field, along with numerous other NHGA tournament champions looking to keep their names among the leaders heading into the next round.
Bryce Zimmerman came into the tournament with low expectations for himself and just looking to have fun. He stated, “I haven’t really played any golf. My mindset was to just have fun and hopefully shoot a good score.”
He did just that. Starting out on the back nine, which can be the trickier side of the course, he got himself off to a good start with a birdie. He rolled in his second birdie putt of the day on the short par-4, 14th hole but faltered just a little bit as he went into “Jurassic Park”. He bogeyed the 15th hole, but recovered well with a good tee shot on the 17th which led to another birdie on his card. Despite a bogey on Bretwood’s 18th hole, he made the turn at one-under par.
With nine holes left, he stepped up to Bretwood South’s first hole, hit two great shots and rolled in an eagle putt to boost his confidence. Immediately following that, he made another birdie on the 2nd hole to set himself up well with seven holes left. He played steady, consistent golf and avoided the trouble areas. With one additional birdie on his card, he shot 31 (-4) on his second nine to finish his round with a 67 (-5).
“I love this place, I usually tend to play well here”, stated Zimmerman after his round. “If I can just get my pace on some of my longer putts, it’ll be a fun rest of the week.”
He sits tied for the lead after the first round of this 54-hole championship. Heading into the next round Zimmerman commented, “I’m just going to do what I did today, just go have fun and hopefully I get the pace down.”
Tied for the lead at five-under par with Zimmerman is Jack Zioze who had a very similar round to Zimmerman, including a birdie on his opening hole. Also, like Zimmerman, he birdied the 14th hole and followed it up with a bogey on the 15th. He was able to avoid a bogey on the 18th hole to make the turn at two-under par with Bretwood’s front nine in front of him.
Zioze also went bogey free on his second nine of the day, rolling in birdie putts on Bretwood’s 1st, 5th and 9th holes to card 33 (-3) on his second nine and 67 (-5) overall. It was a great day overall for Zioze, he said, “I got off the tee pretty well. My putting was good, I couldn’t get the speed down, but it was pretty wet.”
Now with 18 holes behind him, he looks ahead to the next round. When it comes to deciding on if he will change his gameplan for the next round, he commented, “It depends on conditions, if it rains a little more then I’ll go out and do it the same way. But if it firms up a little bit, I’ll probably be less attacking on the drivers because you don’t want to put yourself in bad spots.”
Zioze came into the tournament with a simple mindset, he wanted to finish inside the top 15 of the tournament to capture one of the exemptions into next year’s New Hampshire Amateur. Now that he is tied for the lead after the first round, he wants to see where his game can take him.
Jalen Rines sits just one shot back of the leaders at four-under par after a head turning six-under par front nine which included four birdies and an eagle on the par-4, 8th hole. His round continued steady on the back nine until he carded bogey on the 15th hole, just like Zimmerman and Zioke. Rines got himself back to six-under par for the round with a birdie on the 17th hole. Unfortunately, a double bogey on the 18th may replay in his head all night as it set him one stroke back of the leaders. Despite a disappointing closing hole, Rines sits in great position with 36 holes left to the competition.
With 18 holes now complete, the field looks ahead to Round 2 of the Stroke Play Championship. After the next round, the low 40 players and ties will make the cut to the final round of the competition.
NH Stroke Play Championship | Leaderboard
Bryce Zimmerman came into the tournament with low expectations for himself and just looking to have fun. He stated, “I haven’t really played any golf. My mindset was to just have fun and hopefully shoot a good score.”
He did just that. Starting out on the back nine, which can be the trickier side of the course, he got himself off to a good start with a birdie. He rolled in his second birdie putt of the day on the short par-4, 14th hole but faltered just a little bit as he went into “Jurassic Park”. He bogeyed the 15th hole, but recovered well with a good tee shot on the 17th which led to another birdie on his card. Despite a bogey on Bretwood’s 18th hole, he made the turn at one-under par.
With nine holes left, he stepped up to Bretwood South’s first hole, hit two great shots and rolled in an eagle putt to boost his confidence. Immediately following that, he made another birdie on the 2nd hole to set himself up well with seven holes left. He played steady, consistent golf and avoided the trouble areas. With one additional birdie on his card, he shot 31 (-4) on his second nine to finish his round with a 67 (-5).
“I love this place, I usually tend to play well here”, stated Zimmerman after his round. “If I can just get my pace on some of my longer putts, it’ll be a fun rest of the week.”
He sits tied for the lead after the first round of this 54-hole championship. Heading into the next round Zimmerman commented, “I’m just going to do what I did today, just go have fun and hopefully I get the pace down.”
Tied for the lead at five-under par with Zimmerman is Jack Zioze who had a very similar round to Zimmerman, including a birdie on his opening hole. Also, like Zimmerman, he birdied the 14th hole and followed it up with a bogey on the 15th. He was able to avoid a bogey on the 18th hole to make the turn at two-under par with Bretwood’s front nine in front of him.
Zioze also went bogey free on his second nine of the day, rolling in birdie putts on Bretwood’s 1st, 5th and 9th holes to card 33 (-3) on his second nine and 67 (-5) overall. It was a great day overall for Zioze, he said, “I got off the tee pretty well. My putting was good, I couldn’t get the speed down, but it was pretty wet.”
Now with 18 holes behind him, he looks ahead to the next round. When it comes to deciding on if he will change his gameplan for the next round, he commented, “It depends on conditions, if it rains a little more then I’ll go out and do it the same way. But if it firms up a little bit, I’ll probably be less attacking on the drivers because you don’t want to put yourself in bad spots.”
Zioze came into the tournament with a simple mindset, he wanted to finish inside the top 15 of the tournament to capture one of the exemptions into next year’s New Hampshire Amateur. Now that he is tied for the lead after the first round, he wants to see where his game can take him.
Jalen Rines sits just one shot back of the leaders at four-under par after a head turning six-under par front nine which included four birdies and an eagle on the par-4, 8th hole. His round continued steady on the back nine until he carded bogey on the 15th hole, just like Zimmerman and Zioke. Rines got himself back to six-under par for the round with a birdie on the 17th hole. Unfortunately, a double bogey on the 18th may replay in his head all night as it set him one stroke back of the leaders. Despite a disappointing closing hole, Rines sits in great position with 36 holes left to the competition.
With 18 holes now complete, the field looks ahead to Round 2 of the Stroke Play Championship. After the next round, the low 40 players and ties will make the cut to the final round of the competition.
NH Stroke Play Championship | Leaderboard