Surprenant & Burke Surge Up Stroke Play Leaderboard to Lead Heading into Final Round
Keene, NH – With a shift in the leaderboard, two different golfers have emerged as leaders after the second round of the New Hampshire Stroke Play Championship being held at Bretwood Golf Course. Andrew Surprenant and Jeremy Burke took slightly different paths, but both led to the top of the leaderboard as they sit at four-under par after 36 holes of play. Surprenant shot a pair of two-under par rounds while Burke climbed to the top with a five-under par second round. The two now lead by one stroke as the field gets cut for the final round of the Stroke Play Championship.
Andrew Surprenant, has stayed steady and consistent across both rounds and has truly taken advantage of the front nine on Bretwood’s South Course, scoring five-under par on just those nine holes across both days. Today, he carded just one bogey, on the par-3, 16th hole but rolled in three birdies to finish his round at two-under with a share of the lead.
“The front nine was my scoring nine, I was three under yesterday and two under today”, stated Surprenant after his round. “The back nine you can get away with even par being good. Yesterday I had a few three putts and today I didn’t so, eliminating the bogeys out there has been huge.”
Surprenant has been one of the more consistent golfers in this field this week and has been having a strong summer of golf. He won the New Hampshire Boys Junior Championship last month which earned him a spot into the field of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. Coming into the tournament this week, it is evident that he is feeling good about his game. He said, “I’m feeling pretty confident.”
“Here’s it’s just about getting off the tee because it’s a pretty short course all around so getting off the tee has been huge for me”, continued Surprenant. “I haven’t put myself in any trouble, so going into tomorrow I’m feeling confident.”
Joining Surprenant in the last pairing of the final round is Jeremy Burke who surged up the leaderboard with one of the low rounds of the day, five-under par, 67. Burke’s first round did not find the red numbers -- he sat at one-over par, 73 as he ran into bogey trouble on Bretwood’s back nine. However, the second round was a different story for him.
Burke started his second round carded two-consecutive birdies to boost his confidence on the more challenging nine holes of the golf course. From there, he rolled in the necessary par putts until he stumbled a little on the 17th hole, settling for bogey. From then on, he went bogey free and rolled in four important birdie putts on Bretwood South’s front nine to project himself up the leaderboard into a tie for the lead with Surprenant.
“I didn’t hit anything really close but I made a lot of putts so that was helpful shooting four-under on my back nine”, commented Burke.
It’s clear that his putter was cooperating today as he made five birdies along the way. But in order to put up a five-under par round, other parts of your game must be working well. Burke said, “I’m hitting a lot of my tee shots straight, that’s been really helpful. Other than that, my irons are going pretty straight.”
Heading into the final round with his name at the top of the leaderboard, Burke has certain goals in mind for himself. He said, “Stay in it, keep making pars, give myself birdie putts, maybe have some wedges get closer tomorrow and make some birdies to see if I can go under.”
Burke was not the only golfer to go low in the second round, Damon Salo also carded a five-under par round of 67 to move up the leaderboard, one shot back of the leaders alongside two other competitors, Mat Gover and Pat Pelletier. Salo’s first round of 74 (+2) set him back a little compared to the leaders, but he worked his way up with one eagle, four birdies and just one bogey.
“I was four under through three and then I plateaued from there”, stated Salo. “I made a bunch of pars, and I threw in a bogey. Going into my back nine, I made eight pars in a row and then birdied the last hole, so it was good.”
While he credits his putter for a lot of his success, he also said, “Off the tee I was keeping it safe but I wasn’t really striking the driver very well.”
Now, with 18 holes left in the competition, he looks to keep Surprenant and Burke in his sights as he looks to hunt down the title. With a calm demeanor he stated, “I’m just going to try to hit a bunch of greens tomorrow and try to make as many putts as I can.”
The field has been cut for the final round – those able to shoot 10-over par or better are advancing on to the third round of the Stroke Play Championship to determine this year’s champion.
NH Stroke Play Championship | Leaderboard
Andrew Surprenant, has stayed steady and consistent across both rounds and has truly taken advantage of the front nine on Bretwood’s South Course, scoring five-under par on just those nine holes across both days. Today, he carded just one bogey, on the par-3, 16th hole but rolled in three birdies to finish his round at two-under with a share of the lead.
“The front nine was my scoring nine, I was three under yesterday and two under today”, stated Surprenant after his round. “The back nine you can get away with even par being good. Yesterday I had a few three putts and today I didn’t so, eliminating the bogeys out there has been huge.”
Surprenant has been one of the more consistent golfers in this field this week and has been having a strong summer of golf. He won the New Hampshire Boys Junior Championship last month which earned him a spot into the field of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. Coming into the tournament this week, it is evident that he is feeling good about his game. He said, “I’m feeling pretty confident.”
“Here’s it’s just about getting off the tee because it’s a pretty short course all around so getting off the tee has been huge for me”, continued Surprenant. “I haven’t put myself in any trouble, so going into tomorrow I’m feeling confident.”
Joining Surprenant in the last pairing of the final round is Jeremy Burke who surged up the leaderboard with one of the low rounds of the day, five-under par, 67. Burke’s first round did not find the red numbers -- he sat at one-over par, 73 as he ran into bogey trouble on Bretwood’s back nine. However, the second round was a different story for him.
Burke started his second round carded two-consecutive birdies to boost his confidence on the more challenging nine holes of the golf course. From there, he rolled in the necessary par putts until he stumbled a little on the 17th hole, settling for bogey. From then on, he went bogey free and rolled in four important birdie putts on Bretwood South’s front nine to project himself up the leaderboard into a tie for the lead with Surprenant.
“I didn’t hit anything really close but I made a lot of putts so that was helpful shooting four-under on my back nine”, commented Burke.
It’s clear that his putter was cooperating today as he made five birdies along the way. But in order to put up a five-under par round, other parts of your game must be working well. Burke said, “I’m hitting a lot of my tee shots straight, that’s been really helpful. Other than that, my irons are going pretty straight.”
Heading into the final round with his name at the top of the leaderboard, Burke has certain goals in mind for himself. He said, “Stay in it, keep making pars, give myself birdie putts, maybe have some wedges get closer tomorrow and make some birdies to see if I can go under.”
Burke was not the only golfer to go low in the second round, Damon Salo also carded a five-under par round of 67 to move up the leaderboard, one shot back of the leaders alongside two other competitors, Mat Gover and Pat Pelletier. Salo’s first round of 74 (+2) set him back a little compared to the leaders, but he worked his way up with one eagle, four birdies and just one bogey.
“I was four under through three and then I plateaued from there”, stated Salo. “I made a bunch of pars, and I threw in a bogey. Going into my back nine, I made eight pars in a row and then birdied the last hole, so it was good.”
While he credits his putter for a lot of his success, he also said, “Off the tee I was keeping it safe but I wasn’t really striking the driver very well.”
Now, with 18 holes left in the competition, he looks to keep Surprenant and Burke in his sights as he looks to hunt down the title. With a calm demeanor he stated, “I’m just going to try to hit a bunch of greens tomorrow and try to make as many putts as I can.”
The field has been cut for the final round – those able to shoot 10-over par or better are advancing on to the third round of the Stroke Play Championship to determine this year’s champion.
NH Stroke Play Championship | Leaderboard