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Bedford, NH – The sun came out, the wind picked up and greens got fast in the second round of the 120^th New Hampshire Amateur Championship presented by Wedü with support from Irving Energy.  Manchester Country Club saw rain all day in the first round of the tournament, but with the forecast clear, the course dried up allowing for faster green speeds but windier conditions.  Mat Gover (Atkinson Resort & CC) found success on both days, managing the rain and today’s dry, fast conditions well enough to earn medalist honors and the top seed for the championship heading into match play.
 
Gover has been on a streak of great golf this summer coming into the New Hampshire Amateur fresh off his Low Amateur finish in the New Hampshire Open at Bretwood Golf Course.  With confidence in his game, Gover was hoping to make a run this year and he’s off to a great start.  With a two-under par first round in the rain, he set himself up great to make match play as he sat at the top of the leaderboard with four other golfers to start Round 2.
 
“The challenge was the wind, it definitely picked up”, stated Gover.  “There were some holes out there where it was hard to feel the impact of it.”
 
Despite the wind, Gover was steady and consistent once again with one birdie and one bogey on his opening nine, the back nine at Manchester Country Club.  For the he nine holes that have proven to be more challenging for most, he got out of it at even par, keeping himself at two-under for the tournament.
 
He made the turn with a bogey on Manchester’s first hole but made a birdie on the par-3, 5^th hole to get one back.  He again went bogey-birdie and finished up with a 71 (Even) to stay at two-under.  Gover hung around for much of the second round, seeing if his two-under par 36-hole total would hold up.
 
Now as the field prepares to shift to match play, Gover says his mindset and game plan won’t change much at all.  He said, “My mindset is to stay within my game.  I know my length can be used as an advantage on some of these holes if I use it correctly.”
 
After making a run in the 2019 New Hampshire Amateur at Portsmouth, Gover will look to draw on that experience, play a disciplined yet aggressive game and make it far this year.  Gover will have to wait to find out who he faces in the Round of 64 as the final spots will be decided in a playoff on Wednesday morning.
 
Coming in with the 2 seed for the tournament is Ryan Brown, who was actually medalist at the 2019 New Hampshire Amateur that Gover made his run at.  Brown grew up playing Manchester Country Club, so his comfort level and knowledge of the course has played a large role in his success in these first two qualifying rounds.
 
Brown talked about how his course knowledge helped him in the stroke play rounds and should help going forward in match play saying, “I think just knowing where to land shots on the greens to get it close to some of these pins and knowing where to miss it off the tees has come in handy.”
 
Looking at his card, Brown had a near perfect round going, getting himself to two under par after 13 holes.  That two-under would have propelled him to the top of the leaderboard if it weren’t for the 17^th hole.  He said, “I only made one bad swing of the two days on 17, I blasted it OB [out of bounds] and made a triple but other than that I had no bogeys on the card today.”
 
Despite the triple bogey on the 17^th hole, he birdied the 18^th to end on a high note.  While he may be frustrated with his performance at the end, there is nothing to hang his head on here as he captured the 2 seed for match play.
 
Will Ducharme (The Golf Club of New England) quietly worked his way up the leaderboard.  After an opening round of 74 (+3), he carded a 69 (-2) in the second round to grab the 3 seed heading to match play.  Last year at Abenaqui, Ducharme advanced to the Round of 16, losing to Jim Cilley.
 
“Today I came out and said, ‘fairways and greens and see what happens’”, stated Ducharme after his round.  “I kind of did that and knocked in a couple putts which helped.”
 
Ducharme had a strong start to his day, starting on the back nine, he got to two-under par with birdies on the 11^th and 15^th holes.  Like others, he bogeyed the 16^th and 17^th holes, but rolled in another birdie on the 18^th for a one-under par turn.  After that, he made eight consecutive pars and closed out his round with a birdie for a 69 (-2).
 
Heading to match play, Ducharme looks forward to the challenges.  He said, “I enjoy match play and I don’t care if I’m the 5 seed or the 40 seed, you have to get through everyone either way.”
 
With 36 holes of stroke play qualifying now complete, the final 64 will come down to a playoff.  The 12 golfers at 13-over par will head to a playoff to determine the final eight spots into match play.  The playoff will commence at 7am on Wednesday on the 10^th hole at Manchester Country Club.
 
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