MacQueen, Reichert, and Pastore Share NH Open Lead with Trio of 64's
Greenland, NH – Ideal temperatures and conditions at Breakfast Hill Golf Club led to low scores in the opening round of the New Hampshire Open Championship presented by Michelob Ultra. Without a bogey on their cards, Dylan MacQueen (Palm Harbor, FL), Ben Reichert (Buffalo, NY) and Paul Pastore (Stamford, CT) carded six birdies each to post a 64 (-6) and tie for the lead after Round 1 of the championship.
MacQueen, who started on the front having only seen about three holes at Breakfast Hill prior to his first round, got off to a steady start, making par on his first four holes. From there, he birdied the next three holes and closed out his front nine with another birdie taking the lead early on.
“I got off to a nice start, pretty steady with a couple pars”, commented MacQueen following his round. “I kind of went on a good stretch and made three birdies in a row. I had a fun shot on nine where it flew in the cup and just bounced out, and it was nice to make the turn at four-under.”
With two more birdies on the back nine and avoiding any blemishes on his card, MacQueen turned in a confident 64 (-6). The 64 is even more impressive since he has not played Breakfast Hill before. With that in mind, MacQueen talked about his game plan and mindset coming into the day saying, “It’s probably a little more conservative. With the course being in good shape and with everything being right in front of you, it was nice to hit a lot of irons off the tee and put yourself in the fairway.”
“With a lot of wedges in your hand, you can make a lot of birdies”, continued MacQueen.
There is still plenty of golf left to be played, but MacQueen’s gameplan won’t change. He said, “It’s pretty similar. What works well today is probably going to work again the next couple of days. Just stick to the same game plan, hit the fairways, hit the greens, and make as many putts as you can.”
The top four players in the tournament have yet to make a bogey. Included in those players is Ben Reichert who is tied with Dylan MacQueen in the lead with a 64 (-6). Reichert went out in the afternoon wave and faced windier conditions than the morning group of golfers, but still managed to roll in the birdie putts.
Fortunately for Reichert, he was able to see the golf course before playing it today, so he had a slight advantage over MacQueen in that respect. He commented, “Once I got out there, I saw there were a few tees moved up. With the wind it was playing it a little long, but I knew there was definitely a number out there.”
Having played about eight of the last ten week in tournament, Reichert feels his game is getting to be right where he wants it. He stated, “I think I’ve been knocking on the door a little bit. I haven’t had a day where everything pieced together but today was close to that.”
The key to being successful in a tournament like this with a large number of good, competitive golfers is being able to string together multiple strong rounds. The leaders will need to do just that in order to stay in contention for the remainder of the tournament.
For Reichert, his gameplan for the next round is similar to that of MacQueen’s. He said, “It probably won’t change until the back nine on Saturday. I will just try to make as many birdies as I can and take them where I can get them.”
Paul Pastore, the younger brother of David Pastore, 2017 New Hampshire Open Champion, had a breakthrough round of his own, shooting 30 (-5) on the back nine alone. He began the day on the first hole at Breakfast Hill with a one-under par front nine but turned on the jets on the back.
“I actually never played the golf course before, so it was kind of just go in blind”, stated Pastore after his round. “I hit a lot of good wedge shots and made some putts, usually it adds up to a couple birdies.”
Those wedge shots on the back nine certainly led to birdies as he made five birdies in six holes on the back nine and charged up the leaderboard. He did so in impressive fashion as he also had not seen the course prior to his round today.
“I think it actually helps sometimes, depending on the golf course”, commented Pastore about coming into a tournament and not having played the course before. “I choose a club and stay committed. Sometimes if I play the golf course, I choose a club and think too much.”
It benefitted him today and he will hope to be just as fortunate in Round 2 of the tournament with numerous talented golfers right around him on the leaderboard.
Ryan Siegler (Baltimore, MD) also posted a bogey-free round and ended the day just one shot back of the two leaders. Siegler’s highlight came when he made eagle on the par-5, 5th hole, a narrow hole from tee to green, making tee shot placement important for a chance at the green in two.
As for the amateur in the competition, Colin Andrade (Sandwich, MA), Stephen Ramos (Danville, NH), and Jack Tegan (Northborough, MA) lead the race towards low amateur honors. All three players shot even-par, 70 out at Breakfast Hill in the opening round. They were up and down making multiple birdies on each of their cards, but a few hiccups along the way kept them from post a red number on the leaderboard.
The New Hampshire Open Championship presented by Michelob Ultra will continue on Friday, June 24th at 7:30AM
MacQueen, who started on the front having only seen about three holes at Breakfast Hill prior to his first round, got off to a steady start, making par on his first four holes. From there, he birdied the next three holes and closed out his front nine with another birdie taking the lead early on.
“I got off to a nice start, pretty steady with a couple pars”, commented MacQueen following his round. “I kind of went on a good stretch and made three birdies in a row. I had a fun shot on nine where it flew in the cup and just bounced out, and it was nice to make the turn at four-under.”
With two more birdies on the back nine and avoiding any blemishes on his card, MacQueen turned in a confident 64 (-6). The 64 is even more impressive since he has not played Breakfast Hill before. With that in mind, MacQueen talked about his game plan and mindset coming into the day saying, “It’s probably a little more conservative. With the course being in good shape and with everything being right in front of you, it was nice to hit a lot of irons off the tee and put yourself in the fairway.”
“With a lot of wedges in your hand, you can make a lot of birdies”, continued MacQueen.
There is still plenty of golf left to be played, but MacQueen’s gameplan won’t change. He said, “It’s pretty similar. What works well today is probably going to work again the next couple of days. Just stick to the same game plan, hit the fairways, hit the greens, and make as many putts as you can.”
The top four players in the tournament have yet to make a bogey. Included in those players is Ben Reichert who is tied with Dylan MacQueen in the lead with a 64 (-6). Reichert went out in the afternoon wave and faced windier conditions than the morning group of golfers, but still managed to roll in the birdie putts.
Fortunately for Reichert, he was able to see the golf course before playing it today, so he had a slight advantage over MacQueen in that respect. He commented, “Once I got out there, I saw there were a few tees moved up. With the wind it was playing it a little long, but I knew there was definitely a number out there.”
Having played about eight of the last ten week in tournament, Reichert feels his game is getting to be right where he wants it. He stated, “I think I’ve been knocking on the door a little bit. I haven’t had a day where everything pieced together but today was close to that.”
The key to being successful in a tournament like this with a large number of good, competitive golfers is being able to string together multiple strong rounds. The leaders will need to do just that in order to stay in contention for the remainder of the tournament.
For Reichert, his gameplan for the next round is similar to that of MacQueen’s. He said, “It probably won’t change until the back nine on Saturday. I will just try to make as many birdies as I can and take them where I can get them.”
Paul Pastore, the younger brother of David Pastore, 2017 New Hampshire Open Champion, had a breakthrough round of his own, shooting 30 (-5) on the back nine alone. He began the day on the first hole at Breakfast Hill with a one-under par front nine but turned on the jets on the back.
“I actually never played the golf course before, so it was kind of just go in blind”, stated Pastore after his round. “I hit a lot of good wedge shots and made some putts, usually it adds up to a couple birdies.”
Those wedge shots on the back nine certainly led to birdies as he made five birdies in six holes on the back nine and charged up the leaderboard. He did so in impressive fashion as he also had not seen the course prior to his round today.
“I think it actually helps sometimes, depending on the golf course”, commented Pastore about coming into a tournament and not having played the course before. “I choose a club and stay committed. Sometimes if I play the golf course, I choose a club and think too much.”
It benefitted him today and he will hope to be just as fortunate in Round 2 of the tournament with numerous talented golfers right around him on the leaderboard.
Ryan Siegler (Baltimore, MD) also posted a bogey-free round and ended the day just one shot back of the two leaders. Siegler’s highlight came when he made eagle on the par-5, 5th hole, a narrow hole from tee to green, making tee shot placement important for a chance at the green in two.
As for the amateur in the competition, Colin Andrade (Sandwich, MA), Stephen Ramos (Danville, NH), and Jack Tegan (Northborough, MA) lead the race towards low amateur honors. All three players shot even-par, 70 out at Breakfast Hill in the opening round. They were up and down making multiple birdies on each of their cards, but a few hiccups along the way kept them from post a red number on the leaderboard.
The New Hampshire Open Championship presented by Michelob Ultra will continue on Friday, June 24th at 7:30AM