Groft Grabs Solo Lead of NH Mid-Amateur with Second Round Surge
Litchfield, NH – The second round of the New Hampshire Mid-Amateur Championship at Passaconaway Country Club saw a shift in the leaderboard as Harvin Groft surged to the top with a four-under par round of 67. Now sitting at five-under par for the tournament, Groft holds a six-shot lead over the next competitor as the field gets cut for the final round of the tournament. Impressively, Paul Torri tied the course’s competitive course record of 63 (-8) to jump into second place behind Groft.
Groft began the second round two shots back of Round 1 leader, Jamie Ferullo, as he fired a one-under par 70 which included some up and down moments. His second round was much different, especially on the front nine. Groft rolled in four birdie putts on the front nine alone and successfully avoided any trouble to make the turn at four-under par with a firm hold of the lead.
While Groft quickly climbed up the leaderboard, other players ran into bogey trouble with their second round and shifted down the leaderboard, opening the door for Groft to extend his lead as he headed to the back nine. He went on to make another birdie on Passaconaway’s par-3, 11th hole to get to five-under par for the day, but he had two blemishes on the back nine with bogeys on the 15th and 17th holes. With a quick rebound, Groft carded one more birdie on the 18th hole to finish up with a 67 (-4) and six-shot lead with just 18 left to play.
It takes a sense of comfort and confidence to be able to make that many birdies in a day. For Groft, he said he tried to play like he plays on his home course, The Oaks Golf Links, twith his friends. He said, “I tried to pretend I’m playing with the guys I play with in the quota game at home and make as many birdies as possible.”
“I tried to be aggressive and feel that sense of comfort at home”, continued Groft. “When I’m at home I see a wedge shot and I know I’m going to knock it close and make birdie. Sometimes in tournaments I feel like I can get into a little timidness, and I just tried to keep an aggressive mindset today.”
That mindset led him down a successful path. Aside from that, Groft credited his wedge game for the birdie opportunities he had. He stated, “When I had a wedge in my hand, I gave myself looks. I gave myself a lot of good looks, I hit good solid putts, gave them chances and they went in.”
Trying not to focus on the six-shot lead he has heading into the final round, Groft plans to keep the same mentality he had for the second round and carry it into the final round. He said, “Just go into tomorrow with the same attitude as today. Play aggressive, play my game and be confident in what I can do and grind out one hole at a time and see what the best score I can shoot is.”
Those looking to chase Groft down include Paul Torri, Rob Henley, Jim Cilley, Pat Pelletier, Jeremy Duhamel and many others. Two of those players have won the Mid-Amateur before, Henley and Cilley, and three have come close in previous years, providing they all have the ability to get to the top and should not be counted out.
Paul Torri turned some heads in the second round as he rolled in ten birdie putts in the second round alone. Aside from two bogeys on his card, Torri finished the round with two-consecutive birdies to tie Passaconaway’s competitive course record of 63 and shoot up the leaderboard into a solo-second place position. Despite Torri’s first round of 80 (+9), he is six shots back of Groft heading into the final round of play.
“It feels fantastic”, stated Torri. “Every golfer looks for a day where it all just comes together. It just felt like I was hitting everything where I wanted to and all the lines I picked were good lines.”
18 holes remain in the New Hampshire Mid-Amateur and the 41 golfers shooting 15-over par or better are advancing on in the championship to determine this year’s champion.
NH Mid-Amateur | Leaderboard
Groft began the second round two shots back of Round 1 leader, Jamie Ferullo, as he fired a one-under par 70 which included some up and down moments. His second round was much different, especially on the front nine. Groft rolled in four birdie putts on the front nine alone and successfully avoided any trouble to make the turn at four-under par with a firm hold of the lead.
While Groft quickly climbed up the leaderboard, other players ran into bogey trouble with their second round and shifted down the leaderboard, opening the door for Groft to extend his lead as he headed to the back nine. He went on to make another birdie on Passaconaway’s par-3, 11th hole to get to five-under par for the day, but he had two blemishes on the back nine with bogeys on the 15th and 17th holes. With a quick rebound, Groft carded one more birdie on the 18th hole to finish up with a 67 (-4) and six-shot lead with just 18 left to play.
It takes a sense of comfort and confidence to be able to make that many birdies in a day. For Groft, he said he tried to play like he plays on his home course, The Oaks Golf Links, twith his friends. He said, “I tried to pretend I’m playing with the guys I play with in the quota game at home and make as many birdies as possible.”
“I tried to be aggressive and feel that sense of comfort at home”, continued Groft. “When I’m at home I see a wedge shot and I know I’m going to knock it close and make birdie. Sometimes in tournaments I feel like I can get into a little timidness, and I just tried to keep an aggressive mindset today.”
That mindset led him down a successful path. Aside from that, Groft credited his wedge game for the birdie opportunities he had. He stated, “When I had a wedge in my hand, I gave myself looks. I gave myself a lot of good looks, I hit good solid putts, gave them chances and they went in.”
Trying not to focus on the six-shot lead he has heading into the final round, Groft plans to keep the same mentality he had for the second round and carry it into the final round. He said, “Just go into tomorrow with the same attitude as today. Play aggressive, play my game and be confident in what I can do and grind out one hole at a time and see what the best score I can shoot is.”
Those looking to chase Groft down include Paul Torri, Rob Henley, Jim Cilley, Pat Pelletier, Jeremy Duhamel and many others. Two of those players have won the Mid-Amateur before, Henley and Cilley, and three have come close in previous years, providing they all have the ability to get to the top and should not be counted out.
Paul Torri turned some heads in the second round as he rolled in ten birdie putts in the second round alone. Aside from two bogeys on his card, Torri finished the round with two-consecutive birdies to tie Passaconaway’s competitive course record of 63 and shoot up the leaderboard into a solo-second place position. Despite Torri’s first round of 80 (+9), he is six shots back of Groft heading into the final round of play.
“It feels fantastic”, stated Torri. “Every golfer looks for a day where it all just comes together. It just felt like I was hitting everything where I wanted to and all the lines I picked were good lines.”
18 holes remain in the New Hampshire Mid-Amateur and the 41 golfers shooting 15-over par or better are advancing on in the championship to determine this year’s champion.
NH Mid-Amateur | Leaderboard