Christmas 8—EVERYTHING you need to know about this week’s New Hampshire Golf Association Amateur Championship, which is scheduled to be played Monday through Saturday at Manchester Country Club:
The event: The State Am is the crown jewel of the NHGA calendar, and is open to male amateur players with a handicap index limit less than 12.0. This will be the 120th playing of the event.
The course: Donald Ross designed the Manchester Country Club course, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. It’s a 6,856-yard, par-71 layout with one par-5 on the back nine. Those familiar with Manchester will tell you the course places a premium on accuracy — more than length — off the tee, and finding fairways will be a key to scoring well during the tournament. This is the 15th time the State Am will be played at Manchester, and the first time it’s been held there since 2005. Craig Cyr, who is now living in Texas, won the 2005 championship.
The field: There will be a maximum number of 156 players in the field. Some players, like past champions, are exempt. Others had to play their way into the field via an NHGA qualifier. This year’s field includes 11 past champions: Dan Arvanitis (Derryfield CC), Matt Burroughs (Concord CC), Jim Cilley (Laconia), Brandon Gillis (Sky Meadow CC), Jared LaMothe (Portsmouth CC), Nick MacDonald (Lake Sunapee), Bob Mielcarz (Concord), James Pleat (Nashua CC), Phil Pleat (Nashua CC), Craig Steckowych (Portsmouth CC) and Mark Stevens (Beaver Meadow GC).
The format: The State Am features two rounds of stroke play, after which the tournament shifts to a match-play format.
The field will be trimmed to the low 64 scores following the second round of stroke play.
The schedule:
—Monday (18 holes of stroke play)
—Tuesday (18 holes of stroke play)
—Wednesday (Round of 64/match play)
—Thursday (Rounds of 32 and 16/match play)
—Friday (Quarterfinal and semifinal rounds/match play)
—Saturday (Final match/36 holes of match play)
The playoff: If a playoff is needed to determine the field for match play, it will be held Wednesday morning. In past years, the playoff has typically been held at the conclusion of play Tuesday night.
The tee times: Tee times and updated scores will be available on the NHGA web site: www.nhgolfassociation.org. Also, Monday’s tee times are listed on today’s Scoreboard, Page C2.
The defending champion: Brandon Gillis beat Jim Cilley, 3 and 1, in last year’s final match at Abenaqui Country Club. It was the first State Am championship for Gillis, who was the runner-up in 2021.
The Ty Abate award: Named after the former Union Leader sportswriter, the Ty Abate Award goes to the golfer 19 and under who shoots the lowest score during the stroke-play portion of the State Am. The winner will be recognized at The Leaders sports banquet, an annual event that honors youth, high school, college and other amateur athletes from New Hampshire.
The favorite. Brandon Gillis has to be on the short list. He’s coming off a strong senior season at the University of Rhode Island, won the Lowell City Tournament last month and seems to thrive in match play. Cilley and James Pleat would also have to be in the conversation. Others to consider: Ryan Brown (Passaconaway), Harvin Groft (Candia Oaks), Ryan Kohler (Hooper), Patrick Pelletier (Hanover), James Pleat (Nashua) and Brett Wilson (Golf Club of New England).
“How you drive the ball there will be a key factor,” Gillis said. “You have to put yourself in position to hit your second shot from a good spot. I know they’ve made some recent changes to the course, so I’m sure it will be a good test. Looking forward to defending my title. “
Suprenant prevails
Boscawen’s Andrew Suprenant won the NHGA Junior Stroke Play Championship by shooting a 2-under-par 142 at Stonebridge Country Club. Suprenant opened the tournament with a 69 on Thursday, and followed that up with a 73 on Friday. Auburn’s Sam Maurice was second (73-76-149) and Danville’s Stephen Ramos (78-74-152) and Bedford’s Wade Thompson (74-78) tied for third.
Rules question
Question: True or False? In match play, there are only two ways a player can win a match: The player leads the opponent by more holes than remain to be played, or the opponent concedes the match.
Answer: False. A player wins a match when:
a) The player leads the opponent by more holes than remain to be played.
b) The opponent concedes the match.
c) The opponent is disqualified.
Source: Rule 3.2a(3).
New Hampshire Golf Calendar
July 9: Live Free Golf Event (Loudon)
July 10-15: 120th NH Amateur Championship (Manchester)
July 16: Mixed (Loudon)
July 16: Live Free Golf Event (Candia Woods)
July 17: Parent-Child Championship (Stonebridge)
July 18-20: NEGA Amateur (The Woodlands, Falmouth, Maine)
July 19-21: Junior Championship (Beaver Meadow)
July 19: Senior Legend Classic (Lochmere)
July 21: Women’s Weekly Combined (Newport)
July 23-24: Senior Team (Mount Washington)
July 30: Live Free Golf Event (Nippo Lake)
July 31-Aug. 2: Women’s Amateur Championship (Montcalm)
Aug. 7-9: NEGA Junior Amateur (Mt. Washington Resort)
Aug. 8: Women’s Weekly Combined (Pease)
Aug. 8-10: Stroke Play Championship (Ridgewood/Atkinson Resort)
Aug. 12: Live Free Golf Event (Souhegan Woods)
Aug. 15-16: Women’s Mid-Amateur (Ridgewood)
Aug. 20-21: Mid-Amateur Team (Mount Washington)
Aug. 20: Mixed (Mount Washington)
Aug. 22: Women’s Weekly “B” (Bretwood)
Aug. 24: Stoke Play Series (Hoodkroft)
Aug. 27: Live Free Golf Event (CC of NH)
Aug. 29: Women’s Weekly “A” (Derryfield)
September 5: Women’s Weekly Combined (Den Brae)
September 6-7: Senior Championship (Canterbury Woods)
September 11-12: NEGA Senior Amateur (Fox Hopyard/East Haddam, Conn.)
September 21: Stoke Play Series (Kingswood Gold)
September 26: Fall Classic (Keene)
October 2-4: Mid-Amateur Championship (Rochester)
October 8: Mixed (Kingswood Golf)
October 16: Tournament Series (Cochecho)
October 18: Stroke Play Series (Newport)
October 23: Corporate Challenge (Concord)
October 30: Tournament Series (Laconia)