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SPORTS

THEY'RE A CUT ABOVE

Of 64 golfers in final bracket, 19 hail from Seacoast

Mike Zhe mzhe@seacostonline.com
Jamie Ferullo of Rochester CC tees off on the 16th hole during the second round of the New Hampshire Amateur at Portsmouth CC on Tuesday in Greenland. [Mike Zhe/Seacoastonline]

GREENLAND — For guys like Eric Evans, Kurt Eddins and Harvin Groft, it was a chance to tweak a first impression.

And, with qualifying in the books at the 116th New Hampshire Amateur championship, they helped carry the flag Tuesday for the local players, who have made quite an impression.

There’s plenty of local quality, but even more quantity as the State Am shifts to match play. Of the 64 golfers in the final bracket, 19 are from the Seacoast.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” said Eddins, a Cochecho CC player who followed up an opening 76 with an even-par 72, and is in the top 20. “We’ve got a lot of strong players here. That’s one of the reasons why I joined Cochecho, because I knew there were some solid players who would push me a little.”

“It’s great,” said Jamie Ferullo, who plays out of Rochester CC, and whose rounds of 74-72 have him tied for eighth. “There are so many good players in this area, especially when they get to a place they’re a little more comfortable at.”

No long drives this week. No hotel stays. Just quick commutes and golf.

And now comes the real drama.

The first State Am in the area since 2013 saw 22-year-old Ryan Brown of Manchester CC, who was a quarterfinalist last year, take medal honors by shooting rounds of 72 and 69. He finished two ahead of three golfers: Ryan Quinn of Breakfast Hill (71-72), Brandon Gillis of Green Meadow (77-66) and last year’s State Junior champion, Sam Barton of Kingswood GC (73-70).

“I hit the ball a lot better, hit my driver better, but the putts didn’t fall today,” said Quinn, the 20-year-old North Hampton collegian.

He said the medal was something he thought about as his round, starting on the back nine, progressed, including an eagle when he reached the par-5 4th with driver/3-wood.

“I thought about it when I was one off (the lead), but it’s not the main goal,” he said. “The main goal is to get in, get a good seed, get a good match (Wednesday) and go from there.”

Two-time champ Craig Steckowych played another solid round on his home course, shooting a second 72 to finish tied for fifth after missing the cut last year.

Gillis, a semifinalist last year and one of the pre-tournament favorites, shot the week’s best round so far, 66. Starting on the back, he made five birdies before his first bogey. If there’s a bracket favorite, it could be him.

“I didn’t feel like I had to work too hard today because I was hitting it pretty close,” he said.

Ferullo, 28, also got his 72 going on the back nine, getting up and down for a quality par on the 10th, and then making birdie putts on the 11th (five feet) and 12th (eight feet).

“You know, today was more of a struggle than yesterday,” he said. “I had to grind. I made some putts.”

He’ll play MacGregor Thompson of Breakfast Hill in a match that tees off at 11:30 a.m.

That’s one of three head-to-head battles among the Seacoast guys. The others are Kevin Strong against 14-year-old Brian Adams of Breakfast Hill (8;18 a.m.), and Mike Mahan of Cochecho CC against Peter Keilty of Portsmouth CC (10;58 a.m.).

Evans, a home course member coming off a strong year at the University of Hartford, shot 71 to climb into a tie for 17th. He’ll play Keith Stone of Overlook GC at 7:54 a.m.

Groft, a member at The Oaks, rebounded from an opening 77 to shoot 72, and will tee off against Matthew Gover of Atkinson Resort at 8:26 a.m.

Other local players moving on are Taylor Simpson of The Oaks (72-75), Brett Wilson of the Golf Club of New England (72-76), Derek Dinwoodie of Farmington CC (79-69), Nick Hampoian of GCNE (74-76), former champ Jared Lamothe (75-76), two-time champ Mike Flynn of Cochecho CC (77-75), home course member Nick Kalil (76-77) and Samuel Reynolds (73-80) of Farmington CC

After five years playing this tournament far away from home, the local guys have the numbers to make some noise in the next few days.

“That’s awesome,” said Quinn, “but I’m not surprised. It helps to play this course. There are a lot of people from the Seacoast who can get out here.

“It’s a good advantage. It’s a 10-minute ride home. I can sleep in my own bed.”

The grind is over. Now comes the drama.

“I’m definitely excited for match play,” said Eddins. “I’m ready to get going.”