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DOVER — Once Myles O’Quinn had someone to talk to between holes, he played his best golf in the 123rd New Hampshire Amateur final on Saturday.
O’Quinn’s friend, Alex Moody, caddied for him for the final 18 holes of the 36-hole final match, which helped him earn a 2-up victory over Gavin Richardson at Cochecho Country Club.
A 20-year-old from Durham, O’Quinn said Moody helped him keep a positive mindset through the last half of the tightly contested match.
They’d sometimes talk about O’Quinn’s last shot, but a lot of the time the discussion wasn’t about golf. Usually it was about cars, O’Quinn said.
“I think from now on, maybe I’ll have him ride around with me,” said O'Quinn, who rode solo for most of the six-day tournament.
O’Quinn, a Portsmouth CC member, won his first State Am in his third appearance in the tournament. The victory earned him an exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club and Philadelphia CC Aug. 10-16.
Richardson, a 19-year-old Concord resident, and O’Quinn were tied after the first 18 holes. Over that span, they were tied nine times.
O’Quinn, who golfs for Endicott College, broke the tie by parring their 20th hole — the 443-yard, par-4 11th hole. The Oyster River High School graduate went 2 up after he earned one of his 11 birdies of the match two holes later on the 444-yard, par-4 13th.
“In the other matches, once I hit 2 up I felt really good,” said O’Quinn, who notably beat two-time State Am champion James Pleat (Nashua CC) and Cochecho CC member Kurt Eddins over his previous five matches to reach the final. “I hadn’t hit 2 up at all today and once I hit that I felt really good.”
The match was tied again through 29 holes. Richardson, a Concord CC member, birdied the par-4 first hole to pull within one and then won the par-4 second hole.
O’Quinn, the 28th seed after the opening two rounds of stroke play, retook the lead by sinking an 8-foot putt for birdie on the par-3 third hole — the 30th of the match — and never trailed afterward.
Richardson, the No. 30 seed, struggled off the tee on a few of the final nine holes and said he missed some costly short putts during the match.
O’Quinn two-putted while Richardson failed to convert an up-and-down on the final hole — the par on the par-3 ninth hole.
“Honestly, not a lot was working too well today,” said Richardson, who reached the quarterfinals last year and has played in four State Ams. “Everything was just a little bit off.”
Richardson and O’Quinn both grew up playing on the NH Golf Junior Tour but had never played against each other until Saturday.
O’Quinn also wasn’t overly familiar with the Cochecho course before the tournament, having played it only in high school matches against Dover High. He learned through the week that there’s certain holes where it’s better to tee off with a 3-wood and that the greens can be fast and challenging.
At Portsmouth CC, O’Quinn said he can hit his driver off the tee on every hole.
“It’s really tricky being able to only hit 3-wood and not knowing where it’s going to end up,” O’Quinn said, “because I know my driver is really, really hot.”
Neither O’Quinn nor Richardson took long to make their shot decisions, though. The college athletes finished the match in about 4 hours.
O’Quinn said the blistering pace of play was to his benefit.
“The fact that he played quick really helped me because I just get up and hit it,” O’Quinn. “No need to think about it.”
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O’Quinn’s friend, Alex Moody, caddied for him for the final 18 holes of the 36-hole final match, which helped him earn a 2-up victory over Gavin Richardson at Cochecho Country Club.
A 20-year-old from Durham, O’Quinn said Moody helped him keep a positive mindset through the last half of the tightly contested match.
They’d sometimes talk about O’Quinn’s last shot, but a lot of the time the discussion wasn’t about golf. Usually it was about cars, O’Quinn said.
“I think from now on, maybe I’ll have him ride around with me,” said O'Quinn, who rode solo for most of the six-day tournament.
O’Quinn, a Portsmouth CC member, won his first State Am in his third appearance in the tournament. The victory earned him an exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club and Philadelphia CC Aug. 10-16.
Richardson, a 19-year-old Concord resident, and O’Quinn were tied after the first 18 holes. Over that span, they were tied nine times.
O’Quinn, who golfs for Endicott College, broke the tie by parring their 20th hole — the 443-yard, par-4 11th hole. The Oyster River High School graduate went 2 up after he earned one of his 11 birdies of the match two holes later on the 444-yard, par-4 13th.
“In the other matches, once I hit 2 up I felt really good,” said O’Quinn, who notably beat two-time State Am champion James Pleat (Nashua CC) and Cochecho CC member Kurt Eddins over his previous five matches to reach the final. “I hadn’t hit 2 up at all today and once I hit that I felt really good.”
The match was tied again through 29 holes. Richardson, a Concord CC member, birdied the par-4 first hole to pull within one and then won the par-4 second hole.
O’Quinn, the 28th seed after the opening two rounds of stroke play, retook the lead by sinking an 8-foot putt for birdie on the par-3 third hole — the 30th of the match — and never trailed afterward.
Richardson, the No. 30 seed, struggled off the tee on a few of the final nine holes and said he missed some costly short putts during the match.
O’Quinn two-putted while Richardson failed to convert an up-and-down on the final hole — the par on the par-3 ninth hole.
“Honestly, not a lot was working too well today,” said Richardson, who reached the quarterfinals last year and has played in four State Ams. “Everything was just a little bit off.”
Richardson and O’Quinn both grew up playing on the NH Golf Junior Tour but had never played against each other until Saturday.
O’Quinn also wasn’t overly familiar with the Cochecho course before the tournament, having played it only in high school matches against Dover High. He learned through the week that there’s certain holes where it’s better to tee off with a 3-wood and that the greens can be fast and challenging.
At Portsmouth CC, O’Quinn said he can hit his driver off the tee on every hole.
“It’s really tricky being able to only hit 3-wood and not knowing where it’s going to end up,” O’Quinn said, “because I know my driver is really, really hot.”
Neither O’Quinn nor Richardson took long to make their shot decisions, though. The college athletes finished the match in about 4 hours.
O’Quinn said the blistering pace of play was to his benefit.
“The fact that he played quick really helped me because I just get up and hit it,” O’Quinn. “No need to think about it.”
[email protected]
Continue reading...
