LACONIA – They didn’t need really need any extra help, but Doug Champagne and Matthew Paradis got it during the first two rounds of the New Hampshire State Amateur Golf Championship at Laconia Country Club. And they got it from each other.
The two young Concord Country Club members are friends, and they were paired together in the first two rounds of the State Am. Paradis, who is from Hooksett and plays collegiately at Southern New Hampshire University, shot a 1-over 73 on Tuesday to finish tied for fourth overall with a 143 after stroke play. The 64-man match play portion of the tournament begins today with the first round.
Champagne, who will be a senior at Bow High this fall, also carded a 73 on Tuesday to finish tied for 11th with a 145. He will face former Bow teammate Josh LaCasse, who is now a teammate with Paradis at SNHU, in today’s first round.
“It made it a lot easier playing with Matt,” Champagne said. “Made it a lot more comfortable having a close friend on the course, relaxed me a little bit.”
“It was awesome playing with Doug,” Paradis said. “I got to ride with him, we had fun, we kept it cool out there. And Ryan Kohler (the third member of their threesome) is one of my best buddies, too, so we all had fun.”
Paradis shot a 69 on Monday, which left him tied for second. Things didn’t go quite as smoothly on Tuesday, but Paradis wasn’t worried.
“I had a few stupid mistakes today, left myself a lot of downhill putts, and I was just running ‘em five feet by, and missed two or three five-footers. But other than that, I hit the ball pretty well, kept it in play and I’m in (to match play), so I guess that’s all that matters,” Paradis said. “It was sort of a pass/fail thing for me. I’m in and I’m feeling good for match play, and I feel like I could beat anybody out here.”
Paradis reached the Round of 16 last year, so he knows what it takes to win under the pressure of State Am match play. That’s not exactly the case with Champagne, who is in his third State Am. He didn’t qualify for match play two years ago. He did qualify last year, but lost in the first round.
Champagne also wasn’t playing that well coming in to this event, but past performances are fading in the rear view mirror after his last two days in Laconia.
“I didn’t have high expectations because I haven’t been playing great, but so far I’ve played well this week and I got my confidence back,” said Champagne, who won the NHIAA Division III individual golf title in 2015. “I hit the ball pretty well the last two days. My only bogeys were short putts I missed, so that’s not hard to fix. Otherwise, I’m pretty confident in how I played.”
The same can be said for Penacook’s Jim Cilley, the 2011 champ who was a junior member at Laconia for years. After shooting a 70 on Monday, Cilley followed that up with a 71 Tuesday to put him all alone in second place with a 145, six shots behind the leader, Ryan Tombs (Manchester Country Club).
“I drove the ball well, I wasn’t in trouble really at all. I don’t know that I missed more than one or two fairways,” said Cilley, who grew up in Belmont and plays out of Ridgewood Country Club. “My short game was good, too. I putted well both days. I did have two three putts today, but both of them were on par 3s where I erred on the side of caution knowing where the major trouble was on the green. So I like the way that I’m rolling the ball, I like the way I’m swinging the club, I really like where I’m at right now.”
But Cilley knows anything can happen once match play starts. The last time the State Am was at Laconia, 2004, Austin Eaton was the defending champion and top-seed after stroke play, and he lost to the No. 64 seed, Darren Perkins.
“It’s game on now. The first two days I played with Ryan Tombs and today he shot 7-under, he’s 9-under for the tournament and he’s going to be the No. 1 seed, good for him, that’s great playing, but it doesn’t matter now,” Cilley said. “He could play the 64 seed and he could lose, it’s happened before.”
Kurt Eddins is hoping to knock off some higher seeds. The 2008 Concord High graduate shot a 76 on Tuesday to finish in the middle of the pack with a 153, leaving him tied for 35th.
“I hit the ball better than I scored, for sure,” said Eddins, who lives in Portsmouth now and plays out of Pease Golf Club. “I missed a couple really short ones (Monday) and then I had, I think, three three putts today, so I’m optimistic for match play, just because I feel like I’m hitting the ball really well and if I just get the greens figured out, I’ll be in good shape.”
Eddins’s former Concord High golf teammate, Matt Levins, was worried he wouldn’t get a chance at testing himself in match play. He struggled on the back nine to finish with a 79 on Tuesday and a 154 total.
“It was a tale of two nines (Tuesday). The front nine was great, but the back nine is my nemesis now,” Levins said. “I had a couple bad breaks (Tuesday), bad tee shots, lipped out putts. But I played the front nine flawless. Hit greens, two putted and got out of there with my pars.”
Levins didn’t need to worry. His 154 was well clear of the 157 cut. Five golfers finished with a 157 and needed a playoff to determine the final spot. Joshua Chamberlain (Stonebridge Country Club) survived that march and will face Tombs today in the first round of match play.
Other locals who made it to match play are Travis Landry (Loudon Country Club, 149, tied 17th), Bob Landry (Loudon Country Club, Travis’s dad, 153, t-35), Troy Demers (Pembroke Pines Country Club, 155, t-50), Charlie McNeeley (Country Club of New Hampshire, 156, t-56) and Will McLaughlin (Concord Country Club, 156, t-56).