Five local golfers advanced out of the round of 64 on Wednesday, the first round of match play at the 122nd New Hampshire Amateur Championship at Rochester Country Club.
No. 2 Josiah Hakala, a Mascenic Regional High School standou, who has also played on the national stage but calls Beaver Meadow Golf Course home, defeated No. 63 Jimmy Schouller (Abenaqui CC), 4 and 3.
Defending champion Rob Henley (Lake Sunapee CC), the No. 12 seed, defeated 2024 NHGA junior amateur champion Andrew Surprenant (Beaver Meadow), the No. 53 seed by a 5-and-4 margin in the only double local pairing of that round.
Former NHIAA Division I champion and recent Concord High graduate Gavin Richardson, the 20th seed, needed 20 holes to do it, but he finally was able to put away No. 45 Jack Kelley (NHGA e-Club) to advance.
Past state amateur champion No. 7 Jim Cilley (Laconia CC) defeated No. 58 Kevin Webster (Intervale), 4 and 3, and No. 38 Will McLaughlin (Concord CC), defeated No. 27 Stephen Ramos (NH Junior Club), 3 and 1, to advance.
Two of the five completed their round of 32 matches before press time. Richardson defeated No. 52 Peter Lown (Breakfast Hill), 3 and 2, and Henley beat No. 44 John DeVito (603 Brewery), 2 and 1.
Four other area golfers lost made the cut for match play but didn’t make it out of the round of 64.
No. 37 Scott Underhill (Canterbury Woods) lost to former Concord High player No. 28 Kurt Eddins (Cocheco CC), 7 and 5.
No. 42 Stephen Quillinan (Beaver Meadow) was ousted by No. 23 Austin Baker (NHGA e-Club) in 20 holes.
No. 48 Hunter Duncan (Concord CC) fell to No. 17 Damon Salo (Shattuck), 2 up.
No. 60 Zachary Nelson (Pembroke Pines) was defeated by No. 5 Ryan Scollins (Bald Peak), 5 and 3.
The round of 16 was also scheduled for Thursday but was not completed at press time. The state am will continue with the quarterfinals and semifinals on Friday to determine who will play in the 36-hole championship on Saturday.