Brisk temperatures and unpredictable winds provided yet another test for golfers as the second round of the New Hampshire Mid-Amateur Championship continued Tuesday. With 36 holes in the books, it is Jalen Rines (The Shattuck Golf Club) and Joe Leavitt (NH Golf e-club) who share a slight lead heading into the final round at the Mount Washington Resort Golf Club.
Starting on the par-5 10th hole, Rines was able to ignite his round with an eagle. He then added birdies on 11 and 12 to leapfrog into the lead early in the morning. Rines stated, “I was feeling good obviously, after that start. Making a long putt for eagle and then just having good looks inside 10 feet for birdie and making those, it gave me a really good start, but at the same time, I knew the weather was going to be a problem today, so I had to grind out there.”
After a poor drive on his fourth hole of the day resulting in a double bogey, Rines steadied out his round with a string of pars. With just two other blemishes on 3 and 8, he carded his second straight round of even par 72. Looking back at the challenges the weather supplied him, Rines knew that it was going to be a struggle for the entire field.
“Everyone is playing in these conditions,” Rines remarked. “It’s very easy to come up short or have the wrong club in your hands so around the greens you had to get up and down a lot and just try and stay in it.”
Playing alongside Rines was Joe Leavitt, who also put together back-to-back even-par rounds to sit atop the leaderboard. Leavitt took advantage of starting on 10 as well, as he quickly put a birdie on the scorecard. With additional birdies on 3 and 15, Leavitt scattered a few bogeys along the way to keep him deadlocked with Rines.
Looking back on the round, Leavitt recalled, “I thought 72 was a pretty good score today given the conditions. Drove it really well, but the putter was a little off today. Other than that, it was just solid and similar to yesterday.”
With the weather for the third round looking like it is going to be the best of the bunch by far, Leavitt doesn’t plan on that altering his game plan. He commented, “The greens are pretty firm, so it’s tough to really get too aggressive. They were quick today, but I stayed aggressive with my club selection off the tee. I’m a pretty good driver of the golf ball so I’m going to stick with driver pretty much everywhere tomorrow.”
Firing off the only under-par round of the day, Kurt Eddins of Cochecho Country Club finds himself just one back of the lead. Finishing Tuesday with an impressive two under 70, Eddins didn’t let anything on the course phase him too much, especially the weather.
Eddins joked, “My friends make fun of me back home because I’m terrible in cold weather, but two of my best rounds in the past year have been super cold. I think my strategy was to keep the ball in front of me. I didn’t really take any big risks. Just don’t do anything stupid, and I guess that produces good golf.”
A potential spirit-crushing moment occurred for Eddins on the 15th green, though. While analyzing a lengthy birdie putt, a pair of crows found their way into his cart and flew away with the remaining half of a delicious-looking breakfast sandwich.
“That was devastating,” Eddins sighed. “It was a tough moment.”
Finishing the hole with 2 putts and his initial 9 holes at 1 under par, Eddins started his back nine with a bogey. While that may have been a result of a lack of nutrients, he sandwiched in birdies on 4 and 8 amongst 6 more pars to finish with the low round of the day.
Looking at tomorrow’s round, Eddins is looking forward to playing the course one more time. “I just really like the golf course,” he said. “I haven’t played up here in like 20 years. I had kind of forgotten most of it. But there are a lot of holes that fit my eye. I’m hitting driver almost everywhere, which is a strength of my game, so it’s just a lot of drivers and wedges. Just keep the ball in play tomorrow and hope the putter stays hot.”
Seven golfers find themselves within 5 shots of Rines and Leavitt. With promising weather and hopefully better scoring opportunities on the horizon, the final round of the New Hampshire Mid-Amateur Championship is shaping up to see an exciting finish.
