New Hampshire Golf: Zimmerman ready for challenge of New England Amateur
Jul. 17—NASHUA'S Bryce Zimmerman made it to the Round of 32 in this year's New Hampshire Amateur golf championship. Next up for him is an even tougher challenge.
Zimmerman, a Nashua Country Club member, will be among the golfers representing New Hampshire in the 2022 New England Amateur, which begins Monday at Alpine CC in Cranston, R.I. The 72-hole event features 18 holes of stroke play on Monday and 18 more on Tuesday. Those who make the cut will conclude the tournament with 36 holes Wednesday.
"Never played this course," Zimmerman said. "I heard it's somewhat simple, but I'm going to go out there blind. I don't have the time to go out there. I have a couple friends who have played practice rounds who can give me the ins and outs. I'll have a pretty good game plan heading into it.
"This is the second time I'll be playing in this event. I played in it two years ago at Concord Country Club in Mass. Last year I didn't play in it because there were no qualifiers anywhere close and I didn't go out of my way, but I was exempt this year so why not sign up?"
Zimmerman, 19, will be entering his sophomore season on the University of Hartford golf team in the fall. He graduated from Nashua North and won the NHIAA Division I individual championship in 2018 and 2019. He shot 71-72-143 during the two days of stroke play in this year's State Am to win the Ty Abate Award, which is given annually to the player who shoots the lowest score during stroke play among golfers who have yet to turn 20.
Zimmerman was eliminated in this year's State Am with a 6-and-4 loss to Brett Wilson of the Golf Club of New England. Zimmerman has advanced to match play in five of the six State Ams in which he has played, but has yet to make it past the Round of 32.
Ryan Scollins (Bald Peak), Russell Hamel (Nashua), Jack Pepin (Atkinson Resort), Tim Picard (Nashua), Stephen Ramos (Atkinson Resort), Connor Allard (Golf Club of NE), Aiden Azevedo (Atkinson Resort), Harvin Groft (Candia Oaks), Colin McCaigue (Amherst) and Peter Lown (Breakfast Hill) are the other New Hampshire golfers entered in the New England Am.
Cody Paladino of the Hartford (Conn.) Golf Club, last year's New England Am champion, is among those in this year's field. Paladino beat Caleb Manuel of the Brunswick (Maine) Golf Club by a stroke last summer. Nashua CC's Jack Brown finished third, two strokes back.
"When I played in it two years ago, I missed the cut," Zimmerman said. "The game wasn't good then. I was 79, 77. I didn't see the course beforehand. That's not an excuse, but my swing wasn't good and I didn't know the course that well. It was a fun event though. I'm looking forward to teeing it up there on Monday.
"My goal is to make the cut. My game has been really sloppy lately so having two good rounds (of stroke play in the State Am) gives me some confidence. Make the cut is the first goal. When and if I make the cut, Top 20 is the goal because if you're Top 20, you're exempt the next year."
Something new for Mielcarz
At age 72 — 73 next month — Concord Country Club's Bob Mielcarz was the oldest golfer in this year's State Am field. Mielcarz first played in the State Am in 1974 and hasn't missed many tournaments since then. He probably thought he had done all there is to do in the State Am, but found out otherwise after the second day of this year's tournament.
After shooting 79-79-158 during qualifying, Mielcarz was among seven players who participated in a playoff for the final four spots in match play. Until this year, Mielcarz had never been part of a State Am playoff.
Mielcarz advanced, but lost to Zimmerman, 1-up, in the first round of match play.
High school golfers in nationals
Here are the NHIAA golfers who participated in the fourth annual NHSGA High School Golf National Invitational played July 11-13 at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort:
Hunter Duncan (Bow), Sam Maurice (Trinity), Andrew Degan (Exeter), Charlie Nutbrown (Exeter), Christian Barone (Exeter), Connor Allard (Exeter), Jascha Johnston (Exeter), Mitchell Cormier (Fall Mountain), Aidan Whalen (Oyster River), Myles O'Quinn (Oyster River), Claden Daubney (Oyster River), Jack Caldicott (Oyster River) and Julianna Megan (Pinkerton).
The invitation-only boys and girls tournament fields included many of the top high school golfers from throughout the country who have won high school individual or team championships. The event featured 54 holes of stroke play.
Lights, camera action
Former Laconia Country Club member Mark Baldwin played in this week's Barracuda Championship, a PGA Tour event at the Old Greenwood course at the Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee, Calif.
Baldwin, a veteran of several mini tours, attended Gilford High School before he transferred to the New Hampton School. He played golf at Notre Dame — he was the Big East Player of the Year in 2005 — and turned pro in 2006. His first professional victory came in the New Hampshire Open.
Baldwin is one of 12 golfers profiled in "The Grind," a docuseries scheduled to be released this fall that chronicles the struggles and triumphs of players on the margins of professional golf.
Future sites for State Am
Future sites for the New Hampshire Amateur Championships:
Men: Manchester CC (2023), Concord CC (2024), Rochester CC (2025), Cochecho CC (2026), Mt. Washington Resort GC (2027), Brentwood GC/North (2028). Women: Montcalm GC (2023), Rochester CC (2024).
Question and answer
Question: In match play, a player concedes a match to his or her opponent on the day before the match was scheduled to be played because of predicted bad weather. The tournament committee then postpones all matches to the following week because the course is unplayable. The day before the rescheduled matches were set to be played, the player who conceded requested that he or she be reinstated. What is the correct ruling?
Answer: The committee may not reinstate the player. The concession is irrevocable.
Source: USGA Rule 3.2b (1); Rule 3.2b (2)
New Hampshire Golf CalendarJuly 18-20: New England Amateur (Alpine CC)
July 18-20: Mike Ryan Memorial (Derryfield CC)
July 26-28: Junior Championship (Country Club of NH)
Aug. 1-3: Women's State Amateur (Concord CC)
Aug. 10-12: NHGA Stroke Play Championship (Sky Meadow CC, Canterbury Woods CC and Windham CC)
Aug. 15-16: Junior All-Star Championship (Windham CC)
Aug. 17-18: Women's Mid-Amateur (Derryfield CC)
Aug. 30: Stefanie Thomas Championship (Cochecho CC)
Sept. 6-7: Sr. Championship (Keene CC)
Oct. 3-5: NHGA Mid-Amateur Championship (Owl's Nest)
