The NHC Championship is now complete and on the books. The weather was iffy, but the rain held off and let players complete the tournament. The course was in good shape and with virtually no wind the course still presented a challenge for the field of 39 NHC/PGA Professionals.
Day one the saw some good play and low scores. Matt Arvanitis of SNHU led the way in round one with a 3 under par 68. He opened with a birdie on hole 1 and continued to make 4 more on the day, with only 2 bogies in his day one round. Jason Sedan of Lake Winnipesaukee GC finished the first round with a 2 under par 69. His round consisted of 5 birdies and 3 bogies to end the day one behind. Jay Pollini of Ridgewood GC stood in 3rd place with a 1 under par 70 2 shots behind the leader. He made 3 birdies and 2 bogies to post the 70. Greg Sandell of Gold Club of NE shot an even par 71 to hold the 4th spot, with Jason Malcolm of Nashua CC scoring a 72 to hold down the 5th spot. Other players in the top ten were Danny Kish of Atkinson (73), Cory Mansfield of Derryfield , Brett Smestad of Rochester , Rico Riciputi of Wentworth by the Sea , and Thomas Smith of Atkinson were all 6 shots behind with the score of 74.
In the Senior Division, Vince Molesky of Stonebridge CC shot a 1 under par 70 to take the lead at the end of day one. Vince posted 3 birdies and 2 bogies to score the 70. Bill Andrews of Portsmouth CC shot an even 70 to end the day one stroke behind. Bill made 2 birdies and 2 bogies on his card. They were followed by Tim Loch of Cochecho CC who shot a 74 and Alex Kirk of Hanover with a 75.
As always after the day one round NCCC host a shoot-out for the top 10 scores from Sundays Annual Pro/Member tournament. One player gets eliminated each hole until one is left. This is a popular event for both the players and the members of NCCC. After some stellar play, the last two players standing were Bill Andrews and Matt Arvanitis. They both made 5 on the 9th hole bringing the challenge of teeing off from #1 green tee to the 9th green. A shot down the hill with the pin on the top level made this shot difficult to stop the ball close to the pin. Bill Andrews teed off first and hit a great shot stopping the ball 6 feet from the pin. This brought a tough challenge to Matt. Matt hit another outstanding shot stopping the ball 10 feet away. With that, Bill Andrews was crowned the shoot-out champion. Now it was time for the players to head to their rooms and get some rest for day two competition.
Leader Matt Arvanitis started the front nine a little slow with 3 pars and a bogie in the first 4 holes. However he completed his front nine with 3 birdies to make the turn at 2 under par for round 2, 5 under par total. Jason Sedan shot a 1 under par 34 on the front to make the turn at 3 under, 2 strokes behind and still withing striking distance. Danny Kish made the turn at 2 under par and 5 strokes behind. Cory Mansfield was also making a charge shooting a 3 under par on the front and also 5 strokes behind. Unfortunately Jay Polinni shot a 2 over par on the front falling 7 stokes behind. Matt continued his strong play on the back shooting a 1 under on the back for his second straight 3 under par 68. Cory Mansfield got the lead down to 4 at one point but was unable to catch Matt’s 6 under par total. Top five finishers with scores: Matt Arvanitis -6, Jason Sedan -1, Danny Kish +1, Jay Polinni +1, and Cory Mansfield +2.
In the senior division Vince Molesky made 3 bogies on the front for a 38, while Bill Andrews also made 3 bogies but made 2 birdies to shoot 36 giving him a one shot lead at the turn. Bill stayed in the lead until hole 14 when he made double bogie, while Vince made par giving him a one shot lead. From there Vince held on for a 2 stroke victory to win the Senior Championship. Top 5 players in the Senior Division: Vince Molesky +4, Bill Andrews +6, defending champ Alex Kirk +7, and Jon Ellis +9.
We would like to thank the sponsors who sponsored this event. The PGA Tour, Avidia Bank, and NE Golf Cars all graciously donated to make this event the NHC premier event.
Congratulations to all the players that participated in this event. NCCC puts on a great tournament and is a gracious host. The NHC thanks Kevin & Michelle Walker and their entire staff for the work they do. We also thank the members for having us again. This is the 41st consecutive hear playing this event at North Conway CC. Each year as we leave we can’t thank the staff and members enough for giving up their course for 2 days and for the way we are treated by them. With that said, we can’t wait to be back next year.
2020 NH Chapter Champion Matt Arvanitis tees off in round 1
2020 Senior Champion Vince Molesky eyes his tee shot in round 1
NH Chapter Championship Runner-up Jason Sedan watches it fly
NH Chapter Senior Championship runner-up Bill Andrews hits his winning chip in the Monday Shoot-out
Accepting their trophies (Left to Right)
NH Chapter Champion Matt Arvanitis, NHC President Scott Devito, NHC Senior Champion Vince Molesky