Jul. 24—MANCHESTER — After six tries, Sam Maurice finally captured one of his most coveted golf tournament trophies on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old Derryfield Country Club member won the Mike Ryan Memorial Junior Golf Tournament on his home course with a 2-and-1 triumph over Pelham’s Harry Garland.
Maurice, an Auburn resident, finished runner-up to Stratham’s Jascha Johnston in the tournament two summers ago. The Trinity High School graduate was the top seed after the opening stroke play round of the three-day tournament last year before falling in the Round of 16.
“This feels nice, that’s for sure,” Maurice said.
Maurice, the top seed again this year, and Garland, the 14th seed, were tied after seven holes before Maurice birdied the par-3 eighth hole.
They each parred Hole No. 9 and earned birdies on the 10th hole after sinking about 10-foot putts.
Maurice then built a 3-up cushion by winning the par-4 11th hole with a par and the par-3 12th with a birdie. He secured the birdie on hole No. 12 with a 20-foot putt.
“That was a big momentum swing,” said Maurice, who will play at Southern New Hampshire University this fall. “Then I knew I could really just play for par and if he made some birdies then I just had to tip my cap and go to the next hole.”
Garland, a junior at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Mass., said after those two holes that he had to kick it into gear and make birdies to stay alive.
The two parred the next three holes and Garland extended the match with his 15-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 16th hole. Maurice closed out the win after they both parred the 17th hole.
“He’s super solid and I knew he wasn’t going to make a bogey so I knew I had to make some birdies if I wanted to come back,” Garland said of his mindset after the 12th hole. “I made one or two but it wasn’t good enough.”
Maurice birdied the par-4 fourth hole to take a brief 1-up lead before Garland answered with a birdie on the next hole. Maurice broke the deadlock for good with his birdie on Hole No. 8.
“I knew if I could (be) 1-up through nine I was in a good spot,” Maurice said.
Barry takes girls final
Taylor Barry quickly quelled her first-hole jitters in the girls final.
The 18-year-old Nashua resident lost that first hole but settled into the match afterward, defeating Manchester’s Josie Lefebvre, 6 and 5, to repeat as the girls tournament champion.
Barry advanced to the title match with a semifinal victory Tuesday over Pelham’s Madelyn Giampa, who she beat after 20 holes in last year’s final.
“I felt good having the experience under my belt and it was a little added pressure because I was the defending champ,” Barry said, “but I felt confident in knowing that I won the tournament before and I was hoping that I could pull it off again.”
Lefebvre, a 14-year-old Derryfield CC member, won the first hole with a par but had six bogeys and a double-bogey on the seventh hole on the front nine.
Barry, who graduated from Nashua North last school year, bogeyed on holes 4 and 9 but parred the rest of the front nine to build a 4-up lead at the turn.
The incoming University of New Hampshire freshman then earned her lone birdie of the match on the par-4 10th hole.
“Josie beat me on nine so I was stressing out a little bit — I didn’t want to give away my lead,” Barry said, “but I knew that if I just kept up the pressure I’d be good.”
Barry said her short game worked well in the match.
Derryfield has hilly, fast greens so Barry tried to land her approach shot in front of the hole to make a straightforward uphill putt, she said.
“I had an up-and-down on (Hole No.) 2, which kind of built up my momentum,” Barry said, “and then from there I was just two-putting and making some good shots and just trying to maintain the lead.”
Lefebvre’s older brother, Ty, 16, won the boys prep championship flight with a 4-and-2 victory over Bedford’s Aaryan Narang in the final.
Giampa’s younger brother, Marc, 11, won his third straight boys birdie (9 holes) title by defeating Manchester’s Jaxson LeVeille, 1-up.
