Reichert Seals the Deal to Capture His First Professional Win with NH Open Title
Greenland, NH – It was an eventful day out at Breakfast Hill Golf Club as Ben Reichert (Buffalo, NY) was able to close it out at the 88th New Hampshire Open Championship presented by Michelob Ultra to capture his first professional win. It came down to the final hole where Reichert was able to two-putt his way to a victory, winning by just won stroke over Harrison Shih (St. Simon Island, GA).
Beginning the day with a one stroke lead can be a heavy burden to carry, especially when you know the capabilities of the players chasing you. Reichert just wanted to keep it going, saying, “I tried to keep my foot on the gas as much as I could. I knew that it wasn’t going to come easy, and I couldn’t just coast around making pars.”
“My mindset was to win by as many as I could”, continued Reichert. “I only won by one but I’ll take it.”
There were a few golfers that really made a charge at catching Reichert, including Harrison Shih, Jake Hollander and Rasmey Kong. All players were out there making birdies, but a couple bogeys on their closing holes kept from taking over the lead from Reichert.
Reichert got himself to 13-under par after the 14th hole where he stuck his tee shot close to the pin and made the birdie putt. At that point, he had a two-stroke lead over Kong, who at one point was at 11-under par and five-under on the day. Kong ended up making bogey on the last three holes to fall back a few shots and be out of contention for the win.
With a cushion of a few shots, Reichert ended up making bogey on the 15th, showing he does make some mistake out there, giving a little hope to the other competitors. Shih kept pressing on and made birdie on the 15th to get even closer to Reichert. Coming to the 17th, Reichert flew the green with his tee shot, chipped it up and two-putted for bogey. They headed down the 18th hole with Reichert only up by one.
“At that point it was down to me and Harrison. I had one on him coming down the last and I hit a couple little nervy putts, but I was able to get it done”, stated Reichert after his win.
Shih gave it a solid attempt at a birdie, but left it just short of the hole, tapping in his par and hoping for Reichert to three-putt. Reichert stood over his putt, with some nerves as one would expect.
“It’s never as easy as it looks,” commented Reichert. “When I first hit it, I thought I left it 10 feet short. It kind of cozied up there a little closer than I expected it to but I still had a tester, but I was able to sneak it in.”
Reichert rolled in his par putt with a fist pump immediately after watching it drop, knowing he has just captured his first professional title. Winning is always a great feeling, but it even more special when this is your first time doing it as a professional golfer.
He commented on how it feels, saying, “Fantastic, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. This is my first professional win so it’s pretty cool.”
On the amateur side of the competition, Tommy Ethier was the lone amateur to make the cut to the final day of the competition. He went out and fired a 74 (+4) to capture the low amateur honors, keeping that title here in New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire Golf Association would like to thank Breakfast Hill Golf Club for their hospitality over the course of the competition. The course was in great condition, there were nothing but compliments from the competitors in the field.
Beginning the day with a one stroke lead can be a heavy burden to carry, especially when you know the capabilities of the players chasing you. Reichert just wanted to keep it going, saying, “I tried to keep my foot on the gas as much as I could. I knew that it wasn’t going to come easy, and I couldn’t just coast around making pars.”
“My mindset was to win by as many as I could”, continued Reichert. “I only won by one but I’ll take it.”
There were a few golfers that really made a charge at catching Reichert, including Harrison Shih, Jake Hollander and Rasmey Kong. All players were out there making birdies, but a couple bogeys on their closing holes kept from taking over the lead from Reichert.
Reichert got himself to 13-under par after the 14th hole where he stuck his tee shot close to the pin and made the birdie putt. At that point, he had a two-stroke lead over Kong, who at one point was at 11-under par and five-under on the day. Kong ended up making bogey on the last three holes to fall back a few shots and be out of contention for the win.
With a cushion of a few shots, Reichert ended up making bogey on the 15th, showing he does make some mistake out there, giving a little hope to the other competitors. Shih kept pressing on and made birdie on the 15th to get even closer to Reichert. Coming to the 17th, Reichert flew the green with his tee shot, chipped it up and two-putted for bogey. They headed down the 18th hole with Reichert only up by one.
“At that point it was down to me and Harrison. I had one on him coming down the last and I hit a couple little nervy putts, but I was able to get it done”, stated Reichert after his win.
Shih gave it a solid attempt at a birdie, but left it just short of the hole, tapping in his par and hoping for Reichert to three-putt. Reichert stood over his putt, with some nerves as one would expect.
“It’s never as easy as it looks,” commented Reichert. “When I first hit it, I thought I left it 10 feet short. It kind of cozied up there a little closer than I expected it to but I still had a tester, but I was able to sneak it in.”
Reichert rolled in his par putt with a fist pump immediately after watching it drop, knowing he has just captured his first professional title. Winning is always a great feeling, but it even more special when this is your first time doing it as a professional golfer.
He commented on how it feels, saying, “Fantastic, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. This is my first professional win so it’s pretty cool.”
On the amateur side of the competition, Tommy Ethier was the lone amateur to make the cut to the final day of the competition. He went out and fired a 74 (+4) to capture the low amateur honors, keeping that title here in New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire Golf Association would like to thank Breakfast Hill Golf Club for their hospitality over the course of the competition. The course was in great condition, there were nothing but compliments from the competitors in the field.