Reichert Remains at the Top, This Time with Solo Lead at NH Open
Greenland, NH – Another perfect weather day at Breakfast Hill Golf Club for the second round of the New Hampshire Open Championship presented by Michelob Ultra. While the day started with a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard, it ended with Ben Reichert (Buffalo, NY) capturing the solo lead after 36 holes of play. Reichert fired a three-under, 67, to sit at the top with the remainder of the field following close behind.
Reichert’s bogey-free opening round in the championship propelled him up the leaderboard with two other players alongside him. The second round proved to be more of a challenge for all three players, but Reichert was the standout. He began the day on the 10th hole at Breakfast Hill and got to one-under par on the day with a birdie on the par-4, 13th hole. Despite a bogey on the 17th hole, he birdied the 18th to make the turn at one-under par.
His second nine was a little more eventful as he birdied Breakfast Hill’s 1st hole, where many tend to struggle off the tee. His highlight of the day came when he made eagle on the par-5, 5th hole to get himself to three-under par on the day. From there, he parred his way in, posting a 67 (-3) and nine-under par for the tournament.
Reichert played in the morning, forcing the rest of the field to keep up with the pace he set. Although 67 (-3) is a great score, it was not the low of the day. Two players carded 63 (-7), Harrison Shih (St. Simon Island, GA) and Michael Kartrude (West Palm Beach, FL). Shih, who had a first round 69 (-1) now finds himself one shot back of the lead.
“I got off to a slow start, I bogeyed two for the second day in a row, so hopefully I’ll be able to change that for tomorrow”, stated Shih following his round. “I hit a 4-iron on 5, the par-5 to 12 feet and made that for eagle and that kind of got my round jump started from there.”
After Shih’s eagle on the 5th hole, he used that confidence to birdie the next two holes and made the turn at three-under par, working his way up the leaderboard. He maintained a bogey-free back nine with four more birdies on the card to post a seven-under par round of 63.
Originally from New Jersey but currently residing in St. Simon Island, GA, Shih was fortunate enough to get a practice round in the day before the tournament to see the course and formulate a game plan. He said, “I knew it was going to take accurate driving and some good wedge play. I had not played this golf course before, I love the track obviously, it really suits my eye.”
With the less windy conditions in his second round, he was able to take advantage of his opportunities on the course and roll in the birdie putts. As for the final round, Shih is looking forward to the challenges that round will bring forward but plans to stick to his gameplan that has been working for him. He stated, “I’ve been pretty aggressive off the tee; it has put me in position to hit a lot of wedges into the greens.”
Shih was not the only player to post a 63 (-7) in the second round, in fact Michael Kartrude, 2019 New Hampshire Open champion and current Mass Open champion, also rolled in many birdie putts. Kartrude started his day on the back nine at Breakfast Hill and quickly got on the birdie train with his first of eight birdies coming on the 11th hole. He then had a three-hole stretch of birdies from 14 to 16. Making the turn at four-under par, he still had some work to do.
Kartrude faltered a little with a bogey on the 2nd hole, the same hole Shih made bogey on both days. Without batting an eye, Kartrude closed out his remaining holes in four-under par and posted a 63 (-7) to get to seven-under par for the tournament. He now sits two shots back of the leader with 18 holes left to play.
John Clare of Camille’s, NY, leads the low amateur race with a pair of even-par rounds. He will battle it out with the only other amateur to make the cut, Tommy Ethier (Nahua, NH) who had a two-under par, 68 to sneak in under the cut line.
The cut to the final round ended up at two-over, 142 over 36 holes. 40 players are advancing on to play 18 more holes at Breakfast Hill Golf Club to determine the 88th New Hampshire Open champion.
Reichert’s bogey-free opening round in the championship propelled him up the leaderboard with two other players alongside him. The second round proved to be more of a challenge for all three players, but Reichert was the standout. He began the day on the 10th hole at Breakfast Hill and got to one-under par on the day with a birdie on the par-4, 13th hole. Despite a bogey on the 17th hole, he birdied the 18th to make the turn at one-under par.
His second nine was a little more eventful as he birdied Breakfast Hill’s 1st hole, where many tend to struggle off the tee. His highlight of the day came when he made eagle on the par-5, 5th hole to get himself to three-under par on the day. From there, he parred his way in, posting a 67 (-3) and nine-under par for the tournament.
Reichert played in the morning, forcing the rest of the field to keep up with the pace he set. Although 67 (-3) is a great score, it was not the low of the day. Two players carded 63 (-7), Harrison Shih (St. Simon Island, GA) and Michael Kartrude (West Palm Beach, FL). Shih, who had a first round 69 (-1) now finds himself one shot back of the lead.
“I got off to a slow start, I bogeyed two for the second day in a row, so hopefully I’ll be able to change that for tomorrow”, stated Shih following his round. “I hit a 4-iron on 5, the par-5 to 12 feet and made that for eagle and that kind of got my round jump started from there.”
After Shih’s eagle on the 5th hole, he used that confidence to birdie the next two holes and made the turn at three-under par, working his way up the leaderboard. He maintained a bogey-free back nine with four more birdies on the card to post a seven-under par round of 63.
Originally from New Jersey but currently residing in St. Simon Island, GA, Shih was fortunate enough to get a practice round in the day before the tournament to see the course and formulate a game plan. He said, “I knew it was going to take accurate driving and some good wedge play. I had not played this golf course before, I love the track obviously, it really suits my eye.”
With the less windy conditions in his second round, he was able to take advantage of his opportunities on the course and roll in the birdie putts. As for the final round, Shih is looking forward to the challenges that round will bring forward but plans to stick to his gameplan that has been working for him. He stated, “I’ve been pretty aggressive off the tee; it has put me in position to hit a lot of wedges into the greens.”
Shih was not the only player to post a 63 (-7) in the second round, in fact Michael Kartrude, 2019 New Hampshire Open champion and current Mass Open champion, also rolled in many birdie putts. Kartrude started his day on the back nine at Breakfast Hill and quickly got on the birdie train with his first of eight birdies coming on the 11th hole. He then had a three-hole stretch of birdies from 14 to 16. Making the turn at four-under par, he still had some work to do.
Kartrude faltered a little with a bogey on the 2nd hole, the same hole Shih made bogey on both days. Without batting an eye, Kartrude closed out his remaining holes in four-under par and posted a 63 (-7) to get to seven-under par for the tournament. He now sits two shots back of the leader with 18 holes left to play.
John Clare of Camille’s, NY, leads the low amateur race with a pair of even-par rounds. He will battle it out with the only other amateur to make the cut, Tommy Ethier (Nahua, NH) who had a two-under par, 68 to sneak in under the cut line.
The cut to the final round ended up at two-over, 142 over 36 holes. 40 players are advancing on to play 18 more holes at Breakfast Hill Golf Club to determine the 88th New Hampshire Open champion.