Concord
But Jim Cilley was hoping for more. He wanted to be the player the field was chasing. And the former New Hampshire State Amateur champion thinks he should have been.
“I should probably have an eight-shot lead, the way I hit the ball,” said Cilley, who plays out of Ridgewood Country Club. “Today I was just awful on the green.”
He’s doing a lot better on the leaderboard after firing a 1-over-par 73 at Beaver Meadow Golf Course, putting him in a three-way tie for second with Nashua’s Michael Martel and Hanover’s Nate Choukas. Damon Salo is fifth at 2-over after shooting a 5-under 67, the best round of the day.
The three in second are a single stroke shy of Cameron Salo, who shot his second straight even-par 72 on a course that hasn’t allowed anyone to consistently score low or run away with the tournament.
Cilley, who won the State Am in 2011 over Hanover Country Club’s Nick MacDonald, thought he’d be that player, but struggles with the flatstick brought him back to the pack.
“It’s just the makeable putts, that’s what’s really frustrating,” he said. “I didn’t take advantage of the opportunities I had.”
Cilley, who began his round on the 10th hole, started hot, birdieing the 11th and 12th to immediately dip under par. He didn’t stay there, bogeying four holes against a birdie on the 4th to finish with the 73.
It was easy for Cilley to find where the missing strokes were. He hit his approaches close on the 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th holes, but let the birdie putt slip away each time.
“I just couldn’t make anything,” he said. “Six to 12 feet long all day, I couldn’t make any putts. Got to blame the caddy today.”
With no caddies in the tournament, it was a tongue-in-cheek way of Cilley — who played out of Beaver Meadow for years — to point the finger at himself.
“I feel like I’m in pretty good position. The local ties, I’ve probably played more rounds there than anyone else in the field,” he said. “I think ultimately, I just need to change my perspective and my attitude. I kind of got frustrated and beat myself up a bit.”
Cameron Salo’s second 72 was good enough for the advantage, but it looked a lot different than his first, which featured 15 pars. The Bretwood golfer notched four birdies, but posted two of his four bogeys on the final four holes.
One of the second-place golfers began the day alone in front. After surging to first place with an opening-round 69, Choukas came down to earth with a 4-over 76 — a round that had him, like Cilley, regretting shots left on the course.
“It was a little bit frustrating. I still came away with an OK score, so I’m really happy to be right there,” he said. “Just wasn’t getting off the tee very well, so I was putting myself in tough positions off the tee, and then I couldn’t make a putt all day. I think I made one putt outside of kick-in range.”
Choukas had the task of teeing off in the scope of the other golfers as the first-round leader, but the Trinity College player said any nerves were minimal.
“Maybe a little bit on the first hole,” he said. “But then, it is a 72-hole tournament. No one’s likely going to lead through all four rounds. It’s just a lot of golf.”
After a decent effort on the harder back nine, Choukas was looking to make up the strokes on the front, but a bogey on the par-5 second hole hurt those plans.
“(The second) was tough. To shoot plus-3 on the back, it’s not good, but that front nine you can go low on,” he said. “I made a par on 1 which was fine, and then 2 is a real birdie hole. To make six there, it’s like dropping two shots. That was tough.”
Pembroke Pines’s Josh LaCasse, tied for eighth at 4 over after a 3-over 75, leads the rest of the local contingent into today’s 36 holes. A father-and-son combo is another shot back — Loudon’s Bob Landry and his son, Travis, are tied for 12th at 5 over.
“I really don’t worry about (the leaderboard). I worry about myself,” said Bob Landry, who followed a 76 with a second-round 73. “I hit some good shots today, didn’t make as many putts as I’d like. But I hit a lot of (good) wedges, and that’s kind of my game.”
Travis shot the same 76-73 as his father, but found a different route to the same destination.
“I didn’t quite hit my irons and wedges the way I wanted to. There’s definitely room for improvement. I’ve just got to keep rolling putts, that’s what I did today,” he said. “I think, now, it’s more of a mind game. Just trying to get the confidence back with the clubs, my low irons and my wedges.”
The course, as was the case on Monday, played differently as the day wore on. Morning golfers played to a softer course, allowing them to hold more shots on the fairways and greens. By afternoon, the sun-baked conditions led to faster play, and shots off the mark became all the more costly.
The pattern was evident in the scores. Damon Salo and Ryan Kohler shot 67 and 69, respectively, after posting a 79 and 82 in their afternoon rounds on Monday. Choukas, meanwhile, saw his score climb seven strokes after playing in the afternoon Tuesday.
“The course dries out in the afternoon and it gets a little tougher to play,” Bob Landry said.
“In the morning, they’d stick pretty good.”
The players still in the running will get a chance to see both. The top 40 (with ties) advanced to today’s final two rounds, a group that includes Concord’s Matt Paradis (tied for 24th, 9 over), Pembroke Pines’ Ricky Bergevin (tied for 28th, 10 over) and Beaver Meadow’s Eric Saucier (tied for 28th, 10 over).
It’s a grueling day, but a top prize remains — one that many, Cilley included, have yet to claim.
“It’s been a goal of mine to win it. I’ve led after two rounds and fallen apart in the last round,” he said. “This is one I really want to get, and it’s nice to be in the mix.”