Hanover
The game also allows him to channel the inner competitor that made him such a formidable high school athlete — and, for a short time, a professional baseball player —25 years ago. If the day doesn’t necessarily end with victory, he’s OK with that.
Making his first appearance in match play at a New Hampshire Golf Association amateur championship, the 15th-seeded Vielleux fell three holes behind 50th-seeded competitor David Larrivee to open Tuesday’s first-round match, grinding away until he drew level on Hanover Country Club’s back nine.
On a day in which neither golfer could sink a meaningful putt, Manchester Country Club’s Larrivee finally did in overtime. The 6-foot-8 N.H. Amateur veteran jarred a 30-footer for birdie on the par-4 second hole to eliminate Vielleux in a 20-hole decision, a result that left the 1993 Hartford High School graduate disappointed but satisfied.
“He’s pretty solid, pretty straight,” Vielleux said of Larrivee, a one-time N.H. junior champion and two-sport athlete at Bates College back in the day. “Both of us, at times, played really well, and then … we showed we could play poorly as well. It was a fun match.
“Although it’s my first time playing this thing, I don’t think it matters who you play. Everybody has a chance to win.”
The opening day of matches in the 115th N.H. Amateur largely went to form, with the top 12 seeds all winning. The top two, Carter’s Pat Pelletier and Concord’s Matthew Paradis, however, had to escape tight matches. Only four of the nine Upper Valley golfers who advanced out of stroke-play qualifying on Monday won their opening tilts on Tuesday.
Vielleux joined that latter group on a day when the 44-year-old alternated displays of excellence and humanity. He also won a fan in Larrivee.
“I didn’t know that was his first Am; he did really well for his first Am,” Larrivee said. “He’s a great ball striker. He’s someone we’re going to see around here for a while, I’m sure.”
Vielleux has been around golf most of his life, often joining his father, Duane, for rounds at Hanover CC. It just hasn’t always been his athletic priority.
He was among a group of athletes who brought Hartford High its first sustained football success, a four-year state championship run from 1990-93 under Mike Stone that included Vielleux for its first three. Also an excellent basketball and baseball player, Vielleux was a late-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1993 and spent two years playing infield in the Cubs’ rookie-league system.
Vielleux still cherishes his athletic years at Hartford, particularly his relationships with Stone and the late Robert “Stretch” Gillam, his basketball coach. Other aspects, including senior-year academic issues that played out publically, still hold some residual sting. Golf sat in the background, becoming more of a priority after the Cubs released Vielleux from spring training and he returned to Vermont in 1995.
“The satisfaction I got was from playing well, but getting drafted was obviously a high point for me,” Vielleux said. “I love to play golf. Any chance I can, I’m going to play golf. I like coming out and shooting a number, trying to figure out how good I can be.
“I’ve played here for years. I’ve shot 65, 66, but then the next day I can throw up a 78. I get a lot of satisfaction out of playing golf well.”
He did so on Tuesday, once he shook off opening nerves. Down three holes right off the bat, Vielleux got one back on the par-4 fifth, capitalized on Larrivee’s errant drive and eventual triple bogey on the par-4 ninth and squared the match by draining a 6-foot birdie putt on 10.
Vielleux went up on 12 with a conceded par, but Larrivee leveled when his opponent put two shots into the hazard on 15. Larrivee regained a lead on 16 only to give it back with a three-putt one hole later. Vielleux could have won the match on 18, reaching the long par-5 green in two while Larrivee drifted left; Vielleux left his downhill 14-foot eagle putt for the victory just short of the cup.
Even as he dodged that bullet, Larrivee felt confident he could take the match. He did on No. 2 after watching Vielleux’ 35-foot putt on the second extra hole narrowly miss the mark. The Bedford resident found the center of the cup with his follow-up attempt.
“For me, it’s about tempo,” he said. “When you get competitive, you get a little tight. I reminded myself to slow it down. I started to swing a little smoother, and all of a sudden, I got back on track.”
Vielleux is happy with where golf fits into a life that includes 16 years of marriage to his wife, Nichole, with whom he has two kids, 14-year-old son Colin and 11-year-old daughter Paige. He works as a paraprofessional at his alma mater, helps coach the Hartford High golf team and also works with the school’s basketball and baseball programs. The notion of maybe becoming a teacher someday intrigues him.
The lesson from a Tuesday in the Hanover sun? He may not be inclined to try another N.H. Amateur unless it’s close to home, but at least he knows he’s not out of place here.
“I like doing this stuff,” he said.
It’s Scary at the Top: Pelletier and Paradis both shook off opening-day frights to make today’s round of 32.
Pelletier, the Lebanon High grad and stroke-play medalist, had a battle with Laconia’s William Everett before pulling out a 2-and-1 win. Paradis, last year’s championship runner-up, needed 20 holes to put away Intervale’s Tim Baines.
Three other area golfers joined Pelletier in today’s matches. Baker Hill’s Drew Jankowski, a former Dartmouth College golfer, dropped Intervale’s Austin Fox, 3 and 2; Carter’s Andy Hunnewell was a 5-and-4 victor over Stonebridge’s Josh Chamberlain; and Nashua’s James Pleat, Jankowski’s former Big Green teammate, stopped Hoodkroft’s Marshall Halpin, 2 up.
Hanover veteran Scott Peters and three former Hanover High standouts — Phin Choukas, Nate Choukas and Ryerson Stinson — all saw their tournaments end with first-round defeats. Nate Choukas, at No. 13, was the highest seed to fall on Tuesday.
Round of 32 play begins today at 8 a.m. Morning winners will be back on the course for round-of-16 matches in the afternoon.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.