Telegraph photo by TOM KING James Pleat hugs his mom in celebration after capturing the 117th NH State Am Golf Championship at his home course at Nashua Country Club

NASHUA – It was his course, his week, his day, his tournament.

Nashua Country Club’s James Pleat was the story of the 117th New Hampshire State Amateur Golf Championship from start to finish.

He started the tourney Monday and Tuesday by being the runaway medalist after the first two days, and he ended it Saturday with a grueling 2 and 1 win over able challenger Cam Sheedy of Pepperell, Mass.to capture his first State Am crown.

Pleat becomes the fourth generation winner of the title in his family, and all four won it at NCC. His father Phil, who caddied for him, won the Am here in 1997. But his great grandfather Thomas Leonard won the crown at NCC 98 years ago, and his grandfather, Thomas J. Leonard, Jr., won multiple Ams but his last was 68 years ago, also at Nashua Country Club.

“Elation,” Pleat said, summing up his feelings moments after he won. “I’ve been thinking about this for awhile. Obviously it’s a dream come true.”

It was a dream that refused to die, despite a hard late charge by Bishop Guertin alum Sheedy. Pleat was 4 up with five holes to play but Sheedy took 14, 15, and 16 to close to within 1 up with two holes to play. But he bogeyed 17, the 35th hole of the match, while Pleat managed a par to win it.

“That was pretty wild,” said Pleat. “I had heard he was a great putter all week, and he was making a lot of birdies here. He didn’t really make a lot of putts in the first round (of 18 in the morning) so I knew that he was due. With a guy like him you basically have to play like he’s going to make everything. And that finally started happening.”

Pleat was two up after the first 18, and increased his lead in the afternoon with a birdie on the seventh and ninth to move to 4 up. But Sheedy held steady, and when the match left 13, he was one bad miss away from falling.

But Pleat bogeyed 14 and 15 and Sheedy sank a birdie putt on 16. You had a feeling he was back in it when Pleat’s tee shot on 16 hit a tree and fell right back to the tee box.

“That’s never happened to me before,” he said. “That was wild. It wasn’t a good swing. … Honestly I got lucky that he missed this one (a par putt on 17) here.”

“I was fired up, that was fun,” Sheedy said. “I was making a lot of putts, but too little, too late.”

Sheedy had problems off the tee, and that hurt him. For example, on the 18th hole, he drove the ball toward the parking lot and ended up taking a six to help put Pleat 2 up halfway through.

“I sucked off the tee for the day,” he said. “I just made a lot of stupid shots. I don’t know, my putter kept me in it. I can definitely feel the effects of playing a lot of golf this week.”

The wind, thanks to a tropical storm that thankfully missed the area in terms of rain, was also a huge factor. Sheedy spoke of how he would play a Tiger Woods video game and put the wind level up to gale force. “It ended up being reality today,” he said.

“It was probably the windiest I’ve ever seen it here,” Pleat said. “It made it tough, made it so neither of us could shoot the low scores we had been during the week.”

On the deciding hole, a 398-yard par 4, both golfers hit to the left. But Sheedy had to clear more tree area, and ended up putting his second shot to the rough off the back of the green, and had to chip back. Pleat, however, put his squarely in the second, leaving about 20 feet for birdie. It was probably his shot of the tournament – safe but in position.

“Yes, definitely,” he said. “Especially when it’s windy like this. You just want to get it on the green. Again, I got lucky that he missed the par putt, but I’m not complaining at all.”

Still, could the 2013 Dartmouth grad who also was the medalist in 2011 (at NCC) and 2013 have imagined a week like this?

“I’d like to think that usually I have a chance to win this tournament,” Pleat said. “I’d had some success in the past, but not recently, so I wanted to change that.”

Not only did he change it, he added to his family’s golf legacy.

And perhaps began his own.

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