Courtesy photo Nashua's Tommy Ethier outlasted fellow NCC member Jack Brown to capture the Nashua City Golf Championship this past weekend at NCC.

NASHUA – Friends, rivals and fun helped Tommy Ethier get a much better outcome than three weeks ago.

Ethier was a surprise early casualty in the New Hampshire State Amateur Golf Championship earlier this month, not making the cut after the two-day medal round.

But this past weekend, he made up for that a bit as he outlasted friend, rival and defending champion Jack Brown on the sixth playoff hole to win an epic John B. Wollen Memorial Nashua City Golf Championship at Nashua Country Club.

“It’s fun playing head to head with one of your friends and with all those people watching,” said Ethier, who actually shared a cart with Brown through the final round, including the playoff which had a gallery of about 50 following them around. “I have a lot of respect for (Brown’s) game, he’s become a very good player over the past few years.”

This was different for Ethier because, unlike the State Am at NCC, his putter was working.

The pair shot identical scores for the first 36 holes, each with a 71 at Souhegan Woods on the first day of the tourney and then a 70 at NCC on day two.

Ethier had a three shot lead stepping onto the 14th hole but had a double bogey and then bogeyed 15 to deadlock things. Then he made a 15 footer on 17 to match a Brown birdie, and forced the playoff with a 12 foot putt on 18. Plus on the first playoff hole, Ethier sank a 15 footer to save par after Brown had already parred the hole.

“I think my putter saved me big time,” Ethier said. “It was the best I’ve putted under pressure.”

In the playoff, they played holes one through four, then one again, and finally came down 18 where Brown put his tee shot out of bounds and Ethier, who had three putts to work with, made birdie.

The remaining leaders were a who’s who of local golf. Behind Ethier and Brown, tied for third were Nashua North senior Bryce Zimmerman and 2019 State Am champion John DeVito of Passaconaway with a two-day total of 146.

Jason Slattery and this year’s State Am runnerup, Cam Sheedy, were tied for firth at a four-over 147. Kevin Gaynor was seventh at 150 while Eric Emeneau and Jeff Monahan were tied for eighth at 151. Rounding out the top 10, tied for 10h were Chris Miele and Jack Fitzgerald at 152.

Capturing the Senior Division crown was John Sterling at 152, beating out Bob Lind and Brian Snow, who tied for second at 154. Rounding out the top five were Curtis Graham and Michael Hogan at 158.

Either way, the tourney was a huge success.

“The Nashua City Championship has a long history of comradery and stellar play from our field,” tourney co-director Rob Zimmerman said in an email. “This year was no exception.”