Nashua's James Pleat is among five locals who survived the Round of 64 Wednesday in the 122nd State Am Golf Championship at Rochester Country Club. (File photo)

ROCHESTER – The Round of 64 at the 122nd New Hampshire Amateur Championship is officially in the books, and the area went 5-5 in 10 matches as five locals remain.

Surviving the day Wednesday were Nashua Country Club’s Nate Crowley and James Pleat, Souhegan Woods’ Kevin Gaynor of Amherst and Nashuans Austin Baker and John Devito. Pleat and Devito, of course, are former State Am champions.

Pleat downed Joshua Pabst of Owl’s Nest 5 and 3, while Crowley downed Portsmouth’s Grey Gagnon 3 and 2. DeVito was taken 19 holes by Albie Powers of Keene CC but won; Nashua’s Baker beat Beaver Meadow’s Stephen Quillinan in 20 holes and Gaynor edged former Am champ Dan Arvanitis 1-up.

On the flip side, five other locals fell. Nashua North alum Bryce Zimmerman of NCC lost to Candia Oaks’ Harvin Groft, 1-up. Passaconaway’s Nate Stevens bowed to Atkinson CC’s Matt Gover 4 and 2, and NCC’s Russell Hamel fell to Jake Nutter of Derryfield 3 and 2. Sky Meadow’s Paul Torri lost to The Shattuck’s Cameron Salo of New Ipswich 2-up, and finally, Nashua’s Daniel Barrett fel to Birch Hill’s Ryan Martel, 1 up.

Today, in the morning round of 32, Pleat will take on Salem 19-year-old William Miele, Crowley faces Rochester CC’s Jamie Ferullo, and DeVito gets 12th seed and defending champion Rob Henley of Lake Sunapee CC. Also, Gaynor seeded 18th, faces Londonderry’s Carter Browning, No. 50. And Baker will take on No. 10 Gover.

HOME COURSE ADVANTAGE

Among others advancing are many top seeded golfers along with home club brothers, Kory and Jamie Ferullo.

The Ferullos, both Rochester natives and fan favorites this week, used their local knowledge and unwavering support from the gallery to their advantage on a day filled with tightly contested matches and high-caliber play. Jamie Ferullo, a veteran presence at Rochester CC, leaned on familiarity and course strategy to grind out his 3&2 win over Thomas Murdough.

“I think the biggest thing going into stroke play was knowing where to miss to get through to the next round,” Jamie said. “But now it’s about playing good golf. There’s a lot of good players out there. This is home, this is where I’ve been for 25 years, so it’s a lot of fun to have it here and see how the best players do.”

Despite not making everything on the greens, Jamie kept the pressure on with quality approach shots. He said, “I hit a lot of really good shots today. I didn’t make a lot of putts but sometimes I didn’t really have to.”

“The first match is always the hardest,” Jaime continued. “You just have to do what you have to do to get through.”

His younger brother, Kory Ferullo, brought firepower to his match, opening with five birdies on the front nine and riding a strong start to a convincing 3&2 win over Eric Foster. Kory commented, “It’s fun to be out here, knowing the course in and out, and getting the support of people that are local and want to see you succeed. It’s been fun to be comfortable while still grinding and trying to stay locked in.”

Kory pointed to his consistency off the tee and into greens as a key to his success. He stated, “I think my ball striking has been very good. Being able to go tee to green is certainly helpful to keep the greenside chips out of mind.”

The brothers, both chasing deep runs in the match play bracket, also emphasized the camaraderie they share throughout the week. “We’re always there to support each other and we want to see each other do well,” Kory said. “I think it would be really fun to compete against each other, but we just want to see each other do well.”

Jamie echoed the sentiment saying, “It doesn’t get any better than to have the support of my family and the club. It’s good to see [Kory] really playing well.”

Stroke play co-medalists Justin Grondahl and Josiah Hakala, who both fired 7-under over the first two rounds to earn the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds respectively, handled their opening matches with focus and precision. Grondahl moved on with a steady performance defeating 64 seed Tucker Roberto 3&1, while Hakala displayed his dominance winning 4&3 over Jimmy Schouller. Roberto survived The March earlier in the morning, which claimed a couple of locals, including former champion and local golf icon Phil Pleat.

The Round of 64 also saw its fair share of upsets, with several top-20 seeds falling to lower-ranked challengers, proving that once match play begins, seeding becomes just a number. Notable wins from rising stars and seasoned veterans alike have already shifted the momentum of the bracket heading into Thursday’s Round of 32.

(Kate Billings is NH Golf’s Director of Communications; Tom King is a Telegraph Staff writer)