Nashua's James Pleat fell in a close quarterfinal in the State Am Friday at Rochester Country Club. (File ;photo)

ROCHESTER – After a week of grinding through stroke play and five rounds of intense match play, just two players remain at the 122nd New Hampshire Amateur Championship: 18-year-old Josiah Hakala of Beaver Meadow Golf Course and 20-year-old Ryan Scollins of Bald Peak Colony Club.

The two have been playing together for nearly seven years and now face off as opponents in the final match of the New Hampshire Amateur at Rochester Country Club.

Unfortunately from a local standpoint, Nashua’s James Pleat won’t be vying for his third State Am title in the last six tourneys, as he fell in the quarterfinals.

Both Hakala and Scollins earned their spot in today’s 36-hole final at Rochester Country Club with mature, confident performances in Friday’s quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, writing a new chapter in the New Hampshire Amateur’s long and storied history.

Yesterday’s morning quarterfinals delivered tightly contested showdowns across the board. Two of the four matches came down to the final hole to decide the winner. Damon Salo (The Shattuck Golf Club) edged Pleat (Nashua Country Club), the 2020 and 2021 champion, 1 up in a high-level battle between veterans. The pair were tied after nine holes, then Salo birdied the 10th and eagled the 11th to go two-up. Pleat birdied the par-4 12th hole to get it back to a one-hole deficit, and incredibly the pair were tied on every hole thereafter: pars on 13, bogeys on 14, pars on 15, 16, 17 and 18.

Scollins meanwhile ended Gavin Richardson’s run at the title in a 3 & 2 victory.

Hakala maintained his calm demeanor to take down Mathew Gover (Atkinson Resort & CC) 4 & 3, showcasing the composure that brought him to the Semifinals in 2024. Cameron Salo (The Shattuck Golf Club) fell to Jake Nutter (Derryfield Country Club) 1 up, ending the possibility of the Salo brothers meeting in the finals.

In the afternoon semifinals, it was the two youngest players left in the field who rose to the moment. Hakala maintained his composure against Nutter, firing a bogey-free 3-under-par round and pulling away for a 4 & 2 win. He commented on the day saying, “It was a good day out there. I was struggling yesterday hitting the ball and I wasn’t hitting anywhere near what I normally do. But I hit it really nice today, both matches I was 3-under and this afternoon I didn’t make a bogey.”

The experience of falling just short in last year’ss Semifinals weighed heavily on Hakala’s mind and helped shape his mindset. He said, “Last year when I lost to Rob [Henley], I didn’t stay within myself that match and I was really focusing on that today. I just want to play my game, don’t watch other people, and just do what I do best and see what happens.”

Focused, humble, and steady under pressure, Hakala heads into the final with a clear goal. He stated, “It feels awesome to be in the finals. Your goal when you start the week is to be playing tomorrow, but there’s one more. I’ll be happy tomorrow if I win and I’ll be disappointed if I lose. But it’s a good week and I’ve played some really good golf.”

In the other Semifinal, Scollins battled strong against a veteran competitor, Damon Salo. While Damon was 2 up early in the match, Scollins battled his way back on their second nine and never looked back. He closed out the match 3 & 1 after rolling in two birdies in the last four holes to confidently secure his win.

“It was a long day,” Scollins said. “This morning, I started with three birdies in a row to get up early and then kind of just held on all morning from there. And then in the afternoon, it was a great match. We were just hitting the ball really well. I was down for a bit on the front nine and then I was able to flip it and then hold on.”

The key for Scollins was precise iron play. He said, “The second match for me was all ball striking. I didn’t really make many putts but only missed one green in regulation. So, I just kind of wore him out with solid ball striking.”

The final against Hakala will be a familiar pairing. Scollins stated, “Josiah is a phenomenal player. We’ve been playing together for six or seven years, so it’ll be a lot of fun.”

While Hakala made it deep in the State Amateur week last year, Scollins has only ever made it to the Round of 32 so advancing to the final match is an accomplishment in itself. He commented, “It’s really special. If you told me Monday that I’d be here right now, I probably wouldn’t believe it, so it’s been a really fun week.”

(Nashua Telegraph Staff Writer Tom King contributed to this report.)