ATKINSON, N.H. — Buried in the woods, his ball potentially lost, Rob Oppenheim stared at impending doom on the verge of washing away two brilliant days of golf in one bad hole.
A younger Oppenheim, nursing a precarious one-shot lead with two holes left in the New Hampshire State Open, caught a break and found the ball, then kept his wits about him, scraping out a "good bogey."
"It gave me a chance to still win," said the 29-year-old Andover pro, who after hacking out of the bushes made a huge sand save to hold a share of the lead. "Golf's crazy, you never know what is going to happen. You play enough, and you just can't let that bother you. That's experience. Stay with it, don't get flustered."
The opportunity would not escape Oppenheim either, as he rolled in a title-clinching 15-foot birdie on the last hole, finishing at -6 for the two-day event at Atkinson Country Club to claim the championship and the accompanying $4,000 winner's check.
The former Rollins College great shot 69-69 - 138, just enough to beat good friend and traveling partner Scott Hawley by a shot.
"We had a good battle all day," said Oppenheim, who played in the final pairing with Hawley, the first-round leader. "He's actually staying at my house this week. We both played well, but to finish like that is something I'll always remember.
"It was a 15-footer, uphill and under pressure. You don't want to ram it and leave yourself with too much for par either."
The clincher was actually the fourth huge putt made in the final five holes for Oppenheim, who birdied the 14th and made treacherous five-footers to save par on 15 and bogey on 17.
Oppenheim, who won the Mass. State Open last month, will now head back to Florida to refine his game and ready for a final push toward PGA Qualifying School in the fall. He'll also return to the Canadian Tour for events in Quebec and Ontario over the final three weeks of August.
Atkinson's Joe Leavitt sent a message to the rest of the Merrimack Valley Conference that he's going to be ready for the upcoming fall high school season. The Central Catholic sophomore finished at 70-76 - 146 to tie for sixth overall and share "low amateur" status with North Conway's Camrin James.
Atkinson CC teaching pro Marc Spencer was also part of that six-way tie for sixth, finishing up at 73-73 - 146.
Among the other area players making the cut were: Atkinson CC's Rich Campiola (154, T-28), Garrison Golf Center's Kevin Murphy (156, T-32), Haverhill's Tom Smith (157, T-36), Atkinson CC's Rob Shields (158, T-40), Atkinson CC's Peter Doherty (163, T-49) and Salem, N.H.'s Mike Ferrigno (163, T-49).
Prep stars shine in Mass. State Junior Amateur
St. John's Prep sophomore Nick McLaughlin of New Castle, N.H., continued his dazzling summer on the links by winning the Mass. State Junior championship.
McLaughlin, who is only 15 and plays out of Far Corner Golf Club in Boxford, dominated the three-day event at Framingham Country Club, winning by three shots.
"Playing in this before definitely makes you feel more comfortable," said McLaughlin, whose best performance heading into today was a second-place finish in the Boys Division back in 2007. "I know what to expect here. When you play in an event for the first time, you don't know where to go or what to do. That is not the case here."
A couple of familiar faces were right behind McLaughlin in the hunt.
His Prep teammate Nick Maccario of Haverhill Country Club was locked in a four-way tie for third place, five shots off the lead. Andover High's David Gilbert, who plays out of Indian Ridge Country Club, also tied for third.
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