For Mat Gover, the waiting game had to be tough.
After back-to-back trips to the quarterfinals, the Atkinson youngster found himself on tenuous ground after carding a second straight 75 in Tuesday’s morning flight at the 121st New Hampshire Amateur.
Would the 10-over par total over two days at Concord Country Club be enough to qualify for match play?
Starting the day in the 100s on the leaderboard, Gover watched his name creep up the leaderboard all afternoon. Ultimately, he would claim a spot in the 11-player tie in 46th.
Coming off a stunning freshman campaign at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, the Atkinson Country Clubber is one of three area players to advance to Wednesday’s match-play.
Salem’s Evan Desjardins, also of Atkinson, and Derry’s Jake Vaiknoras also look safe at +11.
Desjardins, who plays at Bentley University, was in trouble after an opening round 81 on Monday, but he charged into contention with an even-par 70 on Tuesday. Vaiknoras, 28, was pretty steady over the two days with a 77-74 – 151.
There could be more, since the field play finished up due to darkness with a handful of groups still not finished.
Haverhill’s Aiden Azevedo, who plays out of Atkinson CC, is one of them.
As it stands, the cut line is at +12. He is currently +13 with three holes to play. Salem’s William Miele finished at 77-76 (+13). He would need the cut line to slide down a notch.
The pared-down field of 64 will be back in action on Wednesday in Concord.
Bradford CC’s Lucy survives at MassAm
Only 32 players advance to match-play in the Massachusetts Amateur. Bradford Country Club’s Matt Lucy was the lone area player to get that job done over the last two days at Framingham Country Club.
Lucy shot back-to-back even par rounds of 72 to tie for 15th place. He will battle Wollaston’s Jake Ratti with a 9 a.m. tee time on Wednesday.
The magic number to make the cut was 146 at the Mass Am. A pair of locals just came up short. Bradford CC’s Bill Drohen made a heroic late charge, but the 2009 champ finished at 76-71 – 147. Haverhill Country Club’s Michael Souliotis shot 71-76 – 147.