​DOVER — Once Myles O’Quinn found someone to talk to between holes, he played his best golf in the 123rd New Hampshire Amateur final on Saturday. O’Quinn’s friend, Alex Moody, caddied for him during the final 18 holes of the 36-hole championship at Cochecho Country Club, helping him secure a 2-up victory over Gavin Richardson. The 20-year-old from Durham said Moody helped him maintain a positive mindset through the latter portion of the tightly contested match. Their conversations weren’t always about golf; they would often discuss O’Quinn’s last shot, but the topics frequently veered toward cars. “I think from now on, maybe I’ll have him ride around with me,” O’Quinn said, noting that he had mostly traveled solo for the six-day tournament. A member at Portsmouth Country Club, O’Quinn captured his first State Amateur title in his third appearance in the event. The victory earned him an exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club and Philadelphia Country Club from August 10–16.
Richardson, a 19-year-old from Concord, and O’Quinn were tied after the first 18 holes, a span in which they were dead even nine times. O’Quinn, who plays collegiate golf for Endicott College, broke the deadlock by pars on the 20th hole—the 443-yard, par-4 11th hole. The Oyster River High School graduate moved two up two holes later after posting one of his 11 birdies of the match on the 444-yard, par-4 13th. “In the other matches, once I got to 2 up I felt really good,” O’Quinn said. He had previously defeated two-time State Amateur champion James Pleat (Nashua Country Club) and Cochecho member Kurt Eddins in earlier rounds to reach the final. “I hadn’t hit 2 up at all today, and once I did, I felt really good.”
The championship remained close through 29 holes. Richardson, a Concord Country Club member, birdied the par-4 first to pull within one, then captured the par-4 second hole to reclaim some momentum. O’Quinn, who entered the final as the 28th seed after the stroke-play portion, regained the lead with an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-3 third hole—the 30th hole of the match—and never trailed again. Richardson, the No. 30 seed, encountered difficulties off the tee on several of the last nine holes and missed a number of crucial short putts during the encounter. O’Quinn two-putted on the final hole, while Richardson failed to convert an up-and-down on the par-3 ninth, ending the match with O’Quinn’s victory.
“Honestly, not a lot was working today,” Richardson said after the round. “Everything was just a little off.” Richardson and O’Quinn both grew up playing on the NH Golf Junior Tour, but they had never faced each other until Saturday. O’Quinn also wasn’t very familiar with the Cochecho course before the event, having only played it in high school matches against Dover High. He spent the week learning the layout and discovered that the course offers particular holes with strategic advantages, contributing to a final that delivered suspense and a strong performance from both players. With the win, O’Quinn not only claimed the state title but secured a place among the nation’s top amateurs, setting the stage for his upcoming appearance in the U.S. Amateur Championship.