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Pleat continues family legacy with New Hampshire Amateur title
Last week we saw Tyler Strafaci win the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst, repeating a feat that his grandfather Frank Strafaci had accomplished in 1938 and 1939.

James Pleat just did him two generations better.

The mid-amateur and former Dartmouth College golfer became the fourth member of the family to win the New Hampshire Amateur, capturing the 117th edition with a 2&1 win over Cameron Sheedy in the 36-hole final match at Nashua Country Club.

Better yet for James was the fact that his father Phil Pleat, himself a three-time state amateur champion, was on the bag caddying. With the win, James repeated Phil's feat of winning on his home course.

"I grew up watching this tournament," said Pleat to the New Hampshire Golf Association. "I remember the green before the one I won on, my dad won the 1997 State Amateur and I ran out to give him a hug and it was a little bit of a role reversal this time. He was caddying for me and we had a nice little hug on the 17th hole."

"It's amazing, it's a dream come true."

It wasn't easy though. After finishing the morning round 2 holes ahead, Pleat built a four-hole lead with just five to play. But Sheedy went on a run, winning three straight holes to pull within one with two holes to go. But a missed short par putt on the 35th hole was the decider.

"I think I escaped with one there", said Pleat. "I expected him to get up and down for par, but it was enough and that's all that matters and I'm thrilled."

Sheedy actually beat Phil Pleat during his run to the final match, but couldn't quite take out the father-son duo. It's a duo that have played great golf for many years now; in 2012 they became just the fourth father-son duo to play in the same U.S. Amateur, and they competed in the U.S. Four-Ball Championship in 2017. In addition to his three state amateur titles, Phil was the runner-up in the U.S. Senior Amateur.

James' grandfather Thomas J. Leonard, Jr. won eight New Hampshire state amateurs between 1939 and 1952, and his great grandfather Thomas J. Leonard, Sr. won in 1922.

Results: New Hampshire Amateur
WinNHJames PleatNashua, NH200
Runner-upMACameron SheedyPepperell, MA100
SemifinalsMEHarvin GroftBerwick, ME50
SemifinalsNHCameron SaloPeterborough, NH50
MedalistNHJames PleatNashua, NH25

View full results for New Hampshire Amateur

ABOUT THE New Hampshire Amateur

Competition will be held at ten pre-qualifying sites and will be 18 holes at Stroke Play. The low qualifiers and ties from all the sites along with the players exempt from prequalifying, will be eligible for the 36-hole qualifying on the first two days of the tournament proper. Sixty-four players will begin match play the following day. Entries are open to males who are members in good standing of member NHGA Clubs who are legal residents of New Hampshire. An eligible non-resident can play in NHGA Championships if he has been a member in good standing of an NHGA member club for the last three complete golf seasons and has played a minimum of 25 rounds of golf at this club in each of the three seasons. A letter signed by the President of the member club must accompany his first entry, stating that the player complies with NHGA eligibility requirements.

View Complete Tournament Information

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