Jamie Ferullo and his wife Rachel had a deal.
“Last year my wife said I could play as much (golf) as I wanted as long as I gave her a baby this year,” he said. “I delivered on that, and I had a great year last year. I’ll keep carrying that on. It will be even more special playing as a dad for the first time.”
Lucy was born on June 11, and the win-win situation will enable Jamie to defend his first Seacoast Am title this weekend.
“I played a decent amount before Lucy was born,” Ferullo said. “My wife was late giving birth so the amount I played was extended. I put in a lot of work and had quite a few good rounds.”
The blessed event capped quite a year for the Rochester native who not only won his first Seacoast Amateur Golf Championship 12 months ago but was also named Division II coach of the year for leading the Spaulding High School hockey team to the Division II championship.
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“It really can’t get any better,” Ferullo said. “It’s all fun. You have different eras in your life. This new one is just starting and it’s what we’ve been looking forward to. It’s been nice.”
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Ferullo, who finally broke through after 15 years and several close calls, is part of a field that features seven former champs including multiple winners Brett Wilson (five) and Nick McLaughlin (two). Three-time champion Craig Steckowych was on the original players list but withdrew because of recent hernia surgery.
The 44th annual tournament opens Friday at Portsmouth Country Club. Pease Golf Course will host the second round Saturday with the third-and-final round scheduled for Sunday at Breakfast Hill Golf Club in Greenland. There is also a Senior Division and a team competition.
“Last year was such a relief,” said Ferullo, 33. “It was just exhausting. The courses were all difficult set-ups. It was just a grind. The excitement came out a little later down the line.”
Ferullo prevailed by four strokes over runner-up Will Delano of York Golf & Tennis Club with the final round being played at The Golf Club of New England in Stratham. At minus-1, Ferullo was the only player to finish under par for the tournament on the strength of a second-round 68 at Dover’s Cochecho Country Club that put him in the lead for good.
“If it’s a competition I’m going to show up and try to win no matter what,” Ferullo said. “That’s the expectation. You have to take it in stride and understand that adversity is going to come your way, especially these three days. Last year I made a triple (bogey) on my sixth hole of the tournament. It’s all about battling back and understanding when to bear down and just keep calm, cool and collected.”
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Ferullo is in the third threesome to tee off Friday morning (7:20) at Portsmouth CC with Myles O’Quinn and Kurt Eddins. Harvin Groft, Derek Dinwoodie and Brett Wilson comprise the first group with a tee time of 7 a.m. and a combined seven Seacoast Am titles to their credit with five belonging to Wilson, a Dover native.
Groft has been knocking at the door in recent years after capturing his first title in 2020. The former Penn State golfer came within one bad hole of winning in 2022 and last year he led after the first round but had to withdraw after the second because of injury
Groft tied for second in 2021.
“He’s just a good competitor and such a good guy,” Ferullo said. “He’s as good as it gets. He’s one of the best putters I’ve ever seen and fun to watch.”
McLaughlin, Delano and Zach Aumand are in the second group. Other past winners in the field include Mike Mahan, Kevin Strong and Dinwoodie, who emerged victorious two years ago for his first Seacoast Am title.
“It will definitely be different,” Ferullo said. “I’ve normally already played in five or six tournaments by the time we get to the Seacoast, and this year I’ve had zero. The biggest thing is to change the mentality to tournament mode which is obviously much different.
“Definitely a lot of weight off the shoulders going into this year,” he added, “but I’m still just as hungry as I was going into last year.”
