PORTLAND – The cigar hung from Ron Bibeau’s mouth as he paced on the 10th tee at Riverside Municipal Golf Course.
Bibeau tossed it aside momentarily while he took two quick practice swings. He then addressed the ball and smacked a drive 300-plus yards down the middle of the fairway.
“I’ll take that one all day,” said Bibeau, who used to be the professional at both Martindale in Auburn and at Turner Highlands. “I’ll take that one all week.”
Bibeau joined nearly 30 other professionals and a host of amateurs at the pro-am in advance of the 87th Charlie’s Maine Open on Wednesday. While the pro-am is a good way to warm up for the main event, which attracts some of the top touring professionals from the Cleveland Tour in addition to the top pros from across Maine and New England, Bibeau made sure to keep the whole week in perspective.
“I don’t take this too seriously,” said Bibeau, who is now an assistant pro at Riverside. “(Today) I’m just going to hit it, go find it, and hit it again. If I took this too seriously, I’d be in a mental hospital somewhere.”
Perhaps the change in attitude keyed some of Bibeau’s success this season, his first since gaining his Class A PGA certification last winter. At the State of Maine PGA Championship, Bibeau logged his best finish (fourth).
“I’ve been playing better because I’ve been putting better,” said Bibeau. “I keep track of crazy stats, and this year I am averaging 29 putts per round. Last year it was 33. Those four strokes in a round make a huge difference. It helps to make seven or eight birdies when you hit 15 greens in regulation instead of two.”
Bibeau, while hopeful, will still have to contend with top Maine pros Bob Darling of Lewiston and Fox Ridge Golf Club (Darling shot 68 at the pro-am Wednesday to tie for first with Nick Glicos of Spring Meadows, Ted Vallee of Dunegrass and Jerry Diphilippo of Gorham), John Hickson of Sunday River and Terry Hatch of Biddeford-Saco. Hatch won this year’s State of Maine Championship at Sugarloaf.
Among amateurs, defending tournament champion Shawn Warren will be noticeably absent this week. In a tournament earlier this summer, he qualified to play in this year’s Canadian Amateur, and the dates conflicted with the Maine Open. In his place and giving the professionals a run will be Jesse Speirs, originally of Bangor. Speirs played in this year’s U.S. Public Links Championships, and has qualified for the U.S. Amateur, which starts next week. In Wednesday’s pro-am, Speirs fired the low round of the day, a bogey-free 9-under-par 63.
“I’m already trying to forget this round,” said Speirs. “There are a couple of sketchy greens out there right now, but there are some great greens out there, too. I can’t worry about (the U.S. Amateur) yet. I have to focus on this and try to play this one well first.”
Speirs will be a freshman at Texas Christian University this fall.
Todd Westfall of Clendenin, W.V., who was the low professional last year in Warren’s rain-shortened win, also won this year’s TD Banknorth Portland Open at Riverside. He will be a top contender this weekend, too, along with several other touring pros. The first group tees off at 7 this morning, with the final group off at 2:30 p.m.
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