TURNER — Eyes opened wide as Ryan Gosselin’s scorecard was passed around Friday afternoon at Turner Highlands Golf Course.

Gosselin just rolled his. Politely, of course. And somewhat apologetically, even though there was no need.

After firing a 1-under 35 and leading Leavitt to a season-opening KVAC victory over Mt. Blue, the junior etched his own asterisk. Gosselin noted that the match was played from the red, forward tees, removing the risk from many drives and shortening approach shots into chips.

“It just feels more legit to me to play farther back,” Gosselin said.

But Gosselin — who estimated that he spent more than 250 hours on the course this summer — is an exception on two teams dominated by players either young for the varsity level or completely new to the game.

Those closer boxes, sometimes stigmatized as ladies’ or senior citizens’ tees, actually are the appropriate choice for players learning the sport and its fickle bounces.

“For me, they’re young, not as skilled, so instead of ending up with scores of 75 and playing three hours for nine holes, let’s go from the forwards,” Leavitt coach Harry Haylock said. “That’s where you belong.”

Leavitt, a team that won six of its 10 regular-season meets and qualified for the state meet a year ago, cruised to victory by a margin of 195 to 237.

The Hornets’ Timothy Langelier and the Cougars’ Russell France were a baker’s dozen behind Gosselin in the race for low medalist, each carding a 48.

Gosselin opened his round with three straight pars before rolling in an eight-foot putt for birdie on the par-3 fourth.

His biggest break came on the sixth, a par-5 that plays 339 yards from the red tees. The prospect of an eagle tempted Gosselin, but his drive found a tree.

It caromed back into the fairway far enough to give Gosselin a favorable lie. He landed on the green in two and three-putted from 40 feet for par.

“Probably just keeping the ball in play and getting lucky on the tree on the fifth hole,” Gosselin said of the keys to his round. “My putting was good. My chipping was really good. I had a couple of bad shots where I pulled it and it went left of the hole that I chipped pretty close and putted for par. It felt good.”

A tap-in par putt at No. 8 rolled around the lip and stubbornly refused to drop, putting Gosselin back to even, but he saved his best work for the 259-yard finishing hole.

His drive landed just shy of the front bunker. The second shot stopped three feet from the cup.

In what could have been a disastrous break, France’s chip struck Gosselin’s ball before he could mark it. Even though the ball moved a few feet to the right, the distance and uphill read remained the same, and Gosselin sank the putt to apply the exclamation point.

Gosselin’s previous best at the Highlands was a 38, from the yellow intermediate tees. He accepts the decision to play home matches from the red tees, an adjustment that shortens the nine by 334 yards.

“The team’s not bad. We just need a little more practice,” Gosselin said. “Playing from the reds will give us a little more of an advantage, because when you play teams like Lewiston with long hitters, they’re going to have more tough times.”

With players missing from both sides due to work commitments — golf season starts a full week earlier than most Maine Principals’ Association fall sports — each team had the minimum four available.

Alex Pinard of Leavitt shot 52. Cameron Atherton, Mt. Blue’s only other returning top-six player besides France, finished at 55.

“We just have young kids,” Mt. Blue coach Mark Cyr said. “(France and Atherton) are both sophomores. We have one that just started playing last year.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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