OAKLAND — The 96th Maine Amateur Championship wasn’t offering any moving day sales on Wednesday.
As the golf tournament is a three-day event, moving day would have been Wednesday at Waterville Country Club. Yet, there was not much movement to be found as the course continued to stymie the majority of the field.
There were a few low numbers to be found on the 6,444-yard, par-70 course. Four to be precise, which was a small improvement from the first day, which saw three players post a red number.
Those that went out in the morning had the luxury of softer greens with the overnight rain, though some were playing in a light mist. As the day continued, the 80-degree heat dried up the course and the low scores as well.
“They were harder than it was for us in the morning,” Mark Plummer said. “I assume it’s similar to the guys in the afternoon had yesterday, but it was more difficult than what we had in the morning. It wasn’t too bad. It was a little breezy but it wasn’t gusting.”
Plummer was one of those who went out in the morning and his round started with three consecutive birdies. He finished his round with a 3-under 67 . He sits at 4-under, two shots off the leader John Hayes IV, who also shot under par.
Hayes IV overcame three straight bogeys on holes 6-8 , birdieing three of the final 10 holes.
“I got off in the morning and there was no wind,” Hayes IV said. “The course played completely different. It was a struggle in the wind, especially six — the downhill par 3. It’s like a three-club difference.”
Malcolm Oliver shot a 68 for a two-day total of 144 and is tied for sixth, and Luke Ruffling finished with a 69 for a two-day total of 146..
Sam Grindle, Joe Walp and Mike O’Brien carded even-par 70s while the remaining 124 golfers finished their rounds over par.
Thomas Murray was 1-under through 12 holes, but finished 5-over on the final six for a 4-over 74.
Hole No. 10 proving difficult
The 10th hole at Waterville Country Club isn’t making many friends with the tournament field.
The 445-yard par-4 played as the toughest hole in the opening round with an average score of 4.7. It produced just three birdies compared to a round-high 64 bogeys and 16 double bogeys.
It continued to play tough Wednesday, surrendering five birdies to 52 bogeys, 10 doubles bogeys and three triple bogeys or worse. One of the culprits was the blistering wind, which golfers said blew into their face at the 10th tee. The wind made the already-longest par 4 feel even longer, forcing golfers to take the driver out of their bag, even those that had been using 3-woods off the tee.
“If you lay back with a 3-wood and hit the safe club you have a long iron in and that’s a tough green,” defending champion Andrew Slattery said. “If you miss it long left or right it’s a tough up and down.”
Slattery triple-bogeyed the hole after playing it even the day before.
The 10th hole tended to take the wind out of the sails for those that entered the back 9 on a high note. The par-5 ninth produced the lowest scores in the opening round with the only two eagles of the day and a round-high 38 birdies.
It was more of the same in the second round with 25 birdies.
Hayes IV birdied the ninth only to drop a shot at No. 10.
“The green’s really hard,” Hayes IV said. “It’s severely sloped. It’s played so differently in the wind. If the wind is in your face it’s that much longer. It was very windy this afternoon.”
The 10th hole produced one of just two bogeys for Oliver.
Slattery, Byrne fall back
If Slattery is going to successfully defend his title, the West Minot native is going to need a final round for the ages after shooting a 7-over 77 Wednesday for a two-day total of 149. He currently sits tied for 17th, 15 shots back of Hayes.
It all came down to two bad holes. His day got off to the worst start imaginable — a triple bogey on the opening hole to drop him to 5-over for the tournament. He bogeyed six before getting a shot back on eight to head to the back 9 still at 5-over.
The 10th hole may have been the crushing blow for Slattery’s repeat chances as it delivered his second triple-bogey of the round. Slattery played the first and 10th holes at 6-over Wednesday. He played the same two holes at 1-under during his 2-over 72 on Tuesday.
Removing the two triple-bogeys, Slattery played the other 16 holes at 1-over, bogeying the 13th and 14th before posting a birdie on the 17th.
“Everything other than that it wasn’t that bad of a round,” Slattery said. “Two swings cost me a lot of shots and that’s the way it goes sometimes when you make those mistakes.”
Kevin Byrne found himself in a similar situation as Slattery. He left Waterville Country Club tied for fifth at 1-over on Tuesday, but 24 hours later he finds himself 16 strokes back of the leader after an 8-over 78 Wednesday.
It all came apart for Byrne on the final 10 holes. Byrne was even though the first eight holes, but bogeys on nine and 10 paved the way for a frustrating end. He double-bogeyed 12, bogeyed 13 and 15 and finished up with a double-bogey on 17.
“I caught a few bad breaks early and it kind of went from there,” Byrne said. “The swing started to go and I continued to putt bad. I haven’t putted good either day. There were some tough winds and it was pretty tough in the afternoon, but overall I didn’t play well.”
A few of those bad breaks included two putts lipping out and an approach shot on the ninth that ended up behind a tree.
Tri-County rundown
Other local players and their scores (Cut line was +12 (152)): Chris Cloutier 75-74—149; Joe Baker 74-76—150; Brian Bilodeau 79-72—151; Mike Brennan 75-78—153; Craig Chapman 78-75—153; Bob Langlas 80-74—154; Will Kannegieser 78-77—155; Zack DeBlois 74-81—155; Truman Libby 77-78—155; Michael Bouchard 78-77—155; Tim Doyle Jr. 78-78—156; Caleb Manuel 76-80—156; Matthew Ouellette 77-80—157; Chris Burns 82-81—163; Harry Haylock 85-85—170; Daniel Bouttenot 85-89—174
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