Maine Amateur: Grindle leads locals Kannegieser, Baker, two others after first round

Joe Baker tees off at the 17th hole on Tuesday morning on the first day of the 2017 Maine Amateur Championships at Brunswick Golf Club.

BRUNSWICK — Low scores were hard to come by during the first round of the 98th Maine Amateur Golf Championship on Tuesday at Brunswick Golf Club.

And the golfers who shot those low numbers seemed to have a relatively low excitement level in shooting those scores.

Sam Grindle of Island Country Club was all alone at the top after the first round of the three-day tournament, shooting a 4-under 68 to take a one-shot lead over four other players.

“I’ll take it,” Grindle said. “It’s a good start to the tournament.”

Grindle said his play was “so far, so good,” but was quick to point out that there’s still more golf to be played.

Will Kannegieser out of Martindale Country Club had a similar sentiment after carding a 3-under 69.

Kannegieser nearly joined Grindle at 4-under, if not for an unfriendly roll on a short putt on the 17th hole.

“I hit a good putt, probably a little bit too hard, and it just didn’t go in,” Kannegieser said. “It’s one shot. There’s a lot of golf to be played.”

The Minot native made the turn at 3-under, eagled the par-5 12th to go to 5-under, but followed that up with bogeys on the 13th and 15th holes.

“The fourth and the sixth holes are two of the hardest holes in the state, and so I’m not really that upset that I made bogeys there,” Kannegieser said. “I hit a lot of good shots and it just didn’t work out.”

There were a pair of Martindale players slotted in second. Joe Baker carded the first 69 of the day after starting his round at 7:30 a.m. with the fourth group of the day.

“I hit the ball good. Left the ball on the right side of the hole most of the day. Didn’t make as many putts as I wanted, but made enough to post a good number,” said Baker, who finished third at last year’s Maine Amateur.

Baker said he prefers to get out early before the wind and green speeds pick up. However, he’ll be starting later tomorrow, and will have to deal with those elements.

“I don’t think anything’s going to be any different. Just keep hitting fairways and greens and try to make some putts,” Baker said.

Joining Kannegieser and Baker at 3-under were Jack Wyman of Portland Country Club and Judd Parsons of York Golf & Tennis Club. Parsons finished tied for fifth at last year’s tournament, two shots back of Grindle, who was fourth.

Nate McCue from host Brunswick and Tim Desmarais of Riverside Golf Club shot 2-under 70s to sit tied for sixth. Brian Bilodeau of Martindale was all alone at 1-under 71.

There will be a new champion this year after last year’s winner at York Golf & Tennis, Matt Hutchins, moved out of the state.

Last year’s runner-up, Ricky Jones, finished at even par in the first round, tied with 2014 champion Andrew Slattery, who is a former Martindale member. Jones was the 2013 champion and also won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004.

Four other golfers joined Slattery and Jones at even-par 72.

Cam Marquis of Fox Ridge Golf Club, who won a local qualifier three weeks ago to earn his spot in the Maine Am, shot a 2-over 74 and sat tied for 19th place after one round.

“I thought I was playing pretty well,” Marquis said. “I was striking the ball well. Off the tee was a little iffy. Other than that, short game — chipping an putting — was great today. I had a lot of one-putts, so that was nice.”

Marquis said he entered the tournament with a lot of confidence after winning the qualifier and playing a handful of practice rounds at the course leading up to the Am. He remained confident despite being above par due to his ability to hit the ball long.

“I’m a long-ball hitter, and I think out here there’s a lot of holes that are long,” Marquis said. “I think it’s going to be helpful for tomorrow if I can get my drives straighter.”

wkramlich@sunjournal.com

Cam Marquis tees off on the 17th hole during the 2017 Amine Amateur Championships at the Brunswick Golf Club on Tuesday morning.

Mark Plummer tees off on the 18th hole at the 2017 Maine Amateur Golf Championships at Brunswick Golf Club on Tuesday morning.

From left, Scott Sirois, Joe Baker and Mark Plummer follow the progress of Plummer’s putt on the Brunswick Golf Club at the 2017 Maine Amateur Championships on Tuesday morning.

Scott Sirois tees off from the 17th hole as Mark Plummer follows the ball during the first day of the 2017 Maine Amateur Championship at Brunswick Golf Club on Tuesday morning.