FALMOUTH — Joe Lenane was rolling, and facing a birdie putt on the sixth hole when the skies opened up during the second round of the New England Amateur golf championship.
Nothing, however, was going to stop the rising North Carolina State sophomore on Wednesday, let alone a little rain. Lenane returned from the hour-plus delay, made the 6-foot putt, and continued his surge en route to a 5-under 67 at The Woodlands Club. The round put Lenane at 7 under for the tournament, and sent him into Thursday’s final round with a four-shot lead over Topsham’s Caleb Manuel.
“I knew I was hitting it well, but I just kind of thought ‘All right, let’s just go hit another fairway, give ourselves another birdie look,'” said the resident of Dedham, Massachusetts. “I really was just trying to give myself chances with the putter, because it’s felt good all week.”
Lenane overtook Manuel, the three-time defending Maine Amateur champion who shot 1-under 71 in the morning to move to 3 under for the tournament. Manuel is pursuing his first New England Amateur title; he was runner-up the last time he played in 2021.
Connecticut’s Connor Goode (71) and New Hampshire’s Ryan Scollins (70) were tied for third at 1 under.
“It’s one shot a time (Thursday),” Manuel said. “I’ll wake up tomorrow and try to do the same thing.”
Lenane made six birdies against only one bogey. There were few heroics; the 19-year-old just kept hitting greens and rolling in putts.
“It really wasn’t anything too crazy,” Lenane said. “It was a birdie here and there, it felt like.”
A deluge just before 3 p.m. that kept golfers off the course for 65 minutes did little to halt Lenane’s momentum. He returned to birdie the par-5 sixth and added birdies on the 11th, 15th and 18th. Even his lone bogey, on the 14th, was impressive, as he hit a tight flop shot and rolled in the putt to limit the damage.
Lenane said he’s not about to change his approach with a four-shot lead.
“Treat it the same,” he said. “What I’ve been doing has been clearly working the last couple of days. … I’ve just got to treat it like it’s a regular round, there’s nothing to it.”
Manuel, representing Brunswick Golf Club, hit the ball well Tuesday but missed makeable birdie putts throughout the round. It was the opposite story Wednesday.
“I putted better but I hit it worse, so a little bit of a reverse,” the rising University of Georgia senior said. “Just off the tee, I need to be in a little bit better position, I think.”
Manuel birdied five of his first 10 holes, including the par-5 sixth after a 210-yard approach shot following a punch-out. Bogeys on the 11th, 14th and 16th holes undid some of that work, but Manuel said he was comfortable with his position.
“I’m still happy with the round and the result,” he said. “Some tee balls, I was a little unsure of what to hit. Before I even step on the golf course (Thursday), I need to pick the clubs I’m going to hit and say I’m going to hit them before the round.”
Scollins put himself near the top of the leaderboard with three birdies. He was an alternate to get into the event but has been one of the field’s hottest players, playing his last 27 holes at 6 under.
“I didn’t get a practice round. … I came right up here, got off to a bad start on Tuesday, shot 41 on the front, ended up shooting 32 on the back, and have just been kind of going from there,” he said. “Today I was just thinking ‘Hit greens, make pars.'”
Goode, who started on the 10th hole, birdied five holes en route to his 71. Goode had to take an unplayable lie en route to a double bogey on the 18th, but rebounded with an even back nine.
“I hit it phenomenal today, I had so many good looks,” Goode said. “I really like where I’m at. If you told me I’d be here before I teed off in the first round, I’d take it in a heartbeat. I really think if I start rolling some putts (Thursday), I have a chance.”
Scarborough’s Mike Arsenault Jr., who began the day in first place at 4 under, shot 4-over 76 and was tied for fifth at even par, along with Thomas Harrison and John Broderick of Massachusetts.
“I gave it all back, but it was a battle out there,” said Arsenault, who birdied his first hole but had three three-putt bogeys on the front nine, followed by three more bogeys on the back. “It’s just a mental battle, keeping yourself composed.
“I feel like I hit the ball better today than I did yesterday. … Just didn’t make the putts I did yesterday.”
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