FALMOUTH — Joey Lenane told himself after the second round of the New England Amateur golf championship that he wouldn’t dwell on having a three-stroke lead going into Thursday’s final round.
And then, hours later, he dwelled on it.
“You try to keep it out of your mind as much as possible,” said Lenane. “But last night, I was definitely thinking about it. And I was still thinking about it on the course (Thursday).”
The 19-year-old resident of Dedham, Massachusetts, was ready for the pressure. Anchored by a hot putter that produced two lengthy birdies, Lenane shot even-par 72 at The Woodlands Club to finish the three-day event at 7 under, good for a two-stroke victory over a hard-charging John Broderick of Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Ryan Scollins of Wrentham, Massachusetts, and Connor Goode of Glastonbury, Connecticut, tied for third at 2 under, while Topsham’s Caleb Manuel finished fifth at 1 under after a 2-over 74.
“It’s definitely a big sigh of relief,” said Lenane, a rising sophomore at North Carolina State. “All you can do is execute good shots and hope for the best. It was a good week, it makes me really happy, and it gets me into a few good tournaments, which is definitely a big benefit and exciting.”
Lenane entered with a four-shot lead over Manuel, who was the tournament leader until late in his second round. The rising University of Georgia senior’s comeback attempt was derailed by an uncooperative putter. After birdieing two of the first three holes Thursday, he made only one more birdie against five bogeys.
“Nothing fell all day,” Manuel said with a wry smile. “I gave myself a lot of looks, kind of like the first day. But I made a few mistakes early, it happens, and that’s golf. I’m not too mad about it.”
Lenane kept himself in front with some early highlights. He rolled in a 35-foot putt for birdie on the fourth hole – the hardest on the course – after a good shot to the uphill green. On the ninth, he hit his drive right, but recovered with a hard-cutting shot around trees to find the green. On the 10th, he pulled his drive left near the cart path, but he found the green with his next shot and rolled in a 20-footer for birdie.
“It was definitely good momentum there,” he said. “I was able to hit good shots going into the greens, and I felt I was still hitting good putts going into the back nine.”
Lenane’s biggest threat ended up being Broderick, the 2020 champion and a Vanderbilt golfer who entered the day at even par. The 19-year-old birdied the second and fifth holes and then had birdies on the ninth through 12th, cutting Lenane’s advantage from seven shots to three.
“I gave it a good try,” Broderick said. “I went out thinking I could still win. The past three weeks, I’ve shot the course record three times at three different courses. I’m playing the best golf of my life. … There was just no reason for me not to play well today if I was mentally there.”
Lenane avoided updates about his lead – for a while.
“I asked my dad how Ryan Scollins was doing on 15, and he said he was a couple under,” he said. “I knew my lead was smaller than I originally thought. I thought it was going to be me and Caleb battling it out.”
A bogey on the 15th narrowed the lead to two strokes, but Lenane didn’t let it shrink further. Two lengthy lag putts set up pars on the 16th and 17th, and after his drive on the 18th strayed left near water, Lenane finished with another par.
“As soon as I saw it turn left, I was like ‘Oh, you didn’t do that,’” he said of his drive on the final hole. “Always got to keep it a little interesting.”
Manuel seemed poised for a charge early in his round but couldn’t keep up the pace. Back-to-back bogeys on the fourth and fifth crippled his chances.
“It was back and forth in the beginning,” Manuel said. “I got a little frustrated when I couldn’t see anything drop. After 14, I let it sink in that I wasn’t going to come back, and just tried to finish strong.”
Goode, the third player in the final group, birdied five holes to leapfrog Manuel into a tie for third.
“I made enough birdies this week, I just gave too many shots back with just sloppy mistakes,” he said. “I didn’t exactly have a number in mind, I just wanted to stay patient and keep giving myself chances and putting pressure on them early.”
Scollins threatened on the back nine, pulling into a tie with Broderick at 5 under before he bogeyed the last three holes en route to a 1-under 71. Still, as an alternate who didn’t know until Monday that he would be playing, the incoming freshman at Holy Cross was satisfied.
“I was striking it great. Down the stretch, (I got) a little nervy. Just trying to hang in there,” he said. “It’s huge, these are all the best college players from New England. To be able to compete against them, to be hanging with them, is massive.”
Freeport’s Eli Spaulding shot 1-under 71 to tie for 10th at 2 over. Mike Arsenault Jr. carded a 76 and tied for 12th at 4 over.
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