When Austin Stromick’s par putt on the 18th hole at Riverside Golf Course fell into the hole, he thought he had clinched the Maine Junior Championship on Wednesday.
It turns out he had a little more work to do.
“I was 4 under, knew Lucas (Flaherty) was at 3 (under) and I needed to make par. I made par,” he said. “I had no idea I had to go to a playoff.”
Stromick, a 2023 Brunswick High graduate, began the day in a three-way tie atop the boys’ 16-18 flight at 3 under, then shot 1-under 71 to hold off Flaherty, a South Portland High graduate, for first place in the flight. But there was still the matter of the overall title, because Jack Quinn, in the 14-15 flight, caught Stromick with a brilliant 5-under 67.
That set up a playoff between Stromick and Quinn, a rising sophomore at Gardiner. Quinn made a clutch escape on the first extra hole, but Stromick eventually won it with a par on the third playoff hole.
“All the days when I’m at the golf course and I stay out there all day and play and ask myself ‘Why am I actually doing this,’ this is why,” said Stromick, who was 4 under overall for the two-day event. “It feels like all my work paid off.”
The girls’ championship was tight as well, with Greely High graduate Ruth Weeks edging Jade Haylock for the title. Weeks pulled even with the Leavitt High standout on the back nine, then birdied the 17th to take the lead for good. Weeks finished at 8 over, one shot better than Haylock.
“It was really fun, the whole way through. With Jade, it’s always an amazing competition,” said Weeks. “It’s so engaging, and it’s so fun.”
Stromick was on the verge of victory on the first playoff hole, the par-5 10th, when Quinn lost his second shot into the woods. But the 15-year-old Quinn dropped 90 yards from the pin, hit a gap wedge to within 6 feet and sank the putt to match Stromick’s par, shouting “Let’s go!” as it fell in.
“I thought I was going to be blocked out, but … I had a clear shot. It was a pretty easy shot, just execute,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting him to make a birdie, so I was kind of like ‘Make par and you’re getting through.'”
It was Stromick’s turn for an excellent recovery on the next hole. His approach found the bunker, but after blasting out, he made an 8-footer for par.
It was over on the next hole, as Quinn three-putted for bogey and Stromick made another par.
“I wasn’t feeling great on the tee shot, but the momentum turned when I made that putt on 11,” said Stromick. “I thought I had lost. … That was huge.”
Quinn put himself in the playoff with a round that included an eagle and three straight birdies on the fourth through seventh holes. He parred his last 11 holes.
“It would have been cool to win it, but I had nothing to lose,” said Quinn, who erased a four-shot deficit to Ryan Woodward of Wells in the 14-15 flight entering the round. “I was telling myself ‘I can score here pretty easily.’ I had a lot of short wedges coming in, and it was up to me hitting them closer.”
Weeks began the day in front by two shots, but went to the back nine trailing by a shot after Haylock, a rising Leavitt junior, played the front at even par. Weeks pulled even with a bogey on the 10th hole, fell a stroke back on 11, then pulled even again with a par on the 13th.
“I really just tried to keep my head down and not focus on it that much,” Weeks said. “The first time we evened (up), it empowered me to try to get one up and keep going.”
Weeks regained the lead on the 17th, a short par 4. Her drive ended up on a hill, and she faced a pitch with the ball significantly below her feet. Her shot wound up 12 feet from the pin, and she rolled in the putt. When Haylock’s putt from a similar length came to rest on the lip, Weeks had an advantage she didn’t give up.
“I wanted to get it relatively close, and when I hit it, I was like ‘Man, that shot sucks. I’m not going to make birdie from that,'” said Weeks, who sealed the win by rolling in a tricky 5-footer for par on the 18th. “It was great (to win). It really felt awesome.”
Haylock tipped her cap after the round.
“It was great competition,” she said. “My putts just wouldn’t drop, and all of hers would go ‘Bam,’ in, which is really impressive. Hers were like that yesterday, too.”
Other flight winners included Sam Sirois (boys’ 12-13, 4 over), Jordan Hanson (boys’ 11-12, 21 over) and Niamh O’Brien (girls’ 14-15, 25 over). The duos of Stromick and Will Farschon, Quinn and Wyatt Folsom and Kellen Adickes and Johnny Hwang shot 12 under to share the boys’ team title, while Weeks and Haylock (1 under) took the girls’ team title.
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