Late birdie binge helps Salinetti post victory Massachusetts pro edges Connelly by one stroke

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BANGOR – Jim Salinetti’s run for victory in the $50,000 Greater Bangor Open Golf Tournament became a family affair when his parents, Dick and Judy, arrived Friday from their home in Lee, Mass.

“We don’t get to see him play very often,” said Judy Salinetti.

They drove up Friday morning to watch his second and, hopefully, third rounds.

Jim Salinetti made their trip worthwhile when he posted a 3-under-par 66 at Bangor Municipal Golf Course Saturday for a three-day total of 7-under-par 200 and a one-stroke win over John Connelly of Stow, Mass.

“My birthday was Friday,” said Judy Salinetti. “This is the best birthday present.”

Jim Salinetti made the birthday present possible when he birdied five of the first six holes on his second nine Saturday and went from three strokes behind to two strokes ahead.

“I just think I got mad at myself for the way I played the back,” said Salinetti.

The nines were swapped for the final round, so the competition began in the middle of the toughest stretch of holes on the golf course.

He bogeyed 11 and 12, birdied 17, and bogeyed 18 (a par-4 for the GBO) to make the turn at 2 over for the day, 2 under for the tournament.

Ramon Franco of Asuncion, Paraguay, playing in the final group one behind Salinetti, made the turn at 5 under as the tournament leader, tied with Connelly (playing in the group in front of Salinetti) as it turned out.

That all changed when Salinetti started dropping birdie putts.

“I tried not to lose my cool,” said Salinetti. “You never know when you’re going to do something like that.”

He sank a 4-foot putt on No. 1 for his first birdie of the nine, added an 8-footer on No. 2, then canned a long, 35-footer on No. 3.

“I just tried to two-putt,” said Salinetti.

He parred No. 4, the only par-5 on the course, but felt he should have added one there, too.

“I had an easy chip,” he said.

He went right back to making birdies, first sinking a 4-foot putt on No. 5, then dropping an uphill 15-footer on No. 6.

Connelly, who had been tied with Salinetti, three-putted from the back fringe for bogey on No. 6, and the two-shot swing put Salinetti on the fast track to victory.

“That was definitely the biggest putt of the day,” said Salinetti.

For Connelly, the 1999 GBO champion, it was a tough break.

“It was the only bogey I made all day,” he said. “I probably should have chipped it instead of putting it. I hit it too hard.”

Salinetti parred Nos. 7 and 8 and arrived at the ninth tee figuring a par would be enough to pick up the $10,000 first-place check.

He’d had a bad experience with No. 9 on Friday, though, and didn’t want to repeat it. Even par for the day at that time Friday, Salinetti pull-hooked his tee shot into the hazard on the left and made double-bogey 6.

“I hit 3-wood today,” said Salinetti. “I hit driver there [Friday] and I had bad vibes [today]. If I hadn’t switched, that’s all I would have been thinking about.”

He drilled his tee shot down the fairway, knocked his approach shot on, and two-putted for the par that gave him the win.

“I knew somebody would be 5[-under], maybe 6, but they weren’t at 7,” said Salinetti.

Former Bangor Muni pro Austin Kelly, one of the tournament officials, was impressed with Salinetti’s 30.

“That’s the best nine holes by a contender in the final round in the 35 years of the tournament,” said Kelly.

Salinetti’s parents were also impressed with the way their son, 23, handled himself.

“I just saw him become very, very confident,” said Dick Salinetti.

Matt Eaton of Seabrook, N.H., Jerry Wood of Ridgeway, Va., and Franco tied for third at 203. Eaton posted a 67, and Wood and Franco 69s. Rich Parker of Lebanon, N.H., was sixth at 204 after a 69 Saturday.

Second-round leader Denny Rasku of Deerfield Beach, Fla., suffered a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 12 and dropped into the pack, finishing tied for seventh at 205. Jim Becker of Bloomfield, Conn., suffered two bogeys and a double bogey in the first six holes and was in an uphill struggle the rest of the day.

Jim Nickerson of Val Halla Golf Course in Cumberland earned low Maine pro honors with a 68 for 205, and Thomas Blankvoort of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, was low amateur with a third straight 70 for 210.