Lower better as Maine Open begins

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PORTLAND – In golf, being a winner means going lower.

Or in the case of this year’s 84th Charlie’s Maine Open Golf Championship, it might mean going Lower, as in Josh Lower.

The 25-year-old pro from Norwich, Conn., caught fire for a few holes during Wednesday afternoon’s sweltering heat to finish with an opening-round 5-under-par 67 at Riverside Municipal Golf Course.

Lower trails leader Ethan Rost of Jefferson City, Mo., by a stroke and is tied with Bob Darling Jr. of Lewiston. Rost (pronounced roast, another appropriate name on Wednesday) and Darling played in the morning when temperatures were a little cooler and there was no breeze.

Five players are tied for fourth at 68. Eric Egloff of Rockville, Md., Jeff Dantas of Pawtucket, R.I., and Mark Fogg of Gorham all played in the morning, while Ryan Ouellette of West Palm Beach, Fla., and Tim Duffy of Ledyard, Conn., played in the afternoon.

Egloff won the 1995 Greater Bangor Open and was Maine Open runner-up the following year, and Ouellette tied for second in last month’s GBO.

Ten players are tied at 69, including 2000 GBO and New England Open champ Billy Downes of Hampden, Mass., 2001 GBO winner Jim Salinetti of Lee, Mass., and Hampden native John Hickson, who won the 1997 GBO and now lives in Old Orchard Beach.

After today’s 18-hole round, the field of approximately 156 players will be cut to the low 40 and ties plus as many more amateurs as it takes to make 15 for Friday’s 18-hole finale.

Even Lower got into the spirit of his post-round analysis.

“I tried [to go lower], but I bogeyed the last hole,” he said.

Lower played the front nine (normally the back nine as they are reversed for the tourney) 1 under par, but his fortunes looked even brighter as he birdied No. 10, a 450-yard par 5.

“I almost chipped in on 11,” he said. He sank a 20-foot putt on the next hole for birdie, then headed to the next tee for the par-5 13th.

“When I made that putt on the par 3, I felt I could do something,” Lower said.

He just wanted to get another birdie, but went one better.

Lower reached the green in two and drained about a “40-foot putt” for eagle.

“That kind of got my round going,” said the third-year pro.

Lower has been playing on the New England Pro Tour this year after playing a couple of years in the Southeast and Midwest and he thinks it has helped his game.

“I’m steadily improving,” said Lower. “My ball-striking is good enough, now it’s a matter of getting the putts to go.”

In that regard, Lower has made a change.

“I recently switched to a long putter,” he said. “I think I was in the high 20s today; I’m usually 30, 31 or 32.”

Lower wants more of the same.

“I was sixth at the Connecticut Open a few weeks ago,” he said. “That’s given me a little more confidence. And when you get confidence, you start playing better.

“I just hope I can keep it going.”

Rost also started on the front nine and made the turn in 34. His only bogey of the day came on the par-4 eighth hole after he had posted birdies on Nos. 1, 4, and 7. He eagled the 10th hole and added birdies on 15 and 16 to close for his 66.

Darling, who started on No. 10, opened with a birdie, then promptly bogeyed the next one. He also birdied 13, and birdied three in a row starting with 16. He followed that with a bogey on No. 4, but birdied Nos. 6 and 9 to close in on Rost.

Jesse Speirs, the 15-year-old amateur from Bangor who won the Paul Bunyan Amateur and tied for second in the GBO this year, was 3 under par after 14 holes and was in line to be among those at 69, but he bogeyed three of the last four holes to drop back to even par.

Adam Williamson of Mexico, who won the U.S. Public Links Amateur Championship qualifier at Bangor Municipal Golf Course in June, is the low amateur with a 70, followed closely by 13-time Maine Amateur titlist Mark Plummer of Manchester and Greg Hanna of Augusta at 71.

“I was going all right,” said Speirs, “but to bogey three of the last four holes is kind of disappointing, that’s all.”

What Speirs looks to do more of is make putts.

“I guess they just didn’t want to drop today,” he said, but remained optimistic. “They’ll drop tomorrow. I’m making a lot of good strokes.”

He just would have preferred to be lower.

Or Lower.