Speirs repeats as champ Teen wins by stroke over Norris, Jones

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TRENTON – After Friday’s tight bunching of players atop the leaderboard and Saturday’s complete washout, the outcome of the 39th Whited Ford Paul Bunyan Amateur Golf Tournament came down to one hole late in Sunday’s final round at Bar Harbor Golf Course.

Sixteen-year-old Jesse Speirs of Bangor parred the 163-yard, par-3 17th hole after 1999 Bunyan champ Mike Norris of Newburgh bogeyed it and became the first back-to-back Bunyan winner since Ed Flowerdew of Falmouth in 1997-98.

Speirs finished with a 1-over-par 72 Sunday for a two-day total of even-par 142, beating Norris and 2001 Bunyan victor Ricky Jones of Thomaston by a stroke. Norris also shot a 72 Sunday and Jones had a 71.

Joe Alvarez of Bangor posted the day’s best round, a 70, to finish fourth at 145, J.J. Frost of Brewer was fifth with 75-147, Jeff Bouchard (78) of Hampden and Gary Manoogian (78) of Westbrook tied for sixth at 148, and Corey Poulin (77) of Milford eighth at 149.

Speirs, who started the day tied with Bouchard, Manoogian, and Tom Ellsworth (81-151) of Gorham, didn’t know how he stood with anyone outside his group (Bouchard and Manoogian) until he finished the 13th hole.

“I knew Mike Norris was playing good,” said Speirs. “[Jim] Frost told me on 13. I asked how Mike Norris and J.J. were doing.”

That’s when he found out he was tied with Norris, who was playing in the group in front of him.

As Norris prepared to play the 17th hole, Speirs came down the long, par-4 16th.

Norris hit his tee shot 25 feet from the cup on the left side of the green, the same side as the pin, which was only a few feet away from a ridge that dropped down to the lower section of the green on the right.

Norris three-putted for bogey and fell one behind Speirs, who got up and down from short of the green to save par on 16.

“I wanted to give it a chance,” said Norris of his first putt, which slipped by the edge of the cup and rolled down the ridge. “I was about a foot too long.”

Speirs pulled his tee shot on 17 about 25 feet left of the green, raising the specter of bogey for him, also.

“I tried to hit a knockdown 7[-iron], hold it with a little draw,” said Speirs. “Instead, I flipped my hands over and hit it quite a bit left.

“I’ve got to work on that.”

But Speirs’ chip shot stopped 3 feet behind the pin, just short of careening down the ridge, and he sank the putt for par and a one-stroke lead.

On the last hole, a 611-yard par-5, he methodically played for his par, nearly sinking a 45-foot putt for birdie and tapping in for the par that sealed the win.

“I made a lot of putts throughout the day,” said Speirs, who said he needed them to make up for other parts of his game which weren’t working quite so well.

“My driver I wasn’t hitting too good, but the course is wide open,” said Speirs, who looked for safe places to hit his shots.

“I never hit it where I didn’t want it to go,” said Speirs.

He also had trouble with some of his short approach shots.

“I struggled all week getting the wedge close,” he said. “That’s something I’ve really got to work on.”

Speirs played steady, trying to stay away from trouble on a course that was playing its full 6,680 yards.

And Saturday’s heavy rain that wiped out the second round of the tournament was still making its presence felt Sunday, allowing little roll once shots landed in many areas.

On the other hand, the elevated greens had drained well, making them hard and fast.

“Conditions were tough out there,” said Speirs. “You couldn’t force anything.”

Nothing could be taken for granted either.

Speirs’ lone bogey on the back, on No. 11, came because he did just that on his second putt and double-hit it for bogey.

“That was stupid. I should have taken my time and marked it,” he said of his 18-inch putt. “There was fertilizer on the putter and on the ball, and I didn’t really feel any contact when I hit it and when I swung through, I hit it again.”

There was some discussion afterward if it was a one-stroke penalty or two, which would have forced a playoff, but the rules said one and the title remained Speirs’.

Norris looked all the way back to Friday to explain his loss.

“Hitting out of bounds on 18 [at Bangor], that’s where I blew it,” said Norris.

Bouchard dropped two strokes to Speirs on the first hole when he hit into a water hazard.

Manoogian hung in longer, being only one stroke behind after 15, but he struggled over the last three holes to fall out of contention.

Bob Tweedie of Bangor, David Chipman of Brunswick, and Dave Clement of Dover-Foxcroft tied for Division B honors at 157. Tweedie shot a 78 Sunday at Bangor Municipal Golf Course, Chipman a 77, and Clement a 76.

Mike Thibodeau of Milford won Division C by a stroke after shooting an 87 at Rockland Golf Club for 168.

Dana Worster of Brewer repeated as senior champ at 153 following his 81 Sunday at Bar Harbor.