Son provides assist as caddie Hanefeld fires final-round 68 to get first win in Portland

PORTLAND – For three days, 12-year-old Ryan Hanefeld carried his father’s bag around Riverside Municipal Golf Course in the 85th Charlie’s Maine Open.

“He caddies at The International. He’s in his second year in the program,” said Kirk Hanefeld, a pro at The International Golf Club in Bolton, Mass.

“I was glad to have him there,” said Hanefeld. “You don’t get to see a win very often.”

That’s especially true for Hanefeld in Portland. He’s been one of the top playing pros in New England for more than two decades, but he had never won in Portland – until Friday.

Hanefeld made back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 to take a two-shot lead and held the lead the rest of the way.

Hanefeld posted a 4-under-par 68 Friday for a 54-hole total of 13-under 203 and a 1-stroke victory.

Mike Meehan of Locust Valley on Long Island, N.Y., closed with a rush to finish second. He was 4 under par on the back nine for 67 and a 204.

Eric Jorgensen of Grand Ville, Mich., the leader for the first two days, was third with 72-205. Bob Darling Jr. (71) of Auburn, still seeking his first Maine Open title, tied for fourth with Sean O’Hair (70) of Aston, Pa., at 207.

Jason Gall of Augusta shot a 73 but still came in as low amateur at 209, beating Jesse Speirs (71) of Bangor by six strokes.

Abby Spector of Waterville, the only woman in the field, shot a 75 – the same as 13-time Maine Amateur champion Mark Plummer of Augusta – and finished 10th among the amateurs at 222. Plummer tied for third among the amateurs at 217.

Hanefeld said he didn’t think about his Portland history when he arrived this week, but he did reflect on it after his win.

“If somebody had told me then, in 1982 or ’83, that I’d win 20 years later, I wouldn’t have believed them,” said Hanefeld, who had not played in the Maine Open since finishing second for the fourth time in 1982.

The feeling of finally winning in Portland – he also lost a playoff in the Greater Portland Open in June – was not really of relief.

“It feels weird,” he said. “It happened 20 years after it probably should have.”

Hanefeld started the day in second place two strokes behind Jorgensen, but that margin evaporated in a hurry when Hanefeld birdied the first hole and Jorgensen bogeyed it.

Jorgensen also bogeyed the second hole and Hanefeld held the lead for the first time. Hanefeld almost took a two-stroke lead after two when his birdie putt hung on the lip – for 15 seconds – before falling in. The rules allow a player to wait only 10 seconds for a ball to fall, so Hanefeld had to add a stroke and settle for par.

Jorgensen tied Hanefeld with a birdie on No. 3 and regained the lead with another birdie on 6, but Hanefeld passed him again with back-to-back birdies on 8 and 9.

“That putt on 9 was huge,” said Hanefeld of his long downhill effort that just dropped in. “It was the perfect speed.”

Jorgensen briefly tied Hanefeld at 12 under par when he drained a 30-foot birdie putt on 12, but Hanefeld sank his 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe to keep the lead.

Hanefeld nearly eagled the par-5 13th, but his birdie was enough to push his lead to two strokes when Jorgensen’s birdie putt just slid past the cup.

Hanefeld kept pushing for more, though, because he didn’t think the lead was safe. His pushing led to a bogey on 14 that cut his lead in half.

“That was a little bit of a mental error there,” said Hanefeld. “I was still trying to be aggressive because anybody can birdie the last five holes.”

Hanefeld didn’t birdie any of them, but four pars were enough to win.

Meehan, playing in the group in front of Hanefeld, was getting close, with birdies on 10, 13, 16, and 17 that got him within a stroke at 12 under, but his birdie putt on 18 came up 6 inches short and he had to wait for Hanefeld to finish to discover his fate.

“I played these last few holes good (throughout the tournament), and I thought if I could get in position to have a chance at birdies, I might have a chance (to win),” said Meehan.