O’Hair fires 64, holds GBO lead Karbowski, Goodhue 1 shot back

BANGOR – The wind was whipping so bad at one point Friday afternoon at Bangor Municipal Golf Course that Rick Karbowski had to tuck his pants into his black socks, looking a bit like Payne Stewart, just to make a putt on the 11th green.

“Nice look,” joked Mike Ryan, who was in the same group as Karbowski for the second round of the Greater Bangor Open.

Karbowski had to laugh, too. The blustery conditions bothered many golfers Friday, Karbowski included. But he played consistently enough to maintain a share of the GBO lead.

Karbowski, a Worcester, Mass. resident who shot a 63 Thursday, carded an even-par 71 Friday for a two-date total of 132. That tied him with Justin Goodhue of Glastonbury, Conn. for second place heading into today’s final round.

Sean O’Hair of Aston, Pa. is the leader after he shot a 64 for a total of 131. He’ll tee off with Karbowski and Goodhue at 10:36 a.m.

Goodhue shot a 65 Friday after a 67 Thursday.

Tom Johnson of East Greenwich, R.I., was sitting in third place with a total of 133. He shot a 66 Friday.

Johnson will also move on to the final round as the low 50 scorers, including ties, advanced to play Saturday. The cut was 144.

The wind really picked up at the eighth hole, and it affected Karbowski later as he tried for a par putt on the ninth green.

“It was blowing so hard that the ball was oscillating as I was standing over it. It was wiggling,” he said. “And I missed the putt and it kind of rattled me. Then I three-putted 10 and bogeyed 11 and at that point I thought I was leaking oil a little bit.”

Karbowski righted himself with pars on 12 and 13, a birdie on 14 and two par putts on 15 and 16.

“Everybody gets nervous, and I was a little nervous on the back nine after I missed those short putts [on 10 and 11],” he said. “But then I tucked my pants into my socks. My pants were flapping so hard, it was a distraction. I had good socks on today at least. But they weren’t argyles, though.”

Karbowski, still emulating the fashion sense of U.S. Open and PGA champ Stewart, who was known for wearing knickers before his death in a plane crash in 1999, bogeyed 17.

“I didn’t hit a very good drive and then I hit it over the green from a lousy lie in the right rough,” he said.

“If I could have shot an even or a 1 or 2 in the back I could have had a 2 or 4 shot lead which would have been nice,” Karbowski said before O’Hair finished his round. “Now I’m tied.”

The wind wasn’t the only factor is making the course tough to play Friday.

“The pin placements weren’t easy,” Karbowski said. “If you aimed for the middle of the greens today you had impossible putts. You almost had to try to short-side yourself to have a decent birdie putt because all the greens here are domed. So you had to play aggressive golf to try to have a decent birdie putt. In doing so you could miss the green easily and not get up and down. It’s a fine line out there.”

O’Hair finished with three birdies on the front nine and four more on the back nine with no bogeys to account for his 64. Goodhue had four birdies on the front nine and another two on the back nine with no bogeys for his 65.

Karbowski’s last appearance in the GBO was in 1984. He missed the cut that year, but he didn’t mind.

“I was on my way out to the PGA Championship at Riveria in California,” said Karbowski, who had qualified for that tournament through the National Club Pro Championship. “I missed the cut out there but it was a great experience.”

The 49-year-old recently quit his job as a salesman with a building supplies and hardware wholesaler based in Newington, Conn., in order to pursue a spot on the senior tour.

“I couldn’t do both, that wouldn’t be fair to the company and it wouldn’t be fair to me. So I left on good terms and my wife’s behind me 100 percent. So I’m going to go for it.”

Karbowski, whose home course is Cyprian Keyes in West Boylston, Mass., has been playing state opens, the New England-wide professional Cleveland Golf Tour and tournaments like the GBO and the Greater Portland Open earlier this month, where he tied for 17th.

“I’ve been playing better lately,” he said. “I have some confidence going into tomorrow. I won the New England Open last year so it’s not like I’m new to this.”