Jones perseveres for victory Three-time champ struggles, but gains 5-stroke margin

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BAR HARBOR – Ricky Jones of Thomaston successfully defended his Whited Ford Paul Bunyan Amateur Golf Tournament title, but both he and runner-up Corey Poulin of Skowhegan admitted it wasn’t the best display of golf.

“It feels funny to win when you don’t play good,” said Jones, with a wry chuckle.

Jones shot a 5-over-par 75 Sunday at Kebo Valley Golf Club to finish with a three-day total of 3-over-par 214. Poulin, who started the day a stroke behind Jones, struggled to a 79 for a 219 total.

“It’s like we were both trying to give it away,” said Jones, who also won in 2001.

“It was ugly,” said Poulin, “but it was definitely interesting.”

Ray Hawley of Madison and Tim Flaherty of Falmouth tied for third at 222. Flaherty posted a 72 Sunday, and Hawley had a 73.

Toby Spector of Waterville recorded the day’s best round, a 70, to take fifth at 223, with Jesse Speirs of Bangor (75 Sunday) a stroke back in sixth.

Joseph Alexander of Winterport captured the B Division with a 229 and Mike Morse of Dover, N.H., won the C Division with a 249.

Jones and Poulin, after a back-and-forth day, were tied for the lead after the 15th hole Sunday, but Jones made birdie on 16 while Poulin suffered a bogey, putting Jones up by two strokes with two holes left.

“I made a stupid mental mistake,” said Poulin of his tee shot on 16, a 268-yard par 4. “I can make that green any day with a driver.”

He used a 3-wood instead, trying to play a little safe, but hit it into a bunker on the left about 40 yards short of the green.

“I was trying to hit a cut and it stayed straight,” said Poulin.

His bunker blast only went about 15 yards, coming up well short of the green.

“I almost went underneath the ball, [the sand] was so soft,” Poulin recalled.

Both struggled with a difficult pin placement on 17, but Jones’ bogey was good enough to pad his lead by a stroke when Poulin double-bogeyed it.

“I heard people talking about 17,” said Jones, who decided to hit his approach shot right of the green.

“I thought it was my best chance to get it up and down [for par],” he said.

It didn’t turn out to be that easy.

Both he and Poulin had to chip up a steep hill that led to the shelf where the pin sat, about 3 feet from the dropoff.

“I didn’t catch [the chip] firm and it came back,” said Jones, who used his putter the second time to make sure it went far enough to stay on the green.

Poulin, meanwhile, was less successful.

“I turned to get my putter [after his first chip] and when I turned back, it was coming back at me,” said Poulin.

The second chip came back, also, and he two-putted for double-bogey 6.

Jones’ lead was three going to the tee on the 346-yard, par-4 18th hole.

“I figured if I hit it in the fairway and make par, he’s going to need a hole-in-one to catch me,” said Jones with a little laugh.

Jones did play it safe and made his par to win.

Poulin first caught Jones when he birdied No. 3, then went ahead when Jones three-putted the next hole for bogey.

The two were tied again after Poulin three-putted for bogey on No. 5, then Jones jumped ahead big time when he parred the par-3 sixth and Poulin made 6.

“That was a mental mistake,” said Poulin. “I knew it would be off the green if I hit [the putt] by the cup.”

That’s exactly what happened. Poulin chipped back up the hill long, then took three more putts to get the ball in the cup.

“I had to have had over 40 putts today,” said Poulin.

Jones birdied the next hole to go up by four shots, then he ran into his own troubles and gave it all back over the next three holes.

“All of a sudden, I started coming over the top with my driver and couldn’t stop it,” said Jones.

He pulled his tee shot on No. 8 into the stream on the left and made 6 while Poulin cut his lead in half with a par 4.

Jones padded his lead with a par 3 on the next hole, but his driver out of bounds on No. 10.

Jones made another 6 there and Poulin sank a 20-foot putt for birdie to tie Jones again.

Jones regained the lead with a par on 11 vs. Poulin’s bogey.

Poulin just missed birdie putts on the next three holes by inches, but he still tied for the lead when Jones bogeyed 13.

“Some days, you can’t make ’em,” said Poulin of his putts. “Most of my putts I just didn’t hit hard enough.”

They matched pars on the next two holes to set up the finish.

“Nothing I hit was crisp,” said Jones. “I kept coming up short. The only thing that was sharp was my 5-foot putting, which was fortunate because I had a lot of ’em for par.”

“It was ugly, but we both laughed about it [afterward],” said Poulin.