Work before play for many in pro-am

loading...

BANGOR – Call this threesome the “Businessman’s Special.”

You’ve heard of the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker? Well, the final group to tee off in Wednesday’s Greater Bangor Open pro-am was the golfer (Matt Eaton), the restaurateur (Paul Baldacci), and the hockey player (Mario Thyer).

The regular 54-hole portion of the $50,000 event begins today and runs through Saturday.

Thyer – who played two seasons for the University of Maine hockey team (1987-89) – actually goes by the title of financial consultant these days as an investment/retirement planner for A.G. Edwards & Sons in Bangor.

The last of 30 groups teed off just before 12:30 p.m. – more than three hours after the last group including a current or former Black Bear player hit the links. No, they weren’t late.

“Actually, I’ve got a real job, unlike those other guys, you know?” Thyer said with a laugh. “I’ve got to work half a day at least before I can play.”

Thyer arrived 10 minutes before tee time and Baldacci didn’t have much more lead time himself.

“I had to go in and get some things done at the restaurant before playing here,” said Baldacci, who hadn’t been out on a golf course since April.

He may not have played much golf recently, but he has plenty of GBO experience.

“My brothers and I used to play here all the time, and as far as the GBO goes, we’ve been involved as caddies, players, or fans since the 1960s,” said the co-owner of Momma Baldacci’s restaurant. “We used to caddy at the Jordan Open here when Jordan’s Meats was the primary sponsor.”

Eaton, the trio’s “ringer” as a a pro out of Seabrook, N.H., shot a 71. This is his seventh GBO and the fourth stop on a 12- or 13-tourney season schedule that combines 10 Cleveland Golf Tour stops with a few tournaments in New England.

Eaton spent a year and a half selling golf carts before going pro. Now he’s an “outside service coordinator… well, bag boy” at Wentworth By the Sea Country Club in Rye, N.H.

Thyer was the token rookie in the group with only two GBO appearances to his credit.

“I used to play golf a lot, but now it’s more like once every week or two,” said the 38-year-old Thyer. “When you’re married with three kids and a job, it’s tougher to find the time.”

Thyer and wife Joanna have been married 11 years and have three children: Ben (9), Joey (6), and Maggie (20 months).

Eaton is working on a family as he and wife Melanie, a security supervisor for Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, are expecting their first child, a daughter, in October.

The couple took a calculated risk and took out a personal loan so Eaton could sponsor himself as a pro this summer.

“She’s very supportive of me, but it was kind of a tough personal decision,” the 29-year-old Eaton explained. “It’s a little more added pressure, but you know what? I’d rather have that than a sponsorship thing because whatever I make goes back to me, and I don’t have to answer to anybody.”

Well, except for himself and his family.

“It’s a very important season for me and my golf career,” said Eaton, whose best finish as a pro was a tie for third in 2001. “I had a sponsorship in 2002-03 where a guy would give me $3,000 a month and pay my fees and things, and I gave back 75 percent of whatever I won. He’s pretty much betting on me. It’s like a stock, really.”

Now he’s betting on himself.

“Everybody’s goal is to be out on the PGA Tour and I think I can do it. It’s the hardest way to make an easy living,” Eaton said. “I mean, look at Sean O’Hair. He played up here last year and he’s 16th on the [PGA Tour] money list and made $1.8 million.”

Miss Maine USA avoids clubbing

Brewer native Erica Commeau, who also happens to be Miss Maine USA 2005, kept a respectful distance from the long drive competition at Bangor Municipal Golf Course Wednesday afternoon.

It’s not that she dislikes the sport. She’s just doing her part to keep everyone safe.

Ever since dad David Commeau took her to a driving range a few years ago, she hasn’t picked up a club.

“I was doing OK, but there was a point where I let go of my club,” the 20-year-old said sheepishly. “I didn’t throw it. I just accidentally let it go. I haven’t been back to a range since. I would like to go and try again sometime, but I wouldn’t dare to go out on a course.”

Keeping his eye on the ball

Commeau’s quest for safety didn’t help pro shop and range attendant Matt Enman.

The 28-year-old son of Bangor Municipal head pro Brian Enman was hit in the head by a drive while working as a spotter during Wednesday’s long drive contest.

“I didn’t see the ball and that’s why I turned my head to ask another guy where it was,” Enman recalled. “Maybe that turned out to be a good thing because it hit me in the side of the head rather than right square on my forehead.”

Enman, who was standing on the left side of the out-of-bounds markers 260 yards from the tee box, said he had immediate pain before becoming dizzy and woozy and his ears were ringing. His dad gave him a towel to dab the blood running from the spot about an inch away from his right temple and took him to Eastern Maine Medical Center.

“I went to the ER and ended up waiting for a few hours before ending up leaving. It still hurts and I’m still a little woozy, but I’m fine now,” he said four hours later.

Enman said he doesn’t expect any hazard pay.

“Not to my knowledge,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll probably be at work tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll hear a few things.”