Tourney ends after 1st round Some greens under water; Warren wins

Shawn Warren of Windham collected a second major Maine golf tournament title, and for the second time rain was involved.

Heavy rain Friday night and Saturday washed out the second round of the Whited Ford Paul Bunyan Amateur Golf Tournament, and more rain early Sunday trimmed it down to a one-day event for the second time in the tournament’s 42 years. The first time was 1996.

“Yesterday [Saturday] was pretty much a no-brainer,” said pro Pieter DeVos of Kebo Valley Golf Club in Bar Harbor. “Today, when I came in at 10 minutes to 6, the guys were out mowing and we were all set to go. Then it started raining.”

By the time it stopped pouring, “there was standing water on the first and second greens,” said DeVos, who would have been hosting the Division C players Sunday. “Even if we could have got [the greens] drained, it would have been 9:30 or 10 before we could get started.

“I knew there was no way we could start on time and no way we could finish before dark.”

Timing is everything. Later Sunday, the sun came out and the temperature warmed up.

“If it had rained at midnight, we would have been all set,” said DeVos.

It may have been even wetter at Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono, where Warren and the rest of the A flight were scheduled to finish on Sunday.

“With the heavy rain, the course would not have been ready ’til almost noon,” said PVCC assistant pro Chad Curley. “Plus, the radar indicated more was coming.”

Curley pointed out that Friday’s play at PVCC started about 8:30 a.m. and finished about 7:50 p.m. On Sunday, the leaders probably would have started after 3 p.m., said Curley, and it would be unlikely they would finish before dark.

“They probably would have barely made the turn in time,” said Curley.

The plateau where Nos. 7, 8, 9 and 15 sit was unplayable as was No. 11, according to Curley, “and most of the bunkers are filled with water.”

Curley said that when he called pro Keenan Flanagan at Rockland Golf Club, he found they were in even rougher shape in places.

“They had one hole that was under 2 feet of water,” said Curley.

A message on the Rockland pro shop’s answering machine by Flanagan said the club may not be able to open today and the availability of riding carts would be evaluated day-to-day.

“We’ll be at least two to three days without carts,” said Curley, “and that’s with nice weather and a breeze.”

In 2004, Warren, 21, became only the second amateur since 1971 to win the Maine Open, and he had to go through a four-hole playoff to do it when rain canceled the final round.

This time, Warren’s 3-under-par 67 at Kebo on Friday was good enough to win in his initial appearance in the Bunyan. Two-time defending champion Ricky Jones of Thomaston finished second with a 70, and past winner Jesse Speirs of Bangor was third with a 71.

Joe Alvarez of Bangor, Keith Patterson of Biddeford, Stephen Clark of Caribou and Robert Tiensivu of Hermon tied for fourth at 72.

Corey Junkins of Portland shot a 77 at PVCC to take Division B honors, and Bucky Owen of Orono was the top man in Division C after shooting an 84 at Rockland.

The news wasn’t all gloomy, though, as the three clubs are looking at a way to allow competitors to return in October and play the courses they missed.

The rounds won’t be affiliated with the Bunyan, but they are expected to be limited to the Bunyan players. An announcement with updated information is expected soon.