Hickson’s 68 puts him in contention for lead

loading...

AUBURN – John Hickson of Topsham admitted to being hungry Thursday after his rain-lengthened second round of the 90th Charlie’s Maine Open Golf Championship.

Not necessarily for victory, although he’s tied for the lead at 7-under-par 137, but for food.

“I’m going to hit putts for about two minutes, then I’m going to get something to eat,” said the Hampden native after posting a 4-under-par 68 at Fox Ridge Golf Club.

That left him tied with first-round leader Shawn Warren of Tampa, Fla., who shot a 71 to go with an opening-round 66 for his 137.

Because of a 11/2-hour delay late in the afternoon due to lightning and torrential rain, the last four groups were unable to finish their rounds Thursday. Those who didn’t finish will complete their second rounds starting at 7 a.m. today. Then, after the field is cut down, the final round should start around 8:15 a.m.

Jeff Seavey of Homosassa, Fla., a teaching pro at Samoset Resort in Rockport, was one of the players still out on the course when play was halted.

He was 1 under for the day and 5 under for the tournament with one hole remaining, and he will most likely be playing in the final group with Hickson and Warren.

Of those who were able to finish, Robert Kalinowski of Lynnfield, Mass., was third at 141 following an even-par 72 Thursday.

David Thomas of Ozona, Fla., was fourth at 68-142, followed by Rich Parker (73) of Lebanon, N.H., and Brian Medley (70) of Albuquerque at 143.

Ricky Jones of Thomaston, who won the 2006 Maine Open, and 13-time Maine Amateur winner Mark Plummer of Manchester head the group at even-par 144. Jones shot a second straight 72, while Plummer posted a 73.

In a departure from normal practice, Jones will play in the first group of the third round in order to make his flight to Pinehurst, N.C., for the U.S. Amateur.

Hickson liked the way he has been hitting the ball lately.

“Any time you can play shots that can look like what you want them to look like, it’s kind of fun,” said Hickson, who was still thinking about food. “That and the pork tenderloins that are going to be on the grill in about half an hour.

“You can see where my mind is at.”

That’s not to say he was only thinking about food. He also has a day job at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Topsham.

“I’m going to have to be late to work [Friday], so I better play well,” he said, smiling.

Warren, on the other hand, felt like he let an opportunity slip away.

“I’m kind of kicking myself because I had a chance to put some distance between myself and [everybody else],” said Warren.

Hickson liked the course setup Thursday.

“I had closer birdie putts,” said the 1997 Greater Bangor Open champion. “[The pins] today were in pretty good spots.”

He birdied No. 5 and parred the rest of the front to turn at 1 under. He birdied No. 10 to get his back off to a good start.

“That was my best of the day,” said Hickson. “It was 20 feet, 25 maybe or even longer.”

He three-putted 12, then birdied 13 from 5 feet, 17 from 2 feet and 18 with a two-putt.

“When you come out of the store and play well, it’s like ‘yeah,”‘ he said.

Warren was bothered more mentally by the long day, which included a nearly six-hour round not counting the rain delay.

“It was exhausting mentally,” said Warren, then he smiled. “It takes a lot out of you trying to find things to talk about.”

In addition, he thought the greens were faster than Wednesday and he wasn’t hitting the ball as close.

“I kept leaving myself long putts, and you can’t two-putt all of them,” said the winner of last month’s GBO.

Warren’s first birdie came on No. 8, but he promptly gave that back with a three-putt on No. 9. He birdied 10 and 18 on the back but also had a three-putt bogey on 12.

Hickson, who is nearly twice Warren’s age (44 to 23), will tackle his latest opportunity to add a Maine Open title in stride.

“I’m not going to change anything I’ve been doing,” he said.

dbarber@bangordailynews.net

990-8170