Seth Sweet, the winner of the 2012 Maine Amateur and a member of the Old Dominion University golf team, is living in Savannah, Georgia, with his parents, who moved there from Madison last September.

Sweet played two weeks ago in the Georgia Amateur, finishing 20th of 144 golfers with rounds of 68-77-70-75 in the 72-hole event.

“I was tied for second after my first round but kind of blew up in the second round,” said Sweet, who turns 20 in a week. “I was happy with the way I kept it together in the last two rounds.”

Sweet will be a junior this fall at Old Dominion, in Norfolk, Virginia.

“I played in every tournament but one this spring,” he said. “I played the No. 3 spot, mostly. I had multiple top 20s and one top 10. My scoring average was 74.8, which was a significant drop from my first year.”

Sweet, who said next season looks good for the team, knows he has to keep improving because no spot is guaranteed.

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“We have four of the five top guys returning and our four incoming freshmen are very talented,” he said. “The four new guys could bump all of us out of the starting lineup.”

Living and going to school in the South, Sweet doesn’t feel the pressure to play at every opportunity like he did in Maine because of the short season.

“You can be more laid back,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m going to lose anything if I miss a day or two because you can play every day. In Maine, you have to cram all your golf into four or five months. You’re always rusty starting out every year.

“Living here has helped my game tremendously. I get to play and practice at four courses in the area.”

Still, he said he had mixed emotions about leaving Maine.

“I do love it in the summertime,” said Sweet, who will return to Maine in August to be the best man at a wedding.

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The Georgia Amateur likely will be Sweet’s only tournament this summer.

“I played in so many tournaments this spring that I just want to work on my game,” he said.

Sweet also caddies at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The course is the home of the RBC Heritage Classic on the PGA Tour.

Sweet said his parents were looking to move south. His mother, Kim, got a job with Georgia Pacific and his dad, Dan, a retired teacher, is an assistant pro at Harbour Town.

“It’s a pretty good place to come home for Christmas,” said Sweet about Savannah.

Golf is in the Sweets’ blood. His brother, Zack, 22, a graduate of Methodist College in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is the first assistant pro at Cape Cod National in Brewster, Massachusetts.

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Alan Bouchard of Boothbay Harbor, Ron Bibeau of South Portland and Spike Herrick of Portland are the 2014 inductees to the Maine Golf Hall of Fame. They will be inducted at the 22nd annual ceremony Sept. 11 at Poland Spring Resort. The golf tourney will start at 1 p.m. There will be a social hour from 5 to 6, followed by dinner and the induction ceremony.

Bouchard, formerly of Falmouth, is a two-time Maine Seniors and City of Portland champion. He played in the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2001, 2005 and 2009. Bouchard is a past president and treasurer of the Maine State Golf Association. He has been on the MSGA board of directors for 36 years.

Bibeau is the director of First Tee of Maine. He’s a former head pro at Riverside. In 2008, Bibeau was the New England PGA Professional of the Year. In 2013, he won the NEPGA junior golf leader award, and in 2011 he was the merchandiser of the year.

Herrick has been one of the most successful Maine high school coaches, with eight state titles in 23 years at Falmouth. A member of The Woodlands Club in Falmouth, he is a longtime member of the MSGA and Central Maine Seniors.

Tee to Green: Maine will have 16 golfers in this week’s New England Amateur at Winchester Country Club in Massachusetts. The 72-hole tournament runs Tuesday to Thursday.

In the tournament are Joe Alvarez, Sanford; Will Kannegieser, Martindale; John Bauman, Webhannet; Brett Braasch, Biddeford-Saco; Mike Caron, Gorham; Craig Chapman, Fox Ridge; Craig Decato, York Golf & Tennis; Sam Grindle, Island; Curtis Jordan, Woodlands Club; Seaward Matel, Wawenock; Reese McFarlane, Purpoodock; Michael Moore, Riverside; Judd Parsons, York Golf & Tennis; Andrew Slattery, Martindale; Joe Walp, Falmouth; and Peter Wright, Dunegrass.

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Four Maine golfers have won men’s New England Amateur championships: John Levinson (1936, 1937 and 1947); John Sale (1969); Mark Plummer (1979 and 1994) and Sean Gorgone (1991). …

Alexa Rancourt, a two-time women’s state amateur champion who plays on the Symetra Tour, has entered the Charlie’s Maine Open at Augusta Country Club. The tournament is July 28-29.

Rancourt, a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, lives in Greenville. She has played in two Symetra Tour events, and also the recent Michigan Women’s Open.

“Alexa was looking to play in a tournament while back home, and the Maine Open is her only professional option,” said her father, Michael. “She’s traveling the country with the Symetra Tour and playing in numerous state opens, with the goal of trying to get to the LPGA Tour.”

Rancourt, who won her state amateurs at Bangor Muni and Augusta, plans on going back to LPGA qualifying school at the end of the summer, her father said. …

The MSGA extended the deadline for applications for the upcoming B&C Championship July 21-22 at Natanis.

Entries will be taken until the event fills up. Players looking to register can call the MSGA office or email mike@mesga.org. …

The MSGA is looking for volunteers to help with its tournaments. There are opportunities to be spotters (forecaddies) and on course scorers at major championships and junior tournaments.


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