MANCHESTER — There were plenty of good shots and more than a few bad ones Tuesday in the first round of the Charlie’s Maine Open, which returned to the Augusta Country Club for the first time since 1960.
One stood above them all.
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Kevin Roy, 22, of Syracuse, N.Y., scored an eagle on the par-4 13th, one of the toughest holes on the 6,350-yard course, that vaulted him to a tie at the top of the leaderboard after the first round.
“I started off decent,” said Roy, whose father, Jim, was fully exempt on the Champions Tour in 2010. “I parred my first three holes, then I holed out from 170 yards for an eagle. It kick-started my round.”
Roy, Jeremiah Shields and Jesse Larson each shot a 2-under 68 to tie for the lead.
Matt Baker, Jack Wyman, Peter Wright, Maki Kobayashi, 1981 Maine Open champ Don Robertson, and Jason Parajeckas each shot a 69.
Defending Maine Open champ Michael Carbone of Brewster, Mass., withdrew Monday after qualifying for the PGA Travelers Championship this week.
“He called me (Monday) night and told me,” tournament director Sam Marzenell said. “I don’t blame him. He has a chance at ($1.2 million).”
Carbone qualified by shooting a 4-under 68 at the Gillette Ridge Golf Club in Bloomfield, Conn., on Monday.
Only nine of the 155 players finished under par.
The short course with inviting greens practically dared golfers to play aggressively. But those who did – and there were plenty of them – paid dearly.
“The greens were a little quicker and the rough was a little thick, but I’m surprised the scores were as high as they were,” said 13-time Maine Amateur champ and longtime Augusta member Mark Plummer, who shot a 74. “I thought somebody would shoot a 66.”
The greens proved the course’s best defense Tuesday. Some called it the “Little Monster.”
Whatever it was, it had teeth.
“You have to play conservative and hope you can make putts,” said Shields, 29, of Ottawa, who turned pro in 2006 but took a few years off before returning this summer. “I didn’t try to overpower any hole. I looked at the hole and whatever it gave up, I went for it. I went for the fatter part of the fairways.”
Shields made five birdies, including three in the final seven holes.
Roy turned pro about two weeks ago after graduating from Long Beach State. He was a first-team all-Big West selection.
Roy also birdied the par-4 second hole but bogeyed the par-4 fourth.
Wyman, who helped Falmouth High win the Class B state title in 2008, nearly finished tied for the lead. He birdied the par-3 15th and the par-4 16th to put him 2 under. But he bogeyed the par-5 18th.
Tim Desmarais, 31, of Cape Elizabeth was one of the three players to shoot 70.
“The greens were awesome,” said Desmarais, the assistant golf pro at the Purpoodock Club. “There were opportunities out there. (Today) it will be the same game plan. I’ll try to get it going.”
Not many players got going. The course left more than a few players frustrated and looking for answers by the end of the day.
The top finishers said the game plan was simple: Keep it in the fairways and above all, keep it below the hole.
“Anything above and you were two-putting,” Roy said.
Shields hit 15 greens and birdied four holes on the back nine, including three straight on the par-4 14th, par-3 15th and par-3 16th. He finished with five birdies.
Larson made five birdies and three bogeys.
Three-time Maine Amateur champ Ryan Gay of Pittston finished with a 72.
He opened his round with a double bogey before parring three straight holes. He made three birdies, but three bogeys on the back nine pushed him over par.
“I fought it all day,” he said. “I really just want to shoot a good round. I haven’t done that in awhile.”
Plummer also struggled. He was 2 over after the front nine but then bogeyed the par-4 11th and the par-3 15th.
“I never got going,” he said.
The leaders will go out at 1:10 p.m. today. In all, 104 players advanced to the final round today.
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