FALMOUTH — It’s been a while since Mark Plummer won a state amateur golf championship.

But at age 65, he still can wield a precision iron.

Plummer won the Maine Senior Amateur Championship, shooting par over two days. He carded a 71 on Wednesday at the Falmouth Country Club, following his 73 on Tuesday at The Woodlands.

“It’s nice to win. You never know how many more there are, if any,” Plummer said after posing for pictures on the 18th green while holding the crystal cup that went to the winner.

It was Plummer’s fifth senior championship – the previous one coming in 2012 – adding to his 13 Maine Amateur titles.

Plummer’s last Maine Amateur championship was in 2003, although he’s contended in more, including a runner-up finish in 2015.

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“When I won the Amateur in 2003, I didn’t realize it would be my last (win). So every one is important,” he said.

Ron Dery, 62, the defending champion, finished second, two strokes behind at 2 over (73-73).

“I lost to a good pedigree,” Dery said of Plummer.

Daniel Falcone, 57, finished three strokes back in third and Tom Bean, 59, was fourth at 4 over. Bean was in the hunt until a triple-bogey on the par-4 15th hole.

The first-round leader, Cash Wiseman, 56, shot a 77 to finish at 5 over, tied with Mike Nowak, 56.

Plummer didn’t look sharp early, shooting a double-bogey 6 on the third hole.

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“Lousy start,” he said. “I hit a ball out of bounds with a driver and I kind of lost a little confidence there with the driver.”

The driver rarely came out of the bag as Plummer opted for irons off the tee. As long as he was accurate to the fairway, his second shots were spot-on.

“I hit the irons well today. That was the key,” Plummer said. “That enabled me to hit a lot of 4- and 5-irons off the tee. I knew I was hitting the short and medium irons good, and knew I could hit the greens with it.”

Plummer did bogey the fourth, which let Dery take the lead, as Wiseman faded (bogey on No. 2, triple-bogey on the third).

Dery, who plays out of the Biddeford-Saco Country Club, led the field at the turn, shooting a 1-under 35 on the front nine, putting him even for the tournament. He might have pulled away except Plummer birdied Nos. 7, 8 and 9 (putts of 2, 7 and 6 feet) for a 36 on the front nine, and 1 over for the tournament.

Plus, Bean was making a charge, playing two groups ahead. He shot a 34 on the front nine to go 2 over for the tournament.

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Bean, who like Plummer lives in Manchester and plays at the Augusta Country Club, stayed in contention until the 15th. He was between clubs on his approach and opted for a 6-iron instead of the 7.

“I lost it right,” said Bean, who watched his ball bounce out of bounds. “Then I grabbed the 7-iron for the provisional and put it 12 feet from the pin.”

Trying to salvage a bogey, Bean hit the putt 5 feet by the hole, then missed that putt, recording a triple-bogey.

Nowak, another Augusta club member, bogeyed the 10th hole, dropped three back, and played par the rest of the way.

Plummer birdied the 11th and 13th, both with 2-foot putts, to take the lead at 1 under.

“The approaches were good. The wedge didn’t leave me much work,” Plummer said.

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The key hole was the par-3 16th. Plummer’s tee shot went right of the green and he didn’t get up and down. Dery could take the lead with a birdie or tie with a par. He three-putted for a bogey and Plummer still led by one.

Dery missed another par putt on the 17th to fall two back.

On No. 18, Plummer’s approach was 45 feet away, Dery’s 20 feet. Although Plummer putted 12 feet past the hole, he made the putt coming back for a par and the victory. Dery two-putted to preserve second place.

Jim Surette, 79, of Point Sebago turned in a delightful round, shooting his age for a 166 total (87-79).

Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: @KevinThomasPPH


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