KENNEBUNK — In 2019, Mike Arsenault Jr. missed the cut at the Maine Amateur Championship. In 2020, Arsenault tied for 13th place. Last summer, he placed fifth in the tournament. One could say he’s been building to this.

Arsenault was the best golfer on the course for Day 1 of the 2022 Maine Amateur, shooting a 3-under par 68 Tuesday at Webhannet Golf Club.

“Just consistent. I didn’t really make any big numbers. I held it together,” said Arsenault, 28, who plays out of Val Halla Golf Course in Cumberland.

Arsenault holds a two-stroke lead over a group of five golfers at 1-under par: Mike O’Brien (Biddeford-Saco Country Club), Ron Kelton (Purpoodock Club), Jason Gall (Portland Country Club), Mitch Tarrio (Augusta Country Club) and Andrew Slattery (Portland Country Club).

After Wednesday’s play, the field will be cut to the low 40 players plus ties heading into the final round of the 54-hole tournament on Thursday.

Defending champion Caleb Manuel, who last month played in the U.S. Open and the Korn Ferry Tour’s Live and Work in Maine Open, bogeyed three of his final four holes to finish at 1-over 72. A birdie on 14 lowered Manuel’s scored to 2-under par and the lead, but bogeys on 15, 17, and 18 left him four strokes behind Arsenault.

Manuel said he struggled to find confidence with his putter, particularly down the stretch.

“I just couldn’t get anything going. But 1-over (par), I’m not going to be out of the tournament. I’ve struggled with it before, but more so today,” Manuel said. “I should’ve taken advantage over those last four holes. Bogeying the last two hurts a little bit.”

Arsenault began his round with the back nine, and a bogey on 18 set him at 1-under par as he made the turn. Arsenault then birdied holes 1 and 2, and after a bogey on 3, birdied 5 and 8 before ending his round with a bogey on 9.

“That got me going a little bit,” Arsenault said of his back-to-back birdies on holes 1 and 2.

O’Brien sank the shot of the day, and called it “a miracle.”

Faced with a 35-foot downhill putt for birdie on the 16th hole, O’Brien putted just hard enough to start the ball’s descent, hoping to get close enough to tap in for par. Once the ball got rolling and picked up a little speed, O’Brien thought it might have a chance. When the ball dropped in for the birdie O’Brien wasn’t expecting, he high-fived Manuel, one of his playing partners.

“I was just trying to get it anywhere close, so it didn’t run off the green. Then when I saw it going in, that was a bonus. The tee shot was right behind a tree, so the only thing I could do was hit it to the top of the green and try to two putt,” said O’Brien.

O’Brien bogeyed his first hole and his final hole. In between, he shot four birdies and another bogey. O’Brien felt that playing his round with strong players like Manuel and Kelton helped push him.

“I hit the ball so good, and I had a lot of chances. I wish I could’ve made a few more putts and been in the 60s, but for my age (58), being in this thing, I’m happy to be under par,” O’Brien said. “I always say you want to play with guys better than you, and you feed off of them. It’s hard to have it not rub off on you.”

Tarrio, who won high school Class C state titles at Kents Hill in 2018 and 2019, had a chance to enter the clubhouse with the lead. Tarrio was 3 under through 17 holes, but a double bogey on nine, his final hole of the day, ended his round at 1 under. Tarrio was among the half of the field that began play on the back nine, and he opened his round with back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11.

“I felt really good about my round. I felt really confident all the way around. I hit all my clubs well. The driver was straight. Everything was right down the middle, said Tarrio, 21, a member of the Assumption College golf team. “It was nice to start on the back, because the back is really scorable. I got off to a hot start. From there on out, I just played solid golf.”

Gall was pleased with his consistency.

“I feel like 70 was the worst I was going to shoot. I hit almost every green, didn’t three putt once, no bogeys. Super consistent,” Gall said.

After his round, Manuel spoke about his decision to transfer from the University of Connecticut to the University of Georgia to continue his college golf career. The chance to play year-round against top competition in the Southeast Conference was the primary factor, Manuel said.

“And just be pushed a little more down there. Get me ready for the next level,” he said. “They have four of the five starters returning, and they’ve got 11 (former players) on the PGA Tour. I liked the coaches and it felt like the right fit.”

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