SACO — Jade Haylock thought her tournament was over.

The 17-year-old rising senior at Leavitt High was sitting in second place going into the second round of the Maine Women’s Amateur championship when, after a swing on the driving range, she heard a crack from her right foot and felt a searing pain at the base of her toes.

“I was pretty upset. I was crying a bit,” she said. “I don’t think it was so much the pain but just more scared of (how) I worked hard, this could (have been) my year. … As soon as I felt it on the range, I was like ‘I don’t think I can make it through today.’ ”

Over four hours later, Haylock was all smiles walking off the ninth green (her 18th hole), after putting the finishing touches on a round that could make this her year after all. Haylock carded a 1-under 71, the best round of the day, and now is 4-over par overall with a six-shot lead over Abby Flanagan and her sister, Ruby Haylock, going into the final round at Biddeford-Saco Country Club.

Defending champion Erin Holmes is fourth at 12 over, while Elizabeth Holden and Ruth Colucci are tied for fifth at 15 over.

“I’m excited. I’ll definitely feel some nerves tomorrow morning. I get a little nervous when I’m on the first tee,” Jade Haylock said. “But it’s exciting, for the most part.”

As was the case Monday, golfers played the course out of order, starting with the first through sixth holes, then playing Nos. 17, 18 and 10, followed by Nos. 11 through 16 and 7 through 9.

Jade Haylock, who rode in a cart to help with the discomfort, said she had to adjust her swing to take pressure off her right foot, making sure she was finishing with her weight forward and on her left.

“It might have helped my swing,” she said.

She bogeyed her first and fourth holes, then got a stroke back when she birdied the sixth. She got another birdie on the par-5 12th when, after hitting into the trees with her second shot, she punched out and holed her chip with her 56-degree wedge.

Micki Meggison watches a putt during the second round of the Maine Women’s Amateur. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Her best stretch, however, came on the final four holes (holes 16, 7, 8 and 9). She hit a ball well above her feet from just over 100 yards away onto the green and just missed birdie, then stuck a shot from 115 yards away four feet from the pin and made birdie, made up-and-down from a tricky downhill lie, and on the final hole hit a 5-iron from 185 yards at the pin before making a downhill 11-footer for eagle.

Haylock said Advil before the round helped ease the foot pain, and then she made sure her game was dialed in.

“I was having a good day already,” she said, “and (I was) just walking through my shots a little bit more with my dad (Harry). He made me feel really confident coming in.”

Haylock will play with her sister in the final group of a Maine Golf championship for the first time. Ruby Haylock is a two-time champion of this event, winning in 2020 and ’22, and when asked how the siblings will handle Wednesday’s final round – silence or chit-chat – Jade broke into a smile.

“Oh, it could go either way,” she said. “I would hope that we’re chatting with each other, but we might go our separate ways. It depends how we’re playing, I think.”

Ruby Haylock moved into a tie for second with a 3-over round of 75 that featured two bogeys, a double bogey and a birdie.

“I’m still fighting for it, I want that win as much as she does, but we’re rooting for each other,” Ruby Haylock said. “I think our whole lives has kind of been the competitiveness, feeding off each other. She has a target on my back, she always has, and now I have one on hers.”

Joining the sisters will be Flanagan, who bounced back from a 10-over 82 with an even-par 72 Tuesday, the day’s second-lowest round. A putter that misbehaved Monday was more obedient Tuesday, resulting in five birdies.

“Always going into the second day of a tournament, my dad and I like to say it’s moving day,” Flanagan said. “This is a 54-hole tournament, there are a lot of holes to play. Yesterday, I did not play my best golf, so I knew today just go in, (hit) smooth shots. If you hit a bad shot, just move on and go to the next.”

Holmes, a five-stroke winner last year, returned to form with a 3-over 75 that, should Jade Haylock falter, keeps her hopes of defending her title alive.

“I just cleaned up my irons,” she said. “This is a course that’s easy to get in trouble on, so you never know. I just want to play a score that I’m proud of at the end of the day.”

Cecily Whiting entered the day with a one-shot lead at 3 over, but is tied for 15th after shooting 91. Thea Davis and Maria Cianchette are tied for seventh at 16 over, and Carley Iannetta, Ruth Weeks, McKenna Castle and Allison Landes are tied for ninth at 17 over.