AUGUSTA — Expect some aggressive play during the Maine State Golf Association’s Match Play Invitational, especially from Ryan Gay.
“I’ll attack the golf course more, because the overall score doesn’t matter. You can shoot an eight on a hole and it only matters on that hole,” said Gay, who has won three of the last four Maine Amateur titles, including his second consecutive last month.
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The tournament begins at 8 a.m. today at the Augusta Country Club when Gay, the top seed, tees off against Falmouth’s Kyle Bourassa. One round will be played today, with two rounds on Wednesday and the semifinals and finals on Thursday.
“I’m actually good friends with (Bourassa),” Gay said. “He’s a good player.”
Hampden’s Joe Alvarez, who proposed the idea of a match play championship the winter prior to the 2010 season, won the inaugural tournament last Augusta. He defeated Mark Plummer, 3 and 2 in the finals.
Alvarez, the No. 10 seed, will play against Jack Wyman of the Portland Country Club today.
This year, the tournament expanded to a three-day event and has doubled in size, from 16 to 32 players. Last year, the top eight finishers from the Maine Amateur, along with the other top eight players on the MSGA points list, we’re invited to the match play tournament. This year, the top 16 from the Maine Amateur were invited, along with the top 16 in the points standings.
“It gets more people involved, so that’s good,” Plummer said. “Last year, it was just 16, and there were probably some people who deserved to be in it.”
Plummer, the 13-time winner of the Maine Amateur, is the No. 8 seed, and will face Chris King of Val Halla Golf Club in today’s first round. If Plummer and Gay each win their first two matches, the friends will play against each other in Wednesday afternoon’s quarterfinals.
“We played together (Monday), actually,” Plummer said.
Plummer said his style of play won’t change much do to the format.
“You might adapt to the round a little. If the guy you’re playing hits it into the woods, you might do things differently,” Plummer said. “You’re just be playing hole by hole. You’re not playing for a score.”
Gay and Plummer faced each other in the first round last year, with Plummer coming away with a win after a 21 hole match. If Gay finds himself in another close match, he said he’ll play more conservatively.
“If it’s a tight match, you get more into a stroke play mode. Let your opponent make a mistake,” Gay said.
Three of the four semifinalists from last season, Alvarez, Plummer and Augusta’s Jason Gall, are back this year. Gall will play Andrew Campbell of York today,
Chris Hamel of Natanis Golf Club is in today’s second match, against Curtis Jordan of the Woodlands Club.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
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