The toughest hole at Charlie’s Maine Open, played Monday and Tuesday at the Augusta Country Club, was the 458-yard, par 4 13th.

Hole 13 was played 262 times in the two-day tournament, with just 14 golfers — only five percent — making birdie. Tournament champion Ted Brown bogeyed hole 13 in his final round, one of two bogeys he had in the tournament.

Brown was far from alone in struggling with unlucky 13. Forty percent of the players, 105 in all, scored a bogey or higher on 13. There were 143 pars scored on the hole, 55 percent of the field.

This year’s tournament is not unusual. Year in and year out, hole 13 at the Augusta Country Club is the toughest hole of the Maine Open. In 2015, there were just 16 birdies scored on the hole. In 2014, one eagle and eight birdies were the only scores under par.

Hole 13 is the longest par 4 on the course. Augusta Country Club pro Jason Hurd said the length is just one of the challenges players face on the hole.

“This is the longest par 4 on the course with OB (out of bounds) left and once you’re in the fairway, there are no even lies,” Hurd said. “Everything is a side hill lie for your second shot. So for most they are hitting a long iron or even a hybrid to a very small green that slopes right to left. There are bunkers on each side so that makes a long iron shot into this green very difficult.”

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As long as the Augusta Country Club is the host to the Maine Open, it appears hole 13 will be the one that gives most players fits.

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Jason Thresher dealt with an unusual obstacle when playing hole three of Charlie’s Maine Open on Tuesday. Playing in the final group with eventual winner Ted Brown and Josh Eure, Thresher pulled his tee shot on the 365-yard, par 4 hole well left of the fairway. When he went to find his ball, Thresher found it under a car parked just off the parking lot behind the Augusta Country Club’s pro shop.

It took a few minutes to find the car’s driver, an employee of the club, who moved the car, allowing Thresher to play. Judges allowed Thresher a free drop because of the obstacle, and he was able to save par on the hole. At the time, the par was big, as Thresher double bogeyed hole two. After playing even on the front nine, a double bogey on 14 and bogey on 16 left Thresher at 3-over on the day.

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A few amateur players played very well against the pros in Charlie’s Maine Open. Jack Wyman, of South Freeport, was the low amateur of the tournament. Wyman shot 2-under each day to finish at 4-under and in a tie for seventh place.

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Matt Hutchins, who won the Maine Amateur title at York Golf and Tennis Club earlier this month, rebounded from a 2-over effort on Day 1 to shoot 2-under on Day 2 and finish even for the tournament. This was the first Maine Open for Hutchins, 19, who moved to Maine from Massachusetts with his family last year. Hutchins said he’d never played the Augusta Country Club until Sunday.

“I like the course. It’s a great tournament,” Hutchins said. “It’s in really good shape. There’s some really cool holes out here.”

Ricky Jones, who was runner-up to Hutchins at the Maine Am, was 1-under for the tournament, tying for 22nd place. Maranacook Community School graduate Luke Ruffing was 2-over, while Augusta Country Club members Mark Plummer and Jason Gall also were 2-over. Ruffing eagled hole one on Tuesday.

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Central Maine was well-represented in the Maine Women’s Amateur Championship, played this week at Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono.

Liz Wiltshire of Natanis Golf Club tied for eighth place at 242 for the three-day tournament. Sheila Brocki, also representing Natanis, tied for 19th at 259. Another Natanis golfer, Kelsie Dessent, was one shot back at 260. Augusta Country Club’s Carrie Langevin came in at 262.

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Staci Creech won her second consecutive Women’s Am. The only player under par for the tournament, Creech’s 4-under 215 was 11 strokes better than runner-up Bailey Plourde.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM


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