Results and Prizes
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Harry Haylock had the best round of his life by five shots in the first round of the Class B and C Players Championships at Waterville Country Club on Monday.
Unfortunately, reality set in on Tuesday. Haylock combined his first round 69 with an 85 to finish second to coach Norm Charleston from Oakdale -- a fellow junior golf coach -- as Charleston proved steady wins the race, pairing his first round 74 with a 77 for the victory to beat Haylock by three.
Finishing in third was Cedar Springs' Mike Dubois at 156 -- and that's with a two-shot penalty for hitting from the wrong tee on the last hole. Fortunately, he saved himself by disqualification by correcting his error and taking his two-shot penalty instead.
Charleston, who runs the junior golf program at Oakdale, opened up with a 40 on the front nine at Waterville and, after a pair of bogeys to start the back, came back to shoot just one over for the rest of the round.
Freeport's Darren Jensen hung onto his four-shot first-round lead, combining his opening 76 with an 83 to win the C title. Jensen had birdies on the second and third holes to finish the front nine at even par before making six bogeys on the back on Monday.
He didn't make any big mistakes and took the solid lead into Tuesday's final round, where, despite making two double bogeys, he was able to bring home a two-shot victory over Springbrook's Jim Horn. Horn had the low round of the C division on Tuesday with a 78, good for second place.
Finishing in third was Salmon Falls' Steve Richards, who shot 83-80.
Although he's played in most of the B and C championships previously, not only had Charleston never won, "I never even won any money in this," he says of his first state title. The victory was well deserved for a person who donates his time not only to the Oakdale junior program, but also back to the MSGA as a worthy, reliable volunteer in other state championships.
The wind was the big story Tuesday afternoon as players adjusted to a two and even three club breeze in the afternoon, where the leaders in B division teed off last. Waterville had experienced heavy downpours on Sunday, but with the breeze blowing, the course firmed up very nicely and became unpredicatable for some of the field.
Players raved about condition course conditions, though, and were truly thankful for the opportunity to play such a quality championship venue. This was the 18th year of the B and C Players Championship, which features players from the mid and upper handicap ranges. The divisions are reconfigured each year based on the MSGA participants from the previous year. This year the B division was for players with handicaps of 6.6 to 12.0 while C's were 12.1 and above. This is a gross and net tournament, with the number of prizes based on the number of participants in each division. There are senior prizes for those senior players not otherwise finishing in the money. In all, a total of 111 players competed.
Bangor Municipal Golf Course was the best represented club at this tournament with seven players while host club Waterville, Val Halla and Brunswick all had six. Players came from as far away as St. Croix in Calais and Old Marsh in Wells for a chance to play a wonderful track in superb condition.
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Day 1:
