AUBURN – Ricky Jones planned on a flight out of the state Friday, but this wasn’t the mode of transportation he had in mind. His final round of the Maine Open was greeted, or interrupted, by a ReMax hot air balloon.

“It would be a long ride to Pinehurst in a balloon,” said Jones, who is scheduled to compete in the U.S. Amateur Championship in North Carolina next week.

As the former Maine Open and Maine Amateur champion began to tee off at 7 a.m. Friday morning, a dark cloud seemingly appeared unexpectedly. It wasn’t an approaching weather front. Before his group knew it, nearly a dozen balloons were flying overhead. One of them landed on the fairway in front of them. Apparently, Fox Ridge Golf Club looked like pastureland to one balloon pilot.

“They were coming down, and they were right over our heads,” said Jones. “There were a bunch of them. It looked like they were all going to land.”

It was another oddity for a golf tournament that had a round rained out and another delayed by thunderstorms. It didn’t stop Jones from getting in his final round and finishing with a one-over 73 to finish the tournament at 217. That was good enough to make him the second highest finishing amateur in the tourney, one shot behind Keegan Fennessy and seven behind winner John Hickson.

“I was OK,” said Jones, who bogeyed the first hole and had another on the sixth hole before three birdies on the back nine. “I made a couple of mistakes. A couple of holes on the front nine I just didn’t hit the right club. Pins were tough.”

With his two-round total of 144, Jones would have been in one of the final groups but was given an early tee time to allow him to make his flight out of Portland in the afternoon. With a plane to catch and practice rounds awaiting him in North Carolina, you’d think Jones might find himself a bit preoccupied with his weekend plans than finishing off the Maine Open, but it provided a good escape and practice.

“I didn’t really think about it,” said Jones. “I was excited because the greens were fast. So it made me kind of get ready. It looked like whoever cut the pins put them on some crowns. I just played. It was a pretty good practice.”

Jones has practice rounds at Pinehurst scheduled Saturday and Sunday. He tees off in the afternoon Monday and in the morning Tuesday.

It is the third time in five years that the 32-year old has played in the U.S. Amateur. He advanced to the round of 32 in last year’s tournament at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. In 2004, Jones failed to qualify for the match play portion of the tournament at the Winged Foot Golf Course in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

“I know the first time I went down there, I was pretty nervous,” said Jones. “The last time, it was a lot better. It’s a little bit different now. I can recognize a lot of the names that I’ve played with and hung out with while I’ve been there. So, it’s not like I’m going down there by myself and sitting in a room.”

Jones said the Maine Open was a good tune-up for Pinehurst. It helped him focus on what he needs to do in preparation for his afternoon round Monday and his morning tee time Tuesday. Jones will be blogging about his rounds at Pinehurst and will have his thoughts posted on the Maine State Golf Association webpage (www.mesga.org).

“I’m just going to try and take it like I did last year,” said Jones. “I shot the same exact score last year on the day before I left. It’s a good test. I know what I’ve got to work on the next couple of days before we tee up. It’s hard to know what to expect when you haven’t played the course.”