BAR HARBOR — The 91st Maine Amateur golf championship, the crown jewel of the Maine State Golf Association’s summer schedule, visits Kebo Valley Golf Club in Bar Harbor this year.

The traditional three-day event runs Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, and we’ll do our best to keep you updated as it moves along. Check back here all week for the latest from the course.

Speaking of the course, Kebo Valley is a older style, classic design. Small, pushed up greens are hard targets, we’re close enough to the ocean where the grass and wind are just a bit different than most golfers are used to, and the layout, while compact, can play long, even though it’s only 6,200 yards.

After the first day, we have a veteran of the Maine Amateur, Jason Gall, who always seems to nose around the lead early, on top at 3-under. Fifteen-year-old Seth Sweet begins Day 2 in second at 2-under, with several familiar names lurking just off the pace at 1-over and 2-over.

Stay with us all day for updates!

5:49 p.m. – Curtis Jordan in with a 75, for a 147, and he will be within seven of the lead when play begins tomorrow. Looks like we have our top 10, and it appears the cut will fall at 154, barring a miracle finish from some of the stragglers. We have six groups left to finish.

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4:34 p.m. – Matt Zito had a 73 on Day 1, but fell off today, as did Michael Nowak (72 on Day 1). Only a pair of golfers remain with a chance to bust up the final grouping.

4:04 p.m. – Seth Sweet in with 73 for a two-day total of 141. It looks as though the youngest-ever champ (Ryan Gay) will play in a group tomorrow as the leader, alongside Sweet, who is bidding to become the new youngest champ.

3:42 P.M. – And we’ll begin the final day with a new leader. Jason Gall, done the first round in 3-under 67, came in at 4-over 74 today for a 141, one back of Ryan Gay, the current leader in the house. Seth Sweet, in second after Day 1, is on the 18th tee.

3:16 p.m. – Finally, a new leader in the clubhouse. Ryan Gay posts a 2-under 68, the lowest round of the day so far, and good to bring him in after two rounds at 140. Still a few low numbers out there.

3:05 p.m. – Bob Langlois appears to have made the cut on the number as the last player in on the first wave. His 153 has put the Fox Ridge golfer squarely on the cutline, for the moment.

2:48 pm. – One more group remains before the lower scores from yesterday start coming in again today. The cutline is still projected at the moment to be 153, but perhaps now the 154s may have a chance. Right now, though, that would only mean an extra two golfers. Halfway there on Day 2!

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2:20 p.m. – Matt Greenleaf, out in the first group of the day, has been the leader in the clubhouse since he finished. His two-day total of 143 is still better than at least half the field that has finished. And he’s pacing as the better players in the second wave start to approach.

2:18 p.m. – We’re still on 4:15/round pace, which is unreal considering how far behind everyone got yesterday. Three more groups to finish before we see Ryan Gay’s group come in, the start of the second wave and the halfway mark of the second round.

1:46 p.m. – Another interesting tidbit: Eric Crouse, the champ here at Kebo Valley in the 1998 Maine Amateur, is only one shot worse through two rounds this year than he was in 1998, yet instead of playing in the final two groups, he’ll have far more golfers in his way if he wants to climb into the top spot.

1:35 p.m. – Nice to see Curtis Jordan’s father, Steve, out here to watch his son play. Last year, Steve followed Curt along at Martindale, where both play golf. Shortly afterward, Steve suffered a stroke. He still has limited use of the left side of his body, but he’s out here today, following along.

1 p.m. – Martindale’s Mark Stasium is in, and likely will miss the cut, which appears more and more to be falling in the 153-154 range. There is no one within a sniff of the lead expected to finish within the next two hours.

12:30 p.m. – We have a red number! Past champ Eric Crouse, who actually won the Am here at Kebo, bettered his 79 from Day 1 by 10, firing a 69 on Day 2 to move back within striking distance and certainly inside the cutline.

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12:02 p.m. – Another 71 from Day 1 has fallen by the wayside. Tom Chard out of Purpoodock — and usually on this side of the keyboard with me — shot an 82 today, the opposite of Ron Brown to finish at 153, right along the projected cutline.

11:49 a.m. – Hayes in with a 75…could the scores climb today? Of the three previous Maine Ams at Kebo, none of the winners have actually been under par…

11:30 a.m. – Some thoughts on what I saw out on the course: The pins are a bit more accessible overall, the heat doesn;t seem to be as, well, thick, and some of the top players are playing steady. Jace Pearson made an up-and-down birdie at No. 12 after flying the green off the tee, Tom Chard hit first at No. 13 in his group, and Johnny Hayes IV made a good 5 out of the junk on the par-4 14th. Also, leader Jason Gall snaked a 20-footer down the hill and in for birdie on his first hole.

11:24 a.m. – OK, updates should come a bit more easily now that we are not out on the course taking photos. Anywho, we have a few scores in, including Ricky Jones at 73 for a total of 144. Your leader in the clubhouse early is Matt Greenleaf of Sable Oaks at 143 (71-72), and in the turnaround of the day running, Ron Brown. Playing in his 36th consecutive Maine Am, Brown registered a 71 today after an 82 yesterday, and may make the cut.

9:07 a.m. – The first wave of golfers, in reverse order, is out on the course. That first bunch includes two-time champion Ricky Jones and Matt Greenleaf of Sable Oakes, both of whom start the day in striking distance of the lead. Also on course is Johnny Hayes IV, who’s in third after an even-par 70 on Day 1.


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