Neil LaRochelle III’s first attempt at qualifying for the Maine Amateur went smoothly for the first 10 holes at Dutch Elm Golf Club in Arundel on June 22.
The Lisbon native was plus-2 through 10 holes on June 22, well inside the cut line to make it to the Maine Am at Webhanet Golf Club in Kennebunk on July 12-14. Starting with the 503-yard, par-5 11th hole, his round did a complete 180.
Neil LaRochelle III chips onto the practice green before heading out for a practice round late last month at The Meadows Golf Club in Litchfield. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
“I was feeling good through 10, I was playing good golf, but I wasn’t making any putts,” said LaRochelle, who was consistently the University of Maine-Farmington men’s golf team’s top scorer last fall. “Two-over, I made the turn feeling pretty good. I was trying to keep on pace. Then the 11th hole came — that wasn’t the best hole for me.”
LaRochelle took out his trusty driver, but topped his tee shot 20 yards into a hazard and took an unplayable lie. His second tee shot went into the woods, and he was unable to find his ball within the allotted three minutes to look for it, so he headed back to the tee box. His third tee shot also found the hazard.
“I went up to the tee — and I just missed a 4-footer for birdie on No. 10, and I wasn’t too happy,” LaRochelle said. “I kind of forgot how to swing. I hit three out of bounds, and all of a sudden, I am dropping (for) seven from 240 yards away, still. I got out of there with an 11. I just knew I had to make birdies the next few holes.”
He went from 2-over to 8-over in a matter of minutes, then, at No. 12, he made a bogey. Now at 9-over, the 2021 Lisbon High School graduate’s chances to qualify looked bleak.
“I am lucky I kept my composure and I kind of dialed in and got locked in,” LaRochelle said. “I said: ‘I still have a chance because I did (well) on the 10 holes before that. If I finish strong, I still have a chance to qualify.'”
Neil LaRochelle III before heading out for a practice round at The Meadows Golf Club in Litchfield. Larochelle, a Lisbon High School graduate and member of the UMaine-Farmington golf team, has qualified for next week’s Maine Amateur championship. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
He heard the cutline to qualify would be 77, which meant LaRochelle most likely had to birdie four of his last six holes to hit 77.
The first birdie of the day for LaRochelle came on the par-5 15th hole to get his score down to 8-over.
After pars on No. 16 and No. 17, another birdie dropped for LaRochelle at No. 18 to shoot a 7-over, 79. The putt was a sidewinder.
“My approach shot, all I am thinking is, put it next to the hole, I want to make birdie,” LaRochelle said. “I hit it above the (hole), and on that green, there’s a big slope in the back. I had to putt it sideways at the top of the hill, and I hit (the ball) sideways three feet. It fell right down to the hole and hit the pin (to go in). I celebrated and a couple of people watching at the clubhouse celebrated.”
LaRochelle’s group was one of the first to finish its round. So after signing his score card, he waited a few hours to see if he would be one of the 18 players to earn an invitation to the Maine Amateur.
The windy conditions meant players recorded higher scores and 79 still had a chance to qualify. LaRochelle practiced his putting and chipping at the practice green for a few hours in case there was a playoff.
A playoff wasn’t needed, though. Six players were at 79, which tied for 13th place and filled up the 18 qualifying spots. Had there been even one more player with 79, there would have been a playoff.
Neil LaRochelle III follows through on a practice swing before heading out for a late-June practice round at The Meadows Golf Club in Litchfield. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
LaRochelle is excited to compete in his first Maine Amateur.
“This will be my first big tournament,” LaRochelle said. “I played a lot of junior tournaments and some high school tournaments (with the St. Dom’s golf team). I just got done my first year of college and I played in those tournaments.
“This is a whole different thing; there are some really good golfers playing. I don’t know if I am out of my league, but if I play some really good rounds — I think I can compete.”
LaRochelle paced St. Dominic Academy to a second-place finish in the 2020 Class C state championship by shooting a team-best 82, which ranked fifth in the individual competition.
During his freshman season at UMF, LaRochelle was the Beavers’ high individual scorer in all but one match.
He said that he learned from the qualifying tournament that a caddy could be helpful. He’ll have one next week.
“This is going to be the first tournament I will have a caddy,” LaRochelle said. “My dad is going to caddy for me — I think that’s going to happen. He would have helped me a lot, too, at the qualifier to calm me down and keep me in check. I didn’t bring him — I don’t know why.”
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