By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

FALMOUTH – Kevin Velardo walked into the clubhouse after Tuesday’s first round of the New England Amateur Championship and felt pretty good about his day.

Then he saw the scoreboard.

“Seventy two (Tuesday), I thought was pretty good,” said the Wilmington, Mass. native. “Then I saw a couple scores of 66 and 68. Today, my goal was just try to make the next shot and try to prepare myself for the greens and make a few putts. I’m not thinking about numbers that are going to be leading. I’m just trying to make as many birdies as I can.”

Wednesday, the 19-year old shot a 3-under 69. This time the scoreboard didn’t burst his bubble. Velardo’s two-round total of 141 put him in the lead with the final rounds today at the Woodlands. The final 40 and ties play 36 holes starting at 7 a.m.

Velardo has a one-shot lead over Joe Alvarez, Brad Valois, Trevor Murphy and Andy Drohen. All were at 142 after two rounds. Craig Cyr and George Donnell were tied at 143, while Jesse Larson and Rich Berberian are at 144.

“I hit it just about the same as I did (Tuesday),” said Velardo. “I just couldn’t score (Tuesday). Today, I was able to make a few more putts. I was able to make a good amount of 10 or 12 footers. That’s the key to scoring, making putts.”

While Velardo, who attends St. John’s University, improved on his opening round, he was in the minority. Of the top 14 golfers after Tuesday’s round, only two (Velardo and Andy Drohen) shot better scores. The rest were an average of five strokes higher.

Craig Steckowych, who shot a leading 66 Tuesday, shot a 79 Wednesday. Donnell and Bill Drohen, both of whom were two strokes back at 68, shot 75 and 77, respectively.

“I think it was more difficult in that it was very breezy,” said Steckowych. “I don’t know the wind here, but there were one or two shots that absolutely confounded the three of us. We all thought we hit pretty good iron shots, and the wind got hold of them, and they ended up short and to the left. It was amazing.

“I didn’t play as well as I did yesterday, obviously, but they bumped up some of the tees, and I think the wind was a big difference in the numbers. It was difficult to figure out.”

Shawn Warren, the Maine Amateur Champion, shot 76, putting him eight shots back. Warren was 7-under Tuesday late in his round but dropped eight strokes in the final holes to finish at 73. He was plagued by a trio of three-putts and some missed birdie attempts Wednesday.

“(Tuesday) set me back, but its a fresh start,” said Warren. “I tried to just play patient and wait for the birdies to come. I was 2-over after seven holes, and I hadn’t really hit a bad shot.”

Velardo started his day on the 10th hole and birdied 11, 12, 15 and 18. He added birdies on 2 and 3. His day could have been even better had he not had two bogeys on the back nine.

“I was 5-under going into 7, my 16th hole,” said Velardo. “I made two bogeys coming in but overall, I wasn’t too displeased.”

Alvarez, of Penobscot Valley, kept pace with the leader with a 70, following up his 72 on Tuesday. Valois was at 74 after the first round but moved within a stroke of the lead with a 68. Murphy was in fourth after the first round with a 70 and added a 72 while Andy Drohen followed his opening round of 72 with a 70 on Wednesday.

Steckowych, the two-time New Hampshire Amateur Champion and the winner of the 2001 New England title, had six birdies during his round of 66 but mustered just two birdies Wednesday. He also had a pair of double-bogeys.

“I didn’t expect to shoot 79, but yesterday I didn’t expect to shoot 66,” said Steckowych. “I was hoping to be somewhere around even par.”

The final cut ended up being 152. With two rounds still to play, there are 13 golfers within five shots of the lead.

“There’s a ton of golf left,” said Steckowych. “I’m only four shots back. That’s not insurmountable. I’m not going to go out there thinking I’m going to win, but if I come out and play well, who the heck knows. We’re a bunch of amateurs. That’s what we’re here for. I’m going to come out and play and wish myself the best of luck and see what happens.”