BANGOR — Bangor native Jesse Speirs has returned home and is one of a handful of former Greater Bangor Open Tournament champions looking to add another Greater Bangor Open trophy to their case.
The 49th annual Greater Bangor Open begins on Thursday with 93 golfers teeing off.
The Pro-Am was held on Wednesday with Chris Fitzpatrick from Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Ricky Stimets from Paxton, Massachusetts, sharing the low round honors with seven-under-par 64s.
Speirs is the most recent Greater Bangor Open winner as he captured the title in 2011. Defending champ David Chung, 2013 winner Eric Steger and 2012 titlist Will Mitchell aren’t in the field.
But Windham’s Shawn Warren, who won it in 2008; Hampden native John Hickson, the 1997 winner; and 1995 titlist Eric Egloff from Sandy Spring, Maryland, are in the field.
Speirs finished fourth last year, five shots behind Chung and Mike Van Sickle. Chung then beat Van Sickle on the fourth playoff hole. Warren finished fifth, seven shots off the pace. Van Sickle hasn’t returned, either.
Speirs, who lives in Memphis, said it is always nice to come home and see his parents and friends.
“I love coming back. The course looks really good. It’s the best shape I’ve seen it in, as a whole, from tee to green,” said the 28-year-old Speirs. “It’s got some color, and there aren’t any bad spots on any of the greens. In the past, they struggled with a couple of the greens.
“They’re a little slower, but they’re putting pretty true, and they’re healthy,” he added.
Speirs noted that the weather has been ideal.
“It has been sweltering in Memphis. I’ll take the heat over the cold, but it does get old when you get three straight weeks of 100 degrees. And it has been so humid,” he said.
He said he had been trying to earn a spot on the Canadian golf tour at its qualifying school “but I missed by two shots.”
“I didn’t get it done,” said Speirs, who has been pleased with his golf game, overall.
“I haven’t been playing too much, but when I have teed it up, I’ve played pretty well,” he said. “I’m excited to be here the next two weeks for the [Greater Bangor Open], the Maine Open and the New Hampshire Open.”
The 36-hole Charlie’s Maine Open at the Augusta Country Club will be held on Monday and Tuesday, and the 54-hole New Hampshire Open will be played next Thursday and Friday at the Owl’s Nest Golf Club in Campton, New Hampshire.
Speirs said among the favorites in the Greater Bangor Open will be his former Texas Christian University teammate Jon McLean from Weston, Florida, and Warren.
“Jon is a really good player, and he has played well here in the past. And there are a number of other guys who are really good players,” said Speirs. “I’m just going to concentrate on playing the course and not worry too much about anyone else.”
He said the pace of the greens will dictate what it will take to win the tournament.
If they’re firm, it will require more of a conservative approach, he said.
“If they’re soft and slower, you have to get at it, and you can expect to see low scores. You have to prepare based on the conditions,” he said.
Warren said his golf game is “good.”
“I’ve been playing a lot lately, and I’m looking forward to this week,” he said.
Tournament director Rob Jarvis figures there are 15 golfers with a legitimate chance to pocket the $9,000 winner’s check. In addition to Speirs, Warren and McLean, he expects Connecticut golfers Kyle Gallo and Cody Paladino and Brian Agee of Roanoke, Virginia, to contend. And he noted that “Egloff always has a chance here.”
“It’s going to be fairly low-scoring,” said Jarvis. “It’s not a long golf course [6,335 yards] for these guys. If they’re good with their short irons, they’re going to have chances [for birdies] on most of the holes. It’ll just come down to the putter.”
In addition to the first-place finisher’s $9,000 check, second place will pay $5,000, and the third-place golfer will pocket $3,200.