VASSALBORO, Maine — Bailey Plourde knew she had something special going Saturday at Natanis Golf Club. It wasn’t until she joined the growing throng of people craning their necks to see the manually updated scoreboard on the wall of the scoring shed that she realized just how special.
Plourde, a junior at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, fired a 2-under-par 70 on the Arrowhead Course at Natanis on Saturday to earn her second state girls’ golf championship in three years, and first solo title. In 2013, she shared the crown with Presque Isle’s Jenna Hallett.
“My putting, my putting was really helpful today,” Plourde said. “I was a lot more confident on the greens today. If I was inside of 10 feet, I felt like I could knock it down.”
Plourde was four shots clear of Erin Holmes (74) of Greely in Cumberland, and seven clear of defending champion Hashilla Rivai of Thornton Academy in Saco. All three golfers were in the same group, which started its day on the ninth hole.
“Coming in, I was thinking mid-70s would probably win it, depending on the weather,” Plourde said. “I was trying not to focus on the people in my group or on the people behind me. I was just trying to focus on my game.
“I would rather start on 1 or 10, obviously, so that was a little weird, but I know the course well enough, so that helped, too.”
Plourde’s day started well, considering her starting position. She rattled off four birdies against just a pair of bogeys in her round, which also was the lowest round of the day for any golfer, regardless of class or gender.
“Only four,” Plourde said with a laugh after being asked how many birdies she’d made. “
Jordan LaPlume of Thornton Academy placed fourth, and Janelle Bryant of St. Dominic Academy in Auburn, who has closed out her season in fine fashion, earned a top-five finish with an 82.
Class A
Cole Anderson of Camden Hills went as low as a few under par Saturday and carded an even-par 72 to earn the Class A state golf title. Anderson led a strong contingent of Class A North golfers, who took the top four places on the Tomahawk course at Natanis.
Dylan Burton of Messalonskee in Oakland placed second with a 74, and teammate Billy Rollins and Cameron Cox of Mt. Ararat in Topsham tied for third at 75.
Cox has had a strong season for the Eagles, and was pleased with his play Saturday.
“I started on 17 and 18, made some good pars,” Cox said. “I had an unfortunate bogey on one, but came back with birdies. On the front nine, every time I had a bogey, I came back with a birdie, so I ended up even on the front. I had some trouble, got a double bogey on the back, but then I parred out. Not a bad day.”
Drew Kane of Scarborough shot a 76 to round out the top five.
Class B
Ryan Collins of Cape Elizabeth and Nick Mazurek of Oceanside in Rockland/Thomaston carded matching 74s Saturday to earn a share of the Class B state title. Kyle Lamson of Mount Desert Island placed third with a 76, while Tyler Walker of Lake Region in Naples, Eric Dugas of Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield and Cole Daniels of Old Town shared fourth place, each shooting 77. Old Town’s Chris Kauppila was next with a 78.
Class C
Logan Thompson of Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln shot a 77 on the Arrowhead course to earn his second consecutive Class C individual title. Thompson carded a 38 on the front nine and a 39 on the back nine.
Ryan Dee of Houlton started strong with a 37 on the front nine, followed by a 41 to finish second with a 78. Anthony Owens of Winthrop followed with an 80 and St. Dominic teammates Brandon Donovan (81) and Justin Keaney (82) rounded out the top five.