Mark Barthelemy knows what is in store this weekend.
The 36-year-old Caribou native, who now lives in Old Town, will be one of the several golfers who is expected to be in contention at the 52nd annual Paul Bunyan Amateur Golf Tournament at Orono’s Penobscot Valley Country Club and the Falmouth Country Club.
All of the golfers will play at PVCC on Saturday before tackling the Falmouth Country Club on Sunday.
The tournament is wide open, since Sam Grindle of Deer Isle, who has won the last two Paul Bunyan tournaments, has not entered the event. Neither has Gavin Dugas of Pittsfield, who won the Downeast-Metro Amateur Tournament at Kebo Valley Club and Bangor Municipal Golf Course two weekends ago.
“It’s going to take two good days of golf to win it,” said Barthelemy, who calls PVCC his home course. “You have two good courses that will be set up very tough. Falmouth is a championship course but you can shoot yourself out of contention at Penoby on Saturday.
“You can’t win the tournament on Saturday but you can definitely lose it,” added Barthelemy.
He said the two par-72 courses offer a significant contrast.
Falmouth is much narrower with tree-lined fairways and greens.
“You have to be a shot-maker at Falmouth. You have to place the ball where you want it, although the back nine is a little more open. But the Penoby has higher rough and the greens are faster and more undulated,” said Barthelemy. “I hit one in the rough at Penoby recently and was 300 yards from the green. But I had to use a pitching wedge to just put it in the fairway. You should really have spotters with that rough.”
Barthelemy always looks forward to the Bunyan, although there is more travel involved since the PVCC and Kebo Valley Golf Club in Bar Harbor parted ways last year, with Falmouth replacing Kebo.
“It’s more of a drive but it’s definitely a treat to be able to play a private course on Sunday,” said Barthelemy.
Barthelemy said he “feels good about his game” and thinks he can be in the thick of it.
One of the other contenders will be 19-year-old Will Kannegieser of Minot, who has already compiled an impressive resume.
He is a two-time Maine Junior Amateur Tournament champion and finished sixth among 109 golfers from around the world in the American Junior Golf Association’s Coca Cola Junior Championship at the Sugarloaf Golf Club in 2013.
Kannegieser hasn’t played PVCC in five years and had never played Falmouth, although he was contemplating playing it before Sunday.
“I remember liking [PVCC],” said Kannegieser.
He said he intends to play several tournaments this summer, both in and out of state, and will use the Bunyan as a tune-up.
“This will give me a chance to warm up,” said Kannegieser, who figures it is “going to take solid driving and good putting to win it.”
Kannegieser, who plays out of Martindale Country Club in Auburn, is going to attend Williams College in Massachusetts this fall, where he will play golf and ski.