Bangor Municipal Golf Course pro Rob Jarvis admitted entries are coming in slowly for the 52nd annual Greater Bangor Open Golf Tournament, which will be held next Thursday through Saturday. A Wednesday pro-am will kick off the event.
“It’s getting slower every year. Fewer people are playing this level of professional golf right now,” said Jarvis, who has not totaled the entries. “You don’t make a lot of money and travel is a lot more expensive.”
This year, the tourney has been hurt by a schedule change made by the Maine State Golf Association. Golfers had been attracted to the GBO because it was one of three tournaments within a nine-day span in northern New England.
The New Hampshire Open is held the week before the GBO and, after the GBO, the Charlie’s Maine Open had been held at the Augusta Country Club the following Monday and Tuesday.
“But the MSGA has merged with the WMSGA (Women’s Maine State Golf Association) so they had to move the Charlie’s Maine Open to August (Aug. 6-7) this year because the Maine Women’s Amateur had been scheduled (on July 23-25),” pointed out Jarvis.
He also said having the New England Amateur on Tuesday through Thursday “will cost us about 10 to 15 amateur golfers.”
“It’s just one of those deals. It’s nobody’s fault,” said Jarvis, noting that golfers may be reluctant to take two separate trips to Maine.
He said the course is in “excellent shape” and that 2016 champion Jesse Larson of Mendon, Vermont has filed his entry as has Sam Grindle of Deer Isle, the runner-up at the 2017 Maine Amateur Championship.
Larson was injured and didn’t play in the GBO last year.
Grindle has recently turned pro.
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