By Paula Roberts
Bailey Plourde was low medalist at the Maine Big I State Qualifier on June 25. She is pictured with boys winner Reese McFarland, of Cape Elizabeth. With the win, she moves on to the Trusted Choice Big I National Championship. |
Bailey Plourde won back-to-back golf tournaments on June 24 and 25. “It was my best two days of golf ever,” said Plourde, who just finished up her sophomore year at Lincoln Academy.
Her win at the New England PGA-sponsored Maine Big I State Qualifier on June 25 qualifies her to compete in the oldest National Junior Championship in the country, the Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championships, to be held Aug. 3 to 6 at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. The top 27 golfers after the second day will move on to the championship round at the four-day tournament.
Plourde shot a four-over-par 73 at the Maine Big I State Qualifier, held at Cape Arundel County Club in Kennebunkport. She shot a 36 on the front nine and 37 on the back. She shot 10 holes for par and three for birdie. The second-place finisher shot an 83.
Her highlight on the course came on the par 3 third hole.
“The pin was on the back left. My tee shot went to the far back right. There was a big hill I had to go up and over and the green sloped back to the pin,” Plourde said. She made the shot for birdie. That shot put her one under par. She played even through nine holes.
The day before, Plourde won a Maine State Junior Tour tournament at Belgrade Lakes (the Kit Bartlett Memorial), sponsored by the Maine State Golf Association. Plourde shot a career-low round of 71 (32-39) for even par. To put the score into perspective, the second-place finisher, Stephanie Rodrique, from Lewiston, shot an 83.
Plourde came close to registering her first hole in one in the tournament on three, when her tee shot rimmed out. She made eagle (two under) on the hole. She started out the tournament with a bogey, then shot for birdie, eagle, and birdie on the next three holes.
She was three under on the front nine. “It was my lowest nine-hole round (32),” she said. She double-bogeyed the last hole after her “second shot went a little long, with a downhill lie with the pin on a downhill slope.”
On June 22, Plourde competed in the New England High School Championships. While she was the top Maine golfer with an 80 (42-38), she was disappointed with her 12th place finish (tied). She finished five strokes behind the winner.
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Bailey Plourde chips onto the green at a recent tournament. |
“I wasn’t relaxed enough because I was focused on the score. I was worried about hole 13, that I took an 8 on last year. I parred it. I was more relaxed on the back,” Plourde said.
She qualified for the New England championships by placing second (tie) in the 2014 State Class B Schoolgirl championships last fall. In 2013, she was co-champion in State Class B.
In late May, Plourde traveled to Florida to compete in the International Junior Golf Tour Bridgestone Tournament of Champions at Grand Cyprus. She qualified for the tournament by placing in the top 10 in two AJGA tournaments.
Plourde placed fourth in two tournaments in New Jersey earlier in the year, including the Metropolitan Junior at Forsgate Country Club, and the Jersey Shootout at Great Bog.
Plourde placed 15th overall in the 54-hole, three-day tournament (90-87-84). “I was very disappointed,” Plourde said of her scores at Bridgestone.
“I learned one of the most important things at the tournament, nutrition and hydration. I was tired in the middle because I was not eating and drinking enough. It was really hot down there,” Plourde said. It takes four to four and a half hours to play 18 holes of golf.
She has two more big tournaments coming up: the New England Women’s Amateur in Rhode Island July 7 to 9 and the Women’s Maine Amateur July 27 to 29 at Biddeford-Saco.
Plourde and Malcolm Oliver are teaming up again this year to play in the Maine State Golf Association’s Mixed Championships on July 12 at the Boothbay Country Club. In 2014 they were co-champions. “We don’t want co in front this year,” Plourde said.
Plourde started playing golf at age 5 with her grandparents, Barbara and Tom Wright, who were babysitting her for the day. She was almost immediately a natural at the sport. She now has a room full of trophies and awards to show for all her hard work over the years. Her swing coach is Gary Soule from Samoset Resort in Rockport.
“The hard work has definitely paid off. This spring I played a lot more, and it definitely shows,” Plourde said. In 2014, Plourde was recuperating from an ankle injury.
Although she has two more years of high school left, she is turning her sights onto a college scholarship for golf. Currently she would like to major in event management or management at a resort.
She has already had several college coaches contact her, and she is listed on the NSR Scouting Report, which is sent to college coaches all over the country. She wants to play college golf in a southern state where she can play year-round.
Plourde is the daughter of Lynne and Bob Plourde, of Newcastle.
