ROCKLAND – Entering Sunday’s final round at the 2022 Four-Ball Championship, defending champions Brian Bilodeau and Jace Pearson had the lead by one stroke, but the leaderboard was stacked with multiple teams in contention at Rockland CC, leaving the tournament wide open with with 18 holes left to play.
The duo from Martindale CC held their narrow one stroke lead over five different teams entering Sunday, with a handful of others well within striking distance in the best ball format. After a slow start and without a birdie on their opening 12 holes, Bilodeau and Pearson played their final six holes in five under par to win the title by three strokes, successfully defending the title they won at Bridgton Highlands last fall.
Playing in the final pairing of the day, Bilodeau and Pearson never had it going early in their round, parring the first 12 holes on the day to fall out of the lead. Pearson got things going on 13 with a birdie, and Bilodeau holed out with a short pitch shot on the par-5 15th hole for eagle to get the team to -9 at the time and tied for the lead. Adding two more birdies on 16 and 17 to add to the lead they grabbed late in the afternoon, their two-day total of 64-65—129 (-11) was good enough for a three stroke win when the dust settled.
The two players finished ahead of a logjam of four teams that tied for second place at 132 (-8) over two rounds at Rockland. The team of Mike Arsenault and Mike Steinberg made the biggest move on day two, following up their opening 71 with a 61 for the low round of the championship. Arsenault made a staggering nine birdies on his round to vault the team up the leaderboard. Also tied for second place at -8 were Joe Alvarez/Casey Catell, Mike Doran/Drew Glasheen, and Chris Seavey/Daulton Wickenden.
On the net side, Dutch Elm members Paul Nichols and Pat Laroche won first prize with two rounds of 64 for a 128 total. Eight teams tied for second at 130 after two rounds.
This year saw the biggest turnout for the Four-Ball Championship in decades, so many thanks to the 112 competitors who teed it up this week. Maine Golf would also like to thank host club Rockland CC for hosting this exciting event and for giving the field a great place to compete over the weekend.
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