Hartford’s Ruby Haylock and Newcastle’s Bailey Plourde were the top two finishers in the annual Maine Women’s Amateur Golf Tournament for the third consecutive year.
Plourde won last year’s Maine Women’s Amateur by six shots over Haylock at the Bangor Municipal Golf Course. She also won it in 2018.
And in 2020, Haylock used a chip-in to beat Plourde on the first playoff hole. But she didn’t need one on Thursday as Haylock — a 17-year-old recent Leavitt High School of Turner graduate — cruised to a seven-shot victory over Plourde at the Portland Country Club in Falmouth after leading wire-to-wire.
Haylock finished with a nine-over-par 219, including a final-round 77 that saw her shoot a seven-over-par 42 on the back nine with a pair of double bogeys. She registered an even-par 70 on Tuesday and followed that with a two-over-par 72 on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Haylock extended her lead to six strokes over Plourde through the first nine holes and Plourde imploded at the par-four, 362-yard 15th hole when she posted a five-over-par nine.
Plourde had shaved the deficit to four strokes through holes 10, 11 and 12 but she gave one shot back with a double bogey at 13 and, after both bogeyed 14, her troubles on the 15th hole sealed the deal for Haylock.
Haylock shot an even-par 70 in the first round to build a seven-shot lead over Plourde and Erin Holmes of Cumberland.
Plourde shot the low round of the tournament on Wednesday with a one-under-par 69 that erased three shots off Haylock’s lead as she climbed within four shots after the second round.
Plourde shot an 80 on Thursday.
Holmes finished third with an 18-over-par 228 following rounds of 77, 74 and 77.
Haylock plays out of the Turner Highlands Country Club in Turner, while Plourde’s home course is the Sheepscot Links Golf Club in Whitefield and Holmes plays out of the Val Halla Golf Course in Cumberland Center.
Jordan Laplume, who plays out of the Dunegrass Golf Club in Old Orchard Beach, concluded the tournament with a 29-over-par 239 to tie Thea Davis from the Hermon Meadow Golf Club for fourth place.
Laplume won the tournament in 2019.
Rounding out the top 10 were Kathi O’Grady (82-82-77-241) of the Woodlands Club in Falmouth, Kim Fogel of the Portland CC (82-78-83-243), Mary Brandes (82-80-84-246) from the Woodlands, Ruby’s mother Heidi Haylock (85-82-80) and the Biddeford-Saco Country Club’s Ruth Colucci (81-84-83-248), along with Val Halla’s Erin Leland (80-83-85-248).
The third member of the Haylock family, Ruby’s younger sister Jade, shot a 94-87-87-266 to tie for 31st.
Jade beat her sister by four shots to win the state Class B individual championship last fall.
