SOUTH HADLEY — Two important putts kept Mikey Corduff and Kyle Maynard under par at the PVIAC Boys Invitational Two-Ball.
The Frontier Regional School duo had back-to-back bogeys twice during their round at Ledges Golf Club on Friday. Each instance dropped the pair to even par on a day when windy conditions made low scores challenging.
But the juniors had answers for their bogeys. Corduff dropped a 50-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 fifth, and Maynard had a 10-footer for birdie on the par-5 10th.
Their 1-under score of 71 was three shots better than runners-up John Soltys and Doug Mulligan of Ware, securing the championship for the Frontier classmates.
“We did pretty well,” Corduff said. “We kind of grinded; had a lot of par putts, short par putts that we made. We putted well.”
South Hadley senior twins Logan and Jared Waite finished tied for third with Ludlow at 3 over. Only eight of the 32 teams broke 80, including Amherst. The team of Evan Rutherford and Eli Kayser-Hirsh finished ninth with a 79.
Corduff and Maynard started on the par-3 14th. Corduff had a par and Maynard followed with a par on No. 15. In a two-ball, best-ball format, each player plays their ball, but only the best score counts for the team.
“We watch over each other’s shots,” Maynard said. “There is definitely teamwork involved.”
Maynard birdied the par-4 16th and Corduff birdied the par-4 first hole to put the pair at 2 under for the first time. However, bogeys at holes 2 and 3 dropped them back to even. On the fourth hole, Corduff picked his ball up as the team settled for Maynard’s par.
Momentum swung on the 456-yard, par-5 fifth. Corduff’s drive found the fairway and his iron dropped on the front of the green, leaving him a difficult 50-foot putt for eagle.
“It went uphill then left, right, left, right, downhill,” Corduff said. “It took a little bit of time to read it. I was just trying to make birdie because I don’t think Kyle was in position to make par at that point. (Don’t) three-putt it was my initial goal.”
Both players parred holes 6 and 7, but bogeys at 8 and 9 dropped them to even again. They didn’t stay there very long. Maynard found the green in three shots on the 561-yard par-5 10th and he buried the 10-foot putt for birdie.
“I hit driver 250 (yards) then I tried laying up with a 4-iron but the wind was behind me so it really took the ball,” Maynard said. “It bounced over the bunker and went on the fringe. I chipped it past then made the 10-foot putt.”
Three straight pars closed their winning round of 71.
“After we birdied 10, we were on a good roll,” Corduff said. “Kyle birdied it and then he made a good putt on 11 and 12, then 13, which was our last hole, I made a 12-footer for par because I really wanted to shoot under par.”
Pope Francis finished 10th as Ben Zaranek, of South Deerfield, and Matt Burke shot an 80.
Franklin Tech’s Mike McGoldrick and Alex Sulda shot 91 and finished 23rd on the day, while Greenfield’s duo of Ryan Cote and Gabe Larouche took 28th place with a 98.
Mahar Regional’s Tucker Ninteau and Andrew Finch posted a total of 101, good enough for 30th overall.