Learning experience
for Curran
By Justin A. Rice/Daily News correspondentBELMONT — Now that he has the Massachusetts Open under his belt, next week's Maine Open should feel like a cakewalk for Hopkinton's Jon Curran.
Playing his first tournament as a pro in a steady rain this week at Belmont Country Club, the Framingham Country Club member weathered a storm that gave him an unusual amount of seasoning.
"It will probably be a lot easier than this," Curran said of the Maine Open after carding a three-day total of 7-over-par 220 to finish in a three-way tie for 13th. "It will feel a little easier for sure. Playing the practice round here I thought I could tear this course up. But then the conditions changed. Next week will be totally different. It will be different golf. There will be a lot more birdies next week."
Tournament winner Rob Oppenheim became only the fifth player in the event's 100-year history to win both the state's Amateur and Open crowns yesterday. Shooting a three-day total of 5-under-par 208, the Andover native joins the ranks of Francis Ouimet, Jesse Guilford, Charles Volpone and Kevin Johnson.
Curran - who logged rounds of 75, 70 and 75 this week - got off to a tough start yesterday, bogeying the first, second and third holes. He steadied after that, notching two birdies and just three bogeys the rest of the way.
"I couldn't make a lot of birdies and that put me behind the eight-ball," he said. "I just think getting one full tournament under my belt (will help), just getting one in the books and moving on from here."
Curran said he felt fine physically despite the weather conditions this week, which finally lightened up a bit yesterday.
"That wasn't even the problem at all," he said. "It was kind of tough mentally. (The weather) wasn't that bad, my feet are a little wet, that's about it."
After playing at Portland's Riverside Municipal Golf Course next week, the recent Vanderbilt University graduate, who turned pro last month, will move to Orlando. Then he'll play on both the Hooters and Tar Heel Tours.
"I feel like I'm getting comfortable," he said. "I know I have the ability to do it. It's just getting the experience."
The only other area golfer in yesterday's final was Jedi Glass of Sudbury. Glass, whose home course has been Marlborough Country Club for the last three years, finished three rounds with a 13-over 232. He ended the week in a two-way tie for 43rd place.
Glass's second-day 71 was a huge turnaround from his opening round in Monday's torrential downpour when he shot nine-over-par after the first nine holes and finished with an 82.
"That got me on the cut," Glass said of his second round. "The weather was much better. There was no wind. It was warmer. I hit the ball a lot better. I had no big mistakes. It was nice to put a round like that together. But like all good rounds it's the good ones you say, 'I could've shot a lot lower."'
He had another tough start yesterday, going seven-over-par after seven holes. But he pulled it together the rest of the way to shoot 1-over on the final 11 holes.
Glass, who graduated from the Sudbury Valley School, spent the winter playing in Florida and wants to focus on being an amateur before going for his PGA Tour card. He failed to qualify for next month's State Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline by a few strokes.
"I'm just going to keep getting better and hopefully in a couple years I'll be ready," he said of going for his Tour card.
Two years ago Glass won six tournaments on the NAPGA Junior Tour. But now he's starting from scratch.
"The courses are a lot tougher and the competition is a lot tougher too," he said.
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