Garren Poirier prevails at Stowe for breakthrough Vermont Amateur crown

STOWE - Three stellar rounds afforded Garren Poirier a luxurious perch atop the leaderboard. The position let Poirier look at the golf course from a new perspective as he plotted his way to the ending he'd craved.

He thought about each shot as it came, but knew he had ample insurance to dip into if needed.

He thought about how each shot nudged him closer to his goal.

He thought about the trophy he coveted — and that made him think about its namesake, his friend, Dave Pfannenstein, the former Vermont Golf Association executive director, who died this spring. 

"It's definitely more special getting that trophy for the first time," Poirier said. 

The 39-year-old, runner-up twice before, completed a decade-plus odyssey in the Vermont Amateur on Thursday, his superlative, 15-under-par total just enough to edge Cory Jozefiak's remarkable 72-hole performance at Stowe Country Club in the tournament's 114th edition.

"I did it. Finally," Poirier said. "Jeepers creepers it took me forever."

Poirier's week produced one of the best winning scores in Amateur history. He went 68-64-69-72 on the par-72 layout to finish three clear of the best victorious tallies in recent memory: Devin Komline at Neshobe in 2011 and Mike Stackus at Green Mountain National in 2012. 

The Rutland Country Club member started the day with a four-shot cushion and stretched it to 10 midway through Thursday morning's third round. He had Jozefiak at arm's length through most of the afternoon, too, until Jozefiak closed with a birdie at the 71st hole and an eagle at the drivable 72nd hole that forced Poirier to knock in a short par putt to avoid a playoff.

Second round:Sizzling 64s from Poirier, Jozefiak light up Day 2 of Vermont Amateur at Stowe

Jozefiak, 34, a tournament veteran with several top-10s under his belt, clearly wanted to win but also wasn't about to ask for more than his 14-under total. He knew that number would've surely triumphed in any Amateur before this summer.

"If you gave me that at the beginning of the week I'd probably have just signed for it and sat on the patio. Actually, I don't know why I said probably," Jozefiak laughed. "I definitely would've — I'd have had a nice little cooler in the shade."

Rutland's Jared Nelson took third at 11-under. Champlain's Evan Russell and Kwiniaska's Sam Myers tied for fourth at 9-under. 

Max Major, who began the day 16 shots behind his club mate, Poirier, claimed sixth at 8-under thanks to his record-setting third round, a 12-under 60 that doubles as the best round ever at Stowe and likely the lowest score in tournament history.

Brattleboro's Jacob Zaranek (6-under), Burlington's Troy Goliber, Rutland's Logan Broyles and Mountain View's Phil Fairbanks (all 1-under) rounded out the top 10.

[Full results below.]

But Poirier was never truly catchable until the very end. The former Temple University golfer — a five-time state mid-amateur champion — roared to 18-under with three holes left in his third round before finishing the morning at 15-under, a half dozen shots clear of Jozefiak.

"What's the point of the third round, 'moving day?'" Poirier said. "It's to put yourself higher than you were before. To get it, to put it at six, it was perfect."  

If anyone else seemed capable of making a darkhorse charge, Major's electrifying third round served notice. The 2018 runner-up hit 17 greens in the morning session and bagged eagles at on the sixth and 11th holes. He toured the back nine in 29 strokes a day after he spent nine shots just escaping the first hole.

First round:Dream round propels Murphy to Day 1 lead at the 2020 Vermont Amateur in Stowe

"Last night I had a pretty good look back on what I did yesterday, shooting 77," Major said. "What the hell's going on? I haven't hit it better in my life.

"Today I got in the zone and kept ripping it and I didn't want to stop — I knew it was never enough," Major continued. "We got in on 18 and I asked (my caddie) what we shot because I'd gotten lost. I'd never been that low in my life."

In the afternoon, Poirier faltered briefly on the front nine with a triple-bogey at the par-3 4th hole, a three-shot change in momentum when paired with Jozefiak's par, but regained his stride in short order.

"He was super steady for what he needed to do," Jozefiak said. 

At the turn, that included a savvy up-and-down from a greenside bunker on No. 10 that required Poirier to hole a 15-foot par putt. A double-bogey there from Jozefiak, who three-putted from six feet, haunted him in the final accounting.

"I felt like I played really steady for 35 holes. That was kind of the one mistake, more of a mental error," Jozefiak said.

Yet Poirier's smooth run of birdies and pars was derailed with a loose tee shot and eventual double-bogey at the par-5 14th hole. 

Jozefiak clawed back another shot on the 17th hole, stuffing a wedge to about 5 feet for an easy birdie bid that trimmed the deficit to three. He then plucked driver from his bag on the 18th tee and fired it pin-high, about 25 feet from the cup.

Poirier, protecting that lead, used an iron to lay up — only to leave himself an awkward lie in the fairway bunker 90 yards shy of the green. He managed to escape to the front fringe with his second shot, one he called the most important of the day.

"That could've gone any way possible: I could've chunked it out of there, I could've skulled it over the green," Poirier said. "My brain was definitely going twice the speed ... I just wanted to get it short of the green. I didn't realize Cory was on the green until after I hit that shot — I didn't see his ball.

"I knew he was making that putt. You always think a putt is going in. I just knew I had to get my putt a couple feet under the hole and it worked out."

Contact Austin Danforth at 651-4851 or edanforth@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @eadanforth.

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2020 Vermont Amateur championship final scores

Third/fourth rounds - Thursday

At Stowe Country Club

Par-72

Garren Poirier (Rutland) ... 68-64-69-72--273

Cory Jozefiak (Mount Anthony) ... 72 -64-71-67--274

Jared Nelson (Rutland) ...  75-69-66-67--277

Sam Myers (Kwiniaska) ... 71-68-72-68--279

Evan Russell (Champlain) ... 70-68-76-65--279

Max Major (Rutland) ... 71-77-60-72--280

Jacob Zaranek (Brattleboro) ... 73-73-70-66--282

Troy Goliber (Burlington) ... 74-73-71-69--287

Logan Broyles (Rutland) ... 71-74-72-70--287

Phil Fairbanks (Mountain View) ... 70-75-72-70--287

Bryson Richards (Barre) ... 74-77-71-66--288

Aidan Melville (CC of Vermont) ... 72-73-73-70--288

William Hadden (Dorset) ... 69-69-75-75--288

Nick Ojala (Proctor-Pittsford) … 73-74-72-70--289

Dave Slayton (Lakeside) ... 74-72-72-71--289

Taylor Bellemare (Mount Anthony) ... 72-73-72-72--289

Michael Walsh (Burlington) ... 73-72-73-73--291

Eric Lajeunesse (Barre) ... 79-72-73-67--291

Brody Yates (Kwiniaska) … 70-73-71-77--291

Frankie Sanborn (Rutland) ... 80-72-66-74--292

Nelson Rohrbach (Lakeside) ... 75-75-72-70--292

Cameron O'Connell (Burlington) ... 75-71-74-73--293

Alex Leonard (Williston) ... 75-70-74-74--293

Kim Perry (Lang Farm) … 78-76-70-70--294

Scott Rankins (VT National) ... 75-72-76-73--296

Nicholas Murphy (Rocky Ridge) ... 65-77-79-75--296

Nelson Eaton (Barre) ... 79-75-71-72 --297

Jackson Applebaum (Rocky Ridge) ... 73-76 -71-78--298

Taylor Mattingly (Dorset) ... 72-74-77-76--299

Edward Linto (VT National) ...  79-74-75-72--300

Mitchell Evans (Barre) ... 77-73-77-73--300

Gary Shover (Lakeside) ... 74-74-75-77--300

Evan Forrest (Williston) ... 75-72-74-80--301

Evan Michaud (Rocky Ridge) ... 73-76-75-77--301

Mathew Smith (Mount Anthony) ... 78-74-74-76--302

Christian Ostberg (Ralph Myhre) … 74-79-75-76--304

Jay Zanleoni (Lakeside) ... 80-73-79-72--304

Tyler Parker (Stowe) … 78-75-73-78--304

Jon Landry (VT National) ... 76-77-77-75--305

Ritchie Snow (Williston) ... 77-76-74-79--306

Jeffrey Maier (Williston) ... 79-75-79-76--309

Zach Dukette (Barre) ... 76-74-78-83--311

Branden McArtor (Enosburg Falls) … 77-77-79-79--312

Brett Roland (Tater Hill) … 74-80-75-85--314