Bolton rides a hot streak to opening 66

Darren Bolton has had a fairly miserable summer on the golf course. He has been working on his swing mechanics, but it's been a choppy ride for the tall, 25-year-old from Lynnfield and Gannon Municipal Golf Course.

After playing the last two winters in Florida, Bolton was frustrated by his uneven play. In the Massachusetts Golf Association Player of the Year standings, he earned just 12 points as of July 20, while leader Frank Vana Jr. has 762.

So Bolton, who graduated from Columbia University in 2005, said he will make a decision at the end of this summer: professional golf or law school and a career in law or politics.

His poor results in the summer tournaments were making law school seem inviting. But in the first round of the Ouimet Memorial Tournament at Wollaston Golf Club yesterday, Bolton's swing was just what he wanted, smooth. It was smooth on his first shot, smooth on his second, and smooth when he eagled the par-5 fifth. He tacked on birdies at seven and nine to finish the front nine 4 under. He got his first bogey on 11, but then birdied 12, 14, and 15, dropped in a 12-foot save on 16, finishing the round at 6-under 66 to set an amateur record for Wollaston. (Bruce Soulsby owns the professional record of 65 in a 1987 pro-am).

Bolton leads the three-day invitational tournament by three strokes over 19-year-old David McAndrew of Rhode Island. Today's play is at Charles River Country Club and after a cut to the top 40, the final round is tomorrow at Woodland Golf Club.

"I started figuring a few things out in my swing two weeks ago, right after the Mass. Amateur," said Bolton. "I played pretty good in the New England Amateur and that was encouraging. One thing I was doing consistently well this summer is putting.

"Today, I finally had one of those days where I hit it close. The swing was just coming along, and I had that consistency today that I've been lacking. I finally hit it close."

What's the difference between a good round and a great round? Is it the same sort of difference between a good golfer and a professional golfer? That's the step that has confounded Bolton.

"There's a lot of people who can play golf well," said Bolton. "There's a guy, Steve Marino, who's on the PGA Tour now, and he's made about $950,000. I've played with him in Florida and I know I'm really close. But he shot 67, I shot 73 -- what's the difference?

"The difference is a lot, to shave off those few strokes."

Defending champion and four-time winner Vana knows the difference: He had a good round going and then lost his concentration, settling for a 74.

"I just fell asleep on the last five holes and got three bogeys," Vana said. "I was just one little shot off; they were easy bogeys. And that was it. It was a perfect day, no excuse. It's just golf. I'm hitting the ball good, I just let it get away a little."

McAndrew, a sophomore at Stetson University, slid into second with his 69 on a course he had never seen before, despite depositing his ball in the water on both 16 and 17. On a layout as difficult as Wollaston's, that's a great round. McAndrew has hit a hot streak.

"I qualified for the US Amateur [Tuesday]," said McAndrew, who had the lowest average on his Stetson team this spring, "so I'm playing pretty well.

McAndrew has never seen Charles River or Woodland either, but he liked the look of Wollaston.

"I threw some shots away but I had a lot of fun," he said. "It's a lot different here. In college, it's more like you hit driver and then go find it and hit wedge to the green. Out here, you've got to place it. You've got to hit good shots everywhere."

That's the difference.