Jeff Curl didn't have his best game early in the final round Friday, but that was OK because he had a seven-shot lead.

Curl, a 29-year-old minitour pro from Ellington, Conn., soon followed a familiar script. As in the first two rounds, he found his form on the back nine and breezed to a five-shot victory in the 13th TD Banknorth Portland Open at Riverside Golf Course.

Curl shot a final-round 68 to set a 54-hole tournament record of 19-under 194. He won $8,000.

"I didn't feel real good with my swing until about the seventh hole," said Curl, the son of a former PGA Tour player, Rod Curl.

"When you have a big lead, you don't want to make a bogey and give the others hope. But that's exactly what I did. I played conservatively and maybe that's why I didn't shoot as low as in my first two rounds."

Nobody really challenged. Kyle Gallo of Berlin, Conn., and Jim Renner, the defending champion from Plainville, Mass., pulled within four shots before Curl put his game back into high gear.

After five straight pars, Curl 3-putted for a bogey on No. 6, but recovered nicely with birdies on the next two holes.

Curl sealed it with three straight birdies -- Nos. 12, 13 and 14. The birdie on the 12th was from the left greenside bunker.

"I hit a great putt on No. 7 that was right in the heart of the hole. That got me started," said Curl. "When the bunker shot on 12 went in for a birdie, I knew it was over."

Curl called his victory "rewarding."

"Anytime you can beat a field as good as this one, it means a lot," he said.

The tees were up on the short par-7 eighth and Curl drove his ball over the green. He chipped up and sank the putt for a birdie. Gallo drove the green and two-putted for a birdie.

Curl, who shot a 62 in Wednesday's opening round and added a 64 on Thursday, made only two bogeys in 54 holes. He shot a 29 on the back nine in the first two rounds.

"I knew Jeff wasn't going to falter," said Gallo, who closed with a 66 for a 54-hole score of 199. "To have any chance, I needed to shot 10 under. That might have got him thinking.

"I got off to a great start but then had too many putts slide by the hole. Those just as easily could have gone in and if they had, it might have put pressure on him."

Gallo, the 1999 Maine Open champion and a three-time Connecticut Open winner, birdied the first two holes. He gave one back with a bogey on No. 3.

He made two more birdies on the front for a 33, but missed a short birdie putt on No. 11, then watched as Curl made a birdie from the bunker on the next hole.

"I knew I was playing for second after that," said Gallo.

He got second with a birdie on the last hole to finish at 14-under 199 to win $4,300. His wedge shot from 113 yards stopped inches from the cup.

Renner and Dustin Cone of Port St. Lucie, Fla., tied for third at 200 and won $2,775 each. Jeff Gallagher of Henderson, Nev., was fifth at 202. Mike Baker, a former Bangor Municipal and Kebo Valley pro who lives in Port St. Lucie, Fla., tied for eighth at 204.

Eric Higgins of Kennebunk, the defending Maine Amateur champion, won low amateur for the second time in three years. Higgins finished at 210.

Curl was comfortable playing with Gallo in the final pairing. The two grew up in Connecticut but didn't play a lot of junior golf together because Gallo is three years older. But they've played a lot together in the last year.

"We been paired together seven times since last year," said Curl. "We played three rounds together in the Nationwide tournament in Richmond, Va., this year. We're both good players who probably should be playing on the PGA Tour, but for one reason or another we haven't made it there yet."

Curl is a regular on the Tar Heel Tour in North Carolina and has played in two Nationwide Tour events this year.

After his bunker shot on the 12th, Curl settled for a birdie on the par-5 13th. His putt for an eagle stopped an inch from the cup. Curl was looking to make a third straight eagle on the hole.

"I really wanted to make an eagle," he said.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com