Ssshhh. Matt Bellemere doesn’t want you to know he’s the defending champion of the Men’s City Amateur Championship.

“I’m trying to keep that on the down-low,” Bellemere said.

It may be out of his hands after today.

Bellemere shot a 3-under-par 69 Saturday at Eagle Bend Golf Course, putting him in second place heading into today’s final round at Alvamar Golf Course. If he wins, he’d be the first two-time champ in tournament history. Sure, the thing’s only been around for three years, but he’d still be the first.

He’s one shot back of Randy Conroy, a former professional. They were the only two golfers under par Saturday.

Sponsored by the Lawrence Amateur Golf Assn., 34 golfers competed in the third annual event, which benefited from a slight breeze and reasonably cool temperatures.

“It was perfect conditions,” said Conroy, who was fighting off a cold and Bellemere.

Bellemere led at the turn, shooting a 33, while Conroy was at 34. But Conroy got into a groove after nine, spurred by a 30-foot eagle putt. He took advantage of Eagle Bend’s spacious fairways and large greens to hold off Bellemere on the back nine. Conroy said the course didn’t play too tough, but then again, he didn’t put himself in trouble, either.

“You hit every green, you hit every fairway, and it’s an easy game  once in awhile,” Conroy said.

Eleven other golfers were in the 70s, including Mike Grosdidier, who shot 72, Glenn Tamerius, who shot 74, and Alan Stearns, a former Kansas University golfer, who also shot 74.

Still, they’ll all have to be wary of Bellemere.

The 31-year-old doesn’t get to play much golf nowadays. Raising two kids does that. But he lives for this tournament. It’s the only tournament he’s played in the last three years, so he tends to get psyched for it. A 69 on what he calls his “home course,” wasn’t his greatest round, but considering he’s only played about 10 rounds at Eagle Bend all year, he’ll take it.

“I felt like I was scrambling a bit,” he said. “I didn’t really know where my driver was going off the tee. But the course is a little forgiving, which helps.”

Bellemere also hopes Conroy, who’s played most of his golf this spring and summer at Alvamar, doesn’t get into a groove today.

Bellemere and Conroy will be paired with Grosdidier and Stearns. They’ll tee off at 12:16. Both golfers, with or without winning, raved about playing in the amateur though, compared with sometimes intense pro-ams. It’s a more relaxed atmosphere, with good conversation in-between shots.

As Conroy puts it, “In the pros, everybody’s grinding it out for a paycheck. We’re just here to have fun.”

The two courses also provide nice contrast  Alvamar’s tight fairways are lined with trees and traps compared to Eagle Bend’s openness  and the back nine of Alvamar provide a golfer with ample opportunities to make a run at the title. Especially if the leaders begin to falter.

“You have to play it a lot to get comfortable,” Conroy said. “You gotta hit the fairways. They reward accuracy, that’s for sure.”