OAKLAND — The state’s top male amateur golfers will head to Waterville Country Club next week, where Maine Golf will be hosting the 106th Maine Amateur Championship on July 8-10, 2025. The tournament host course, which sits just across the town line from Waterville in nearby Oakland, has played host to Maine Golf championships for over a century now, dating as far back as the third Maine Amateur Championship in 1920. This year’s event marks the 11th time that Waterville has hosted this annual championship, most recently in 2015 when John Hayes won his first Maine Amateur title.
Last year’s Maine Amateur Championship was at Purpoodock Club in Cape Elizabeth and produced one of the more dramatic finishes in recent tournament history. Eli Spaulding of Brunswick GC and John Hayes had separated themselves down the stretch in what became a two-player duel on the second nine of the final round. Propelled forward by birdies on three of his last four holes, Spaulding held off Hayes in front of a massive gallery to capture the title. The 18-year-old from Freeport shot rounds of 68-69-71—208 (-5) to win by two strokes.
Spaulding is back in the field this year looking to defend his title. Keeping with tournament tradition, he will go out in the first group of the day at 7:30 a.m. Playing alongside Spaulding will be two other defending Maine Golf champions from last season, with Ralph Michaud (2024 Senior Amateur) and Drew Glasheen (2024 Match Play Invitational) rounding out the pairing.
This year saw a record 431 players attempting to qualify for a chance to compete in Maine Golf’s longest running and most prestigious men’s amateur event. Competing at six qualifying sites in June across the state from Sanford to Presque Isle, 76 of those 431 players advanced to the championship proper via qualifying, joining 56 players who were already otherwise exempt. The final field of 132 players come from all corners of the state, representing 14 of Maine’s 16 counties.
The tournament will begin on Tuesday, July 8, with the field going off tees #1 and #10 starting at 7:30 a.m. This year’s field of 132 players features five past winners of the Maine Amateur Championship. Those former champions are Spaulding (2024), Hayes (2015), Andrew Slattery (2014), Ricky Jones (2003, 2004, 2013), and 13-time winner Mark Plummer (1973, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002).
The Maine Amateur Championship is a 54-hole individual stroke play competition. After the first two rounds, a cut will be made to the low 50 players (and ties). For the final round, in addition to the overall title, the field will compete for 40 exemptions in the 2026 Maine Amateur Championship.
Also new for just the second time in tournament history, the Maine Amateur champion will receive an automatic berth into the upcoming United States Amateur Championship. This recent change by the USGA now grants the winner of all men’s state Amateur Championships an entry into the most prestigious amateur tournament in the world. This year’s U.S. Amateur will be at the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco in August.
Additionally, the top 16 finishers (and ties) from the field will earn a berth in the 2025 Match Play Invitational, to be played at Fox Ridge GC on August 4-6.
Fun Facts:
- The field is comprised of 132 players representing 47 different golf clubs from across the state of Maine.
- Brunswick GC and Val Halla GC have the most players in the field with 11 each, followed by Waterville CC with 10, The Woodlands Club with 9, Biddeford-Saco CC with 8, and Portland CC with 7.
- 14 of Maine’s 16 counties have at least one player in the field.
- The youngest player in the field is Dante Iannetta at age 16. The oldest player in the field is Mark Plummer at age 73.
- The average age for the field is 34.5 years old.
- There is one father/son duo in the field, with Jason Gall and his son Carson representing Portland CC.
- There are 32 players in the field with a Handicap Index® of 0.0 or better. The average Handicap Index for the field is 1.6, with a range from +3.9 to 6.6.
- There has not been a playoff to decide the tournament champion since 1998, when Eric Crouse defeated Mark Plummer in extra holes at Kebo Valley.
Field:
The field is made up of 132 players from the following 47 golf clubs, with the number of players from that club in parentheses: Augusta (5), Bangor Municipal (3), Barnes Brook (2), Barren View (1), Bath (1), The Bethel Resort (1), Biddeford-Saco (8), Bridgton Highlands (2), Brunswick (11), Cape Arundel (1), Cape Neddick (1), Castine (1), Deep Brook (2), Dexter Municipal (1), Dunegrass (1), Dutch Elm (2), Falmouth (2), Fogg Brook (2), Fox Ridge (3), Goose River (1), Great Chebeague (1), Hidden Meadows (1), JW Parks (1), Jato Highlands (1), Kebo Valley (2), Lakewood (1), Martindale (4), Nonesuch River (2), Northport (1), Norway (2), Penobscot Valley (2), Point Sebago (1), Portland (7), Presque Isle (4), Prouts Neck (1), Purpoodock (5), Rockland (1), Samoset (3), Sanford (2), Spring Meadows (1), Sunday River (1), Val Halla (11), Waterville (10), Webhannet (2), Willowdale (3), The Woodlands (9), York (2).
Championship:
The tournament consists of 132 players competing in 54 holes of individual stroke play. The field will be cut to the low 50 players and ties after 36 holes. The course will play as a par 70 and will measure approximately 6,400 yards for the championship.
Schedule of Events:
Tuesday, July 8: 7:30 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. (morning wave); 12:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. (afternoon wave); play will begin on holes #1 and #10
Wednesday, July 9: 7:30 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. (morning wave); 12:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. (afternoon wave); play will begin on holes #1 and #10
Thursday, July 10: 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (approx.); all play will begin on hole #1
In the event of a tie after 54 holes, the winner will be decided immediately by a hole-by-hole playoff.
Spectators:
Spectators, including the media, are welcome to come out and watch the championship.
We ask that you keep your distance from the players and watch the play from afar. No spectator carts will be allowed for the championship.
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