Jul. 5—College golfers have dominated the Maine Amateur Championship in recent years. Eli Spaulding hopes he is writing the next chapter.
Spaulding leads a group of 132 players that will be competing in the Maine Am, which runs from Tuesday through Thursday at Waterville Country Club. The three-time state champ at Freeport High won his first Maine Am title last year at Purpoodock Club with a score of 5 under, defeating John Hayes IV by two shots.
"I would say there's slightly more pressure (than last year), but I still kind of feel almost the same way going into it this year," Spaulding said. "People tend to have higher expectations, (but) I think for me and the way I look at it, it's just another tournament where I have to go out and play my game."
Spaulding, who just finished his freshman season at Division I Loyola University Maryland, is bidding to continue a growing trend of college players ruling Maine golf's top event. Cole Anderson won before his freshman and sophomore seasons at Florida State in 2019 and '20, and Caleb Manuel won three straight while at the University of Connecticut and University of Georgia.
The players looking to take him down know it won't be an easy task.
"There are a handful of guys that, I would say, if they play well can probably stay there with Eli. But I think Eli would probably still have an edge as the favorite," said Drew Glasheen, who finished fifth last year. "I think Eli's got that same level (as Manuel). He hits the ball on a different level, and when it comes down to it, Caleb's greatest asset was just his consistency. And I think Eli's greatest asset is his consistency. Eli's not going to play himself out."
Being the favorite means playing under pressure, but Spaulding embraces it.
"When the pressure's there, you kind of feed off of it. I feel like playing a lot of junior golf tournaments here, I got pretty used to doing that," he said. "It's always kind of nice to have that in the back of your head, 'Everyone's trying to chase me, everyone's trying to catch me.' I'm trying to set the pace."
A season of college golf has better prepared Spaulding for the 54-hole grind.
"With eight or nine college tournaments under my belt, where every single one of them is three rounds and you're playing against some of the best guys in the country, I would say my perspective on tournaments has probably changed a little bit," he said. "But I don't think playing in all those college tournaments changes how much the Maine Am means to me. … It means just as much, if not more, than all the other tournaments I play."
Spaulding knows a repeat won't come easily. Hayes, who was the leader after two rounds last year and who won the Am the last time it was at Waterville in 2015, is back in the field. So is Ron Kelton, who was third last year after finishing as the runner-up the year before. Andrew Slattery, the 2014 champion, is playing. Glasheen, who has finished in the top 10 each of the last two years, will likely make a run as well, as could high school standouts like Jack Quinn and Kellen Adickes, a recent graduate.
"I imagine you're going to see a couple of guys with red hair in the top five," Glasheen said, referencing Hayes, Joe Walp, Garrett Olson and Kelton. "I might be the outlier."
Glasheen, who plays out of Waterville, could benefit from home-course advantage, as could players like Jeff Willett (tied for 17th last year), Kevin Byrne (tied for 29th) and Denver Jalette (tied for 36th).
"Anytime you know the ins and outs of a course, you're going to feel more comfortable," said Byrne, a Husson University Hall of Famer. "But you've still got to hit the golf ball good."
And putt well, which is never an easy task at Waterville, where the greens are heralded as some of the best in the state, but tricky — and which are now, after a spell of heat and dry weather, even faster.
Waterville general manager Nick Pelotte called the greens the course's defense.
"You cannot be complacent once you get on the green, like 'Oh phew, we're on the green.' You've got to pay attention, you've got to focus and you've got to continue to hit good shots," he said. "Depending on where you're at, it's pretty easy to turn a 15-foot birdie putt or a par putt into a 6- or 7-foot par or bogey putt."
Glasheen said the greens are where course knowledge will matter most.
"They can be scary for guys coming in," he said. "The subtle breaks, and there are a lot of putts that can kind of get away from you if you don't know (the greens). … They're generally very quick greens, so it makes the short putts a little bit more demanding. You can run a 3-footer by three to five feet, and have to do it all over again."
The par-70 course isn't overly long at 6,350 yards from the back tees, but will feature a challenging stretch from the fourth to 13th holes, where nine of the 10 hardest holes are located, birdies will loom large and mistakes could turn into crippling numbers.
"Most guys, when they play in a tournament there, especially probably 10, 11, 12, 13, are very happy to get away from those holes with even par or 1 over," Glasheen said.
The key will be staying in position to attack the greens, and neutralizing the threat the fast surfaces can present.
"Ultimately, it does come down to a lot of ball-striking," Byrne said. "If you're hitting some good shots into the greens and good areas of the greens, then that kind of eliminates a lot of the work you might have to do."
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