Jack Quinn, right, confers with his caddie Wyatt Folsom before hitting his second shot during the first round of the Maine Open on Monday at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester. Quinn of Litchfield shot 2-under 68. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
MANCHESTER — The future of Maine golf was on full display Monday at the Charlie’s Maine Open.
A host of talented young amateurs showed off their skills in the opening round of the tournament at the Augusta Country Club. Freeport High graduate Eli Spaulding and Gardiner Area High junior Jack Quinn each shot a 2-under 68 to lead the amateurs.
“It was pretty solid to finish at 2 under for the whole 18 (holes),” Spaulding said. “I was pretty happy today. … Playing the course (Sunday) helped a lot and I came in with a goal of mostly hitting fairways (on drives) and hitting a lot of 3-irons off the tee, which is my most consistent club.”
Spaulding recently concluded an impressive high school career. He was a three-time Class B champion and the 2022 New England high school champion. Last year he finished fourth at the Maine Amateur. This fall, Spaulding will continue his career at Division I Loyola University of Maryland.
As a sophomore, Quinn was the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference and Class B runner-up, shooting a 74 and 73 in both events. But Quinn is starting his summer right, shooting in the 60s on a familiar course to help build confidence in his game.
“I’ve been playing well lately. I’ve been hitting the ball well,” Quinn said. “It’s good to know that I can hit my driver bad and still put myself into positions to score.”
Despite low scores in the first round, both are confident they will play better over the next two days.
Jack Quinn tees off on the first hole. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
“(Monday) gives me some momentum into (Tuesday) knowing that not only can I shoot 2 under, but there’s some more birdies out there,” Spaulding said. “It’s possible to go even lower.”
“I hit my driver well yesterday. I don’t really know what happened today,” Quinn said. “But we’ll figure it out.”
Spaulding and Quinn were not the only amateurs to play well Monday. Messalonskee High graduate Jacob Moody had a steady start to the tournament, shooting a 1-over 71.
“My approach shots into the greens were pretty good,” Moody said. “My putter was hot early but cooled off late. That should have been better.”
Moody will play this fall at Division I Le Moyne College in DeWitt, New York.
The group also includes Lincoln Academy junior Kellen Adickes, the New England high school boys’ golf champion. Adickes shot a 1-over 71 on Monday. And Mick Madden, a rising junior at Cheverus High, had a 2-under 68.
For veterans of the Maine summer golf circuit, the infusion of a large and talented group of young amateurs is welcome.
“It’s great to see. Every year I feel like there’s a new group of them,” said Shawn Warren, the Bates College golf coach who shot 1 over in the first round. “I think it’s just a testament to the (Maine Golf Association). Just the fact that we’re able to pump out guys who are ready for college, and even some of these guys who are ready to play at the next level.
“It’s great to see from Maine, because there was a long time where that was really not the case. It’s a positive thing, and it continues to get better and better.”
Spaulding and Quinn have both received advice over the years from Mark Plummer, the 13-time Maine Amateur champion.
On Monday, Spaulding got to play with Plummer, along with Andrew Slattery, the 2014 Maine Amateur champion. Plummer, 74, shot a 6-over 76, while Slattery shot a 3-over 73.
“It’s hard not to watch one of the greatest Maine amateur players who has ever played,” Spaulding said. “There’s definitely things (in both of their games) today that I can take away. Mark has a phenomenal short game. I asked him on the 17th hole how many holes-in-one he had, and he said 16. I don’t even know (how that’s possible). I’m at one.”
The group is also trying to follow in the footsteps of Caleb Manuel, the three-time defending Maine Amateur champion who recently concluded his college career at the University of Georgia.
It wasn’t long ago that Manuel was a successful amateur wrapping up his high school career at Mt. Ararat High in Topsham. Now a veteran, Manuel enjoys seeing the next wave of players try to make their mark.
“It’s pretty cool (to see). I hope they look up to me a little bit, just the way I carry (myself), not just as a golfer,” said Manuel, who shot a 1-under 69 on Monday. “It’s nice to see all the young guys out here, and it makes me feel a little old.”
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