Six area men’s golfers made the cut of the 104th Maine Amateur Championship July 11-13 at the Samoset Resort.

Bill Kennedy, Golf Columnist

The best score (69-70-76—215) was posted by Andrew Slattery, who plays at the Portland Country Club. Slattery, who was the Maine Am champion in 2014 while playing out of Martindale, where he grew up, finished in eighth place and won $350 in pro shop credit.

Slattery has been a contender and a top-10 finisher in this tournament for a decade.

James Frost of Fox Ridge (74-73-72—218) tied for 12th and earned $177.50 in pro shop credit, while Jace Pearson of Martindale (76-73-73—222) was tied for 19th and picked up $50 in pro shop credit.

Others who made the cut, and in the process qualified for the 2024 Maine Am, were Joe Baker of Norway (71-78-76—225), in a tie for 32nd, Craig Chapman of Fox Ridge (73-73-81—227) in 38th, and Chris Cloutier of Fairlawn (72-77-79—229) in 39th place.

A total of 44 made the cut in a field of 144 players.

Will Kannegieser of Martindale, who was Maine Am runner-up in 2021, was not in the field.

Andrew Slattery, of Portland Country Club, drops his club while he watches his drive during the final round of the 104th Maine Amateur Championship golf tournament Thursday at Samoset Resort Golf Course in Rockport. Slattery finished eighth with a 2 over par. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

To the surprise of no one, Caleb Manuel of Brunswick (67-68-65—200) won his third consecutive title. He is a senior at the University of Georgia, and it will be interesting to see if he turns pro after the 2023-2024 college season. He won $800 in pro shop credit. Not a lot of Maine golfing residents have had success professionally, but Manuel has a chance.

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Six area golfers will be in the field of the Maine Golf Women’s Amateur Championship, which runs Monday through Wednesday at Brunswick.

Ruby Haylock of Turner Highlands, the 2020 and 2022 titlist, will be shooting for a third crown. Her sister, Jade Haylock, is in the competition, along with Leslie Guenther of Mingo Springs, Alexis McCormick of Martindale, and Micky Meggison and Cynde Dunn, both of Spring Meadows.

There will be five flights, with championships in each.

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A Maine Golf men’s play day will be held July 21-22 at Sugarloaf, which is one of Maine’s excellent golf courses. It was designed by golf architect Robert Trent Jones Jr., with whom this writer went to junior high and high school.

In 1957, Jones and his brother, Rees Jones, another distinguished golf course architect, teamed with this writer to win a New Jersey State basketball championship for church league teams.

Bill Kennedy, a retired New Jersey golf writer and editor now residing on Thompson Lake in Otisfield, is in his 11th season as Sun Journal golf columnist.