ROCKLAND, Maine — A new winner will be crowned when the three-round Maine Women’s Amateur opens at Rockland Golf Club on Monday.
Last year’s championship was won by Staci Creech with a 4-over par 217 at Martindale Country Club in Auburn. It was the third consecutive win for the golfer from Bangor Municipal Golf Course. Creech has since moved out of state and will not be in the field to vie for a fourth straight title. Her husband, former University of Maine athletic director Karlton Creech, took a new post at the University of Denver in February.
Last year’s Maine Women’s Amateur runner-up, Bailey Plourde from nearby Samoset Resort Golf Course, is in the field, along with a lot of talented young players who have been in contention in years past.
The Maine Women’s Amateur was first played in 2012 when the SMWGA and WMSGA decided to run one tournament that combined their two memberships to crown one state champion. The event has a lot of history from before its name change though, as before 2012 both associations conducted their own championships and crowned their respective champions.
The Maine State Golf Association will be conducting the tourney. On Jan. 1, the MSGA merged with the SMWGA and the WMSGA to form one governing body that represents all golfers in the Pine Tree State.
The Maine Women’s Amateur is a 54-hole stroke play competition. In addition to the overall title, players will compete in four flights where winners will be crowned.
The field is comprised of 64 players representing 31 different golf clubs from around Maine. Eleven of Maine’s 16 counties have at least one player in the field.
There is one set of sisters competing in the championship; Jade and Ruby Haylock from Turner Highlands CC. There is one mother and daughter duo in the field: Prudence Hornberger and her daughter Mia.