CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Fresh off of his Maine Amateur win last week, 25-year-old Andrew Slattery is set to take on a field of Maine’s top professional and amateur golfers at this week’s State of Maine Championship at the Sugarloaf Golf Club, July 15-16.
The State of Maine Championship is an annual 36-hole medal play tournament, which matches Maine’s top professional and amateur golfers in junior, senior, and 18-50 year-old categories. To compete in the tournament, professionals must be a member of the Maine Chapter of the New England PGA, while all Maine residents are eligible to compete in the amateur category.
The Sugarloaf Golf Club has hosted this event for the last 12 years consecutively, and more than 20 times since the course was constructed in 1985. It has proven to be a challenge for even the best players, according to Sugarloaf head professional, Steve Niezgoda.
“This course provides the ultimate test of golf, no matter what kind of player you are. It ensures that the player with the most skill will be the winner,” Niezgoda said.
Competitors will be fighting for cash prizes, as well as bragging rights for an entire year as the state’s top golfer.
Slattery, who emerged as Maine’s top amateur at last week’s Maine Amateur championship at the Woodlands in Falmouth, will face a tough test at Sugarloaf, from both the course and the competition.
This year’s field includes some of the state’s most experienced professional golfers, including 2013 champion Shawn Warren of Falmouth, and 2012 champion John Hickson of Topsham. Other past champions will include the Samoset’s Jeff Seavey, Nonesuch River Golf Club’s Mike Worrell, as well as five-time champion Bob Darling of Fox Ridge Golf Club.
To follow live tournament scoring throughout the 2014 State of Maine Championship, visit http://www.nepga.com/mechapter/.
