New England Amateur: Elliott Spaulding defends his title at GreatHorse

Elliott Spaulding of Brunswick, ME survived a final-hole bogey to capture his second consecutive New England Amateur Championship, finishing at 11-under 205 after a closing 68 at GreatHorse Golf Club. The Freeport native held a two-stroke victory over Emil Nielsen (Weston, MA) and Caden Piselli (Great River, CT), who both finished at 9-under 207.

Nielsen mounted a furious charge with a 5-under 67 and closed with a birdie on 18, but the cushion proved too much to overcome. The Massachusetts player's 33 on the back nine nearly erased Spaulding's advantage, but fell two shots short of forcing extra holes.

Piselli appeared poised to steal the championship after a sizzling start to his back nine that got him to 5-under on the day through 15 holes, but consecutive bogeys at Nos. 17 and 18 derailed his title hopes. The Connecticut amateur shot 69 to share runner-up honors with Nielsen. Bradley Sawka (Ellington Ridge, CT) and Collin McMahon-Shea (Nashawtuc, MA) finished T4 at 4-under 212.

Spaulding becomes the first back-to-back champion since the tournament returned to its traditional format.

Elliott Spaulding of Freeport, ME sits atop the New England Amateur at 7-under par through 36 holes at GreatHorse Golf Club, holding a one-stroke advantage over Joseph Lenane (Dedham, MA) and Caden Piselli (Milford, CT), who share second at 6-under. Joe Ensign and Jack Quinn (Gardiner, ME) are T4 at 5-under, two back of the lead.

The cut fell at 7-over par, with Massachusetts leading the field with the most players advancing to Wednesday's final round, followed by Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Defending champion Spaulding, who fired a tournament-record 14-under at Neshobe last summer, will carry a narrow cushion into the final 18 holes as he chases back-to-back titles on Brian Silva's bunker-laden layout.