The Maine State Golf Association lines up its courses for the Maine Amateur well in advance. It has the next three courses set and will select sites for 2019 and 2020 later this summer.

Next year, the tournament will be at the York Golf and Tennis Club. In 2017, it returns to Portland Country Club in Falmouth. In 2018, the tournament will be played at Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono.

The Maine Amateur returns to York Golf and Tennis Club next year for the first time since 1978 and for only the second time in the history of the tournament. The last time it was at York Golf and Tennis, Bob Mathews won the tournament and Ron Brown Jr. was runner-up.

Brown played in his 41st consecutive state amateur last week at Waterville Country Club. Brown, who won the tournament in 1975 and in 1999 and has been runner-up four times, just missed the cut by one shot. Brown, 66, said he plans to keep playing in the tournament for at least the next two years and maybe beyond. As a multiple winner, he has a lifetime exemption.

“How can you pass up those courses,” said Brown.

York, Portland and Penobscot Valley were all designed by Donald Ross.

“What’s not to like about Donald Ross,” said Nancy Storey, executive director of the Maine State Golf Association. “The courses aren’t long, which gives our senior players a fighting chance.”

Storey said the MSGA has staged tournaments at York Golf and Tennis, but just not recent state amateurs.

“We’ve held Mid-Amateur Championships and New England Amateurs there,” she said.

The 2017 tournament at Portland Country Club will coincide with the MSGA’s centennial celebration. The course has hosted 13 Maine Amateurs, most recently in 2011. Augusta Country Club in Manchester has hosted the most Maine Amateurs – 17.

Storey said a key to having a successful state amateur is the cooperation from the host club. She said the Waterville staff and membership helped make things run smoothly.

“The Waterville membership and staff were so accommodating,” she said. “We had over 30 volunteers from the club helping with the tournament.”

Tee to Green: The Ledges in York will host a 36-hole qualifier Tuesday for the men’s U.S. Amateur. The field has 50 players, with 21 from Maine. The Mainers entered are Ricky Jones, Thomaston; Sam Grindle, Deer Isle; Joe Walp, Portland; Joe Alvarez, North Berwick; Andrew Slattery, Minot; Jack Wyman, South Freeport; Reese McFarlane, Cape Elizabeth; Will Kannegieser, Minot; Drew Powell, Bangor; Peter Wright, Old Orchard Beach; Gavin Dugas, Pittsfield; Malcolm Oliver, Damariscotta; James Frost, Windham; Mike Caron, Gorham; Brian Bilodeau, Auburn; Luke Ruffing, Manchester; Jordan Jones, Wiscasset; Ryan Wingard, Falmouth; Brett Braasch, Arundel; Preston Anderson, Portland and Dustin Freeman, Cape Neddick. There will be two golfers qualifying with two alternates. The U.S. Amateur will be in Olympia Fields, Illinois, in late August.

Maine Amateur winner John Hayes IV will play in the Rhode Island Amateur beginning Monday. The format is 36 holes of medal play to determine 32 players for match play. Hayes is eligible for the tournament because he’s a member of Newport Country Club. The tournament is being held at Metacomet Country Club in East Providence.

The state B and C Championship will be Tuesday and Wednesday at Dutch Elm in Arundel. Players will handicap indexes from 6.6 to 12.0 play in the B Division, and those from 12.1 and up play in Class C.