HAMPDEN, Massachusetts (July 15, 2026) – Canadian wildfires spurred air quality alerts across Western Mass on Wednesday, bringing with it a smothering effect on the field of competitors at the New England Amateur Championship. Players that were flirting with the course record in Round 1 were forced to dance with level-par in Round 2.
Playing in orange haze filled sky that felt like a smoky marine layer, overnight leader Eli Spaulding (Brunswick GC; ME) pieced together a 73, securing his spot atop the leaderboard at 7-under-par after two rounds of play. Playing alongside Spaulding, Joey Lenane (George Wright GC; MA) erased 5 bogeys with 6 birdies in an up-and-down round that now has him one back of the lead at 6-under.
The two will play together once again, in the last pairing of Thursday’s third and final round.
Also at 6-under, and set to join Spaulding and Lenane in the final group is Connecticut’s Caden Piselli (Great River GC; CT), one of just six players to break par in both the first and second round. The highlight from his round came on the 14th green, where he nearly holed a chip from the putting surface.
Another Connecticut native in the mix is Joe Ensign (CC of Farmington; CT), who at 5-under is looking to add another trophy to the shelf after winning the CSGA’s Russell C. Palmer Cup earlier this season.
“I won the Palmer Cup (hosted by the) CSGA back in May,” recalled Ensign. “That night I had a chicken parm and hung out with my basset hound, and that was pretty much it. I might just do the same thing. I’m just gonna have fun with it tomorrow.”
With a ramped-up course setup, only two players were able to break 70 on Wednesday. The first of whom was Jack Quinn (Augusta CC; ME), who sprung up the leaderboard with a late eagle to shoot 69. Quinn finds himself tied with Ensign at 5-under for the Championship, two back of the lead.
The other sub-70 round came from Collin McMahon-Shea (Nashawtuc CC; CT), who fired a 68 to pull within striking distance.
“It’s harder with so much wind,” said McMahon-Shea after the round in the unusual conditions. “I mean, luckily, I like to hit the ball low a lot, so that was definitely helpful. It’s hard to track the ball a lot of the time too, especially with this thick rough on a lot of the par fives.”
President of GreatHorse, Guy Antonacci, followed up an unusually difficult round with one of the best on Wednesday. His 71 (-1) was an 18-stroke improvement from Tuesday’s round. Antonacci joked that the goal was to shoot 20-less, but settled for the satisfaction of turning in 1 of only 11 scorecards under par.
The Final Round will get started at 7:25 a.m., with play going off the 1st and 10th tee. The leaders will tee off at 9:30 a.m. Defending champion, Eli Spaulding, is sleeping on the lead, looking to become the first back-to-back champion of the New England Amateur since Mike Welch claimed titles in 2003 and 2004.
Top Position By State
CT: Caden Piselli – 67-71 (-6)
MA: Joey Lenane – 67-71 (-6)
ME: Elliott Spaulding – 64-73 (-7)
NH: Josiah Hakala – 70-73 (-1)
RI: Bobby Leopold – 73-70 (-1)
VT: Garren Poirier – 71-71 (-2)
