Ryan Gay played in his first Maine Amateur golf championship as a 14-year-old kid in 2004. He made the cut that first year, knocking 13-time champ Mark Plummer out of the tournament.

Gay has accomplished a lot since that first Maine Amateur. He's won Maine junior titles and a pair of Class A state championships, but he reached the pinnacle Thursday, holding off Plummer and Jones to win the Maine Amateur title.

He is the youngest Maine Amateur champion since Ike Merrill Jr. won the first of four as a 14-year-old in 1927. Gay is also the first player to hold both the Maine Amateur title and the Maine Junior title at the same time since Jim Veno in 1960.

Gay has been a recognizable name in golf for years, even before that first Maine Am appearance four years ago. The new face of Maine golf, Gay has lived up to all the expectation.