A stellar field of 192 players will begin the run for the Maine Open Golf Championship on Wednesday morning at Riverside Municipal Golf Course in Portland.

Last year’s winner, Mike San Filippo, won’t be defending his title as he qualified for the PGA Championship, which is also taking place this week in St. Louis.

Among the top contenders are Jeff Julian of Hartland, Vt., this year’s winner of the Greater Bangor Open 10 days ago in a playoff with Geoff Sisk of Marshfield, Mass.

Sisk is also competing. He has never won a tournament as a professional, but a swing key he got from Jim Becker of Poquonock, Conn., nearly led to a victory in the GBO.

Becker has also been among the leaders on the final day of the Maine Open several times, and he will be trying once again to win at Riverside.

Last year’s runnerup, Jeff Grygiel of Syracuse, N.Y., is also back as he tries to play himself into shape for a run at the PGA Tour School this fall.

An ailing knee at the GBO ruined his chances of winning there, but a cortisone shot put him right again, and he could be in the running come Friday’s final 18 holes.

There are several past winners of the Maine Open in the field, the most recent being 1990 winner Pete Morgan of Harwich, Mass. Morgan also turned in an impressive performance at Bangor, finishing a stroke out of the playoff.

Other winners include Jeff Lewis (1979, ’85) of Cummaquid, Mass., Charlie Smith (’82) of Pawtucket, R.I., Don Brigham (’80), Paul Barkhouse (’72, ’74), Steve Robbins (’71 as an amateur) of Kittery, Jim Veno (’62 and ’65 as an amateur) of Portland, and Ed Whalley (’64).

Top Maine pros, who have made a stronger run at this championship in the last few years, include Bob Darling Jr. of Auburn, Tim Angis of Saco, Mark Fogg of Gorham, John Hickson of Bath, and Mo Guttman of Falmouth.

Top amateurs include Mark Plummer of Augusta, seven-time Maine Amateur winner and nine-time Bangor Daily News Amateur champ plus a 1982 victory at Riverside in the Casco Bay Classic; Marc Siewertsen of Falmouth; Kevin MacDonald of Bath; and Bourke O’Brien of Lewiston; and Dick Crosby of Gorham.

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Entries are starting to come in a little faster for the Barbara Leavitt Memorial Golf Tournament on Aug. 17 at Bangor Municipal Golf Course.

Forty people have signed up to play, but there is room for 60-80 more, according to Bangor Muni assistant pro Brian Enman.

The entry fee is $100, but that includes golf, cart, hospitality tent, and auction. The deadline is Aug. 14.

Among the auction items are documented, framed prints with notarized signatures of Ted Williams, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Trevino, Roger Clemens, and Frank Viola.

People who want to attend only the auction can pay $50 to get in.

The tournament is a fund-raiser for The Jimmy Fund, which supports cancer research and treatment for children and adults.