ORONO – For the third straight year, Shawn Warren of Windham opened stroke-play qualifying at the Maine Amateur Golf Championship with a 68.

He’s still trying to parlay such a good start into a berth in the final match, but his attitude is different this time around.

“Last year I was hoping to make the finals,” said Warren, 18. “This year, I have a lot more confidence. I feel like I’m going to make the finals.”

Warren’s 4-under-par round Tuesday at Penobscot Valley Country Club was two strokes better than that of second-place Mike Norris of Newburgh.

After today’s round, the field will be trimmed to the low 16 players for Thursday morning’s first round of match play. The low 32 and ties automatically qualify for next year’s Amateur.

Three-time defending champion Mark Plummer of Manchester heads a large group at 71 that includes 2001 Paul Bunyan Amateur Golf Tournament winner Ricky Jones of Thomaston and that year’s runner-up, Jay Livingston of Kennebunkport.

Also at 71 are John Bauman of Kennebunk and Thomas Bean, who plays out of Augusta Country Club in Manchester.

Bangor’s Jesse Speirs, who won the Whited Ford Paul Bunyan Amateur last month for the second year in a row, heads a seven-player group at even-par 72 that includes 2002 Bunyan runner-up Joe Alvarez of Bangor and Greg Tribou of Hampden.

Players like to shoot low scores on the first day, even though nothing is decided then, to get in position for the second round.

“Sixty-eight makes that second round of stroke play that much easier,” said Warren.

“Every stroke counts, especially when only 16 [move on],” said Plummer, who has won this championship 13 times overall. “You can’t take anything for granted.”

Warren started slowly with a par and a bogey on the first two holes, respectively, but he turned it around in a hurry with birdies on four of the next five holes.

“It was sprinkling [in the morning] and that made putting easier,” said Warren.

“I thought conditions were pretty much the easiest they’re going to be [this week],” said Warren.

Norris, the 1999 Bunyan champ, said he also wanted to be in the 60s.

“I missed a 3-foot uphill birdie putt [on 15]. I was disappointed with that,” said Norris, who followed that with a bogey on 16.

“Those two holes I was really upset with,” said Norris.

Norris had some holes that treated him well, though.

He nearly double-eagled the par-5 third hole.

“I hit a 5-iron in [for his second shot],” said Norris. “I saw it go on the green, but then I didn’t see it after that. Someone who was down there said it lipped the cup on the high side and it rolled 21/2 feet past.”

He sank the putt for eagle, then added a birdie on the uphill par-3 sixth hole which has a green that slopes sharply from front to back. Putts missed from above the hole can run several yards off the green.

“I was 2 feet above the hole,” said Norris. “I thought 3 would be a gift and I made 2.”

Jones was 4 under par at the turn, but couldn’t keep it going.

“I was hitting my full sand wedges good on the front, hitting really close,” said Jones. “I started being a little conservative on the back.”

Speirs, a member at PVCC, had one bad hole early on, but didn’t let it get to him.

“I had one bad swing,” said Speirs. “I was 160 yards [out], but I didn’t hit it the way I wanted and made 8.”

He hit an 8-iron for his second shot on the par-5 third hole, but pulled it into the left front bunker.

His first effort stayed in the bunker, then he hit the ball into the back bunker on his next try. His blast out came up short of the green, he chipped on, and two-putted for triple bogey. He didn’t have another over-par hole until he bogeyed 18.

In between he made birdies on Nos. 5, 10, 13, and 17 to get under par for a few minutes.