ORONO – The question after Wednesday’s second round of the 84th Maine Amateur Golf Championship at Penobscot Valley Country Club was match play or medal play?

The directors of the Maine State Golf Association, which conducts the Maine Amateur, asked the players which they preferred in determining the state’s best amateur player.

Under the current format, 36 holes of qualifying determine the low 16 for four rounds of match play conducted over two days. The previous format, in place for nearly 30 years, was 54 holes of stroke play, low score wins.

While the result of the survey has not been released yet, opinions were not hard to come by.

“All the pressure is off now,” said three-time defending champion Mark Plummer of Manchester. “The part I don’t like is over with.”

The part Plummer doesn’t like is the 36 holes of qualifying. He prefers the head-to-head format of match play, even though he won at least 10 of his 13 Amateur crowns under the stroke-play format.

“[Match play] is a more relaxing format for me,” said Plummer, who easily overcame the part of the championship he doesn’t like by shooting a second straight 1-under-par 71 for a two-day total of 142.

That placed him fourth among the 16 who advanced to match play.

Jay Livingston, a former PVCC member who is in the middle of moving from Hermon to Kennebunkport, earned the No. 1 seed by making six birdies and no bogeys for a scorching 66 and a 137 total.

Newburgh’s Mike Norris, the 1999 Paul Bunyan Amateur Golf Tournament champion, posted a 68 Wednesday to be seeded second at 138. First-day leader Shawn Warren of Windham was third with 73-141.

Norris was adamant in his belief that the tournament should be strictly stroke play, although he thought it should be four days instead of three.

“They should cut to the low 36 after 36 holes,” said Norris. “Those 36 would play two more rounds. Then you’d have the best golfer.”

While Norris would like stroke play more, he said, “I’ll make the best of it. I’m just happy to be there.”

After today’s morning matches, the winners will face off in the afternoon quarterfinals. The semifinals and final will be Friday.

Tied with Plummer were Jason Gall (67 Wednesday) of Augusta and Nate Nealey (70) of Gorham, followed by 2001 Bunyan champ Ricky Jones of Thomaston at 72-143.

At 145 were John Bauman (74) of Kennebunk and Marc Siewertsen (72) of Portland. Jesse Speirs (74) of Bangor, Thomas Bean (75) of Manchester, and Scott Dewitt (73) of Biddeford were next at 146.

It looked as if there would be a clean break of 16 players, no ties, until Toby Spector of Waterville came in with a 69 to force a playoff among the five players at 147 – Steve Tsujiura (75) of Scarborough, Corey Pion (71) of Vassalboro, Ben Daughan (71) of York, Ross McGee (75) of Pittsfield, and Spector – for the last four berths. Tsujiura parred the first hole; Pion, McGee, and Spector made bogeys; and Daughan was eliminated with a double bogey.

Livingston was as surprised as anybody was by his round, which included six birdies and no bogeys.

“I don’t usually make that many birdies without making some bogeys, too,” he said.

He almost dropped out of the event a few weeks ago because of his family’s move to southern Maine, plus his wife would be home with two young children.

She convinced him he should play.

He birdied all four par 5s, plus Nos. 8 and 18.

“For some reason, today was my day,” said Livingston. “I want to go play my first match right now.”

Speirs, only 16 but winner of the Bunyan the last two years, struggled all day.

“You’ve just got to grind it out,” said Speirs. “That’s what I did today, and I made some putts.”

One was about a 35-footer to save par on the long par-3 16th.

On the 10th hole, a par 5, “I made a slippery downhill 6-footer for birdie,” he said. It was his only birdie all day.

“I had a few more birdie putts out here, I just didn’t hit them hard enough,” said Speirs. ” didn’t want to go 3 feet past.

“But I don’t want to leave them short in match play. I’ve got to make sure they get to the hole.”

Norris said he started slowly on his round, not really getting going until he bogeyed the par-3 sixth again.

“After I got to 2 under on the front, I was just cruising for pars,” said Norris.

He birdied 10, bogeyed 13, and birdied 15 and 17 for his 68.