AUBURN – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Pleased with the growing number of entrants, the staff and the course itself, the Maine State Golf Association has awarded Fox Ridge the Charlie’s Maine Open for the next three years, extending to at least six years the marriage between the two organizations.

“We came up here a few weeks ago to do the preliminary preparations for this tournament,” MSGA Executive Director Nancy Storey said. “The staff here at Fox Ridge offered the MSGA the tournament for the next three years.”

It was a decision Storey couldn’t immediately make, but she took the proposal to the MSGA’s board of directors.

“We had a board meeting two weeks ago, and it was approved by the board that we will be here for the next three years.”

Fox Ridge first hosted the tournament in 2006, the first year of a three-year pact. That year, amateur Ricky Jones hoisted the trophy.

Last year, Todd Westfall of West Virginia came out on top, with John Hickson becoming the first Maine-based professional to win at Fox Ridge on Friday. “It’s been good for us here,” Fox Ridge Director of Golf Bob Darling said. “Maybe we could have made a bit more money had we had open play here, but as far as the publicity goes, you can’t put a number to that.” The course, a 6,800-plus yard par-72 track, has challenged golfers with speedy greens and tough rough, and the MSGA agreed that, at least for the next three years, the situation was perfect.

“It’s going to get stronger, too,” Storey said.