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SANFORD — As he was putting together the best round of the first day of the Maine Amateur Championship, Mick Madden tried to keep his mind blank.

Well, with one exception.

“I had a good song stuck in my head today, which felt good,” he said. “I was just kind of humming it the entire time I was playing, so that kind of helps your rhythm, I feel like.”

Powered by J.J. Cale’s “Cajun Moon” and a confident swing, Madden jumped out to the first-round lead Tuesday at Sanford Country Club, shooting a 3-under 69 for a one-shot lead over Jack Quinn, Curtis Jordan and Jacob Moody.

A group of four players, including two-time defending champion Eli Spaulding, were two shots back.

Madden missed the cut last year. But the Cheverus High graduate and Siena University commit, playing in the first group of the day, put himself in position with four birdies in the first 12 holes and five for the round.

“I just kind of kept it in front of me,” he said. “And wedges were really good. Everything felt like I was inside 15 feet, all day.”

Madden, who plays out of The Woodlands, continued the keep-it-simple mindset that he used while winning a regional junior event in Rhode Island in June. He had a hiccup with a double bogey on the 14th, but recovered with three pars and a birdie to close out the round.

“I really just focused on no swing thoughts, just kind of focusing on my target,” he said. “From the first hole, I felt like I was swinging it pretty well. … I felt good about my wedges, and I feel like when my wedges are good, the entire game can kind of (click).”

Quinn, a Gardiner High graduate who will attend the University of Rhode Island, is chasing Madden again after finishing a shot behind him in the Rhode Island tournament. Eschewing his driver for a 2-iron off the tee, Quinn found Sanford’s tight fairways and made four birdies.

The round could have been even lower. Quinn, playing out of Augusta Country Club, had four birdie putts lip out.

“I hit a lot of quality tee shots,” he said. “I probably hit, like, seven wedge shots today that I spun off the front of the green from the middle of the fairway, which was frustrating. But I was hitting good shots at the pin.”

Jordan, of Portland Country Club, birdied three of the first five holes after the turn to go under par.

“I played conservative targets and aggressive swings. I made a few putts, some good wedges, and all of a sudden had a good round,” he said. “Whenever I had those 3- to 5-footers, I seemed to make them.”

Later in the day, Moody (Waterville Country Club) came in with five bogeys but an impressive seven birdies, including a 35-foot putt on the ninth hole.

“I think I really kept myself in every shot,” the Messalonskee High alum and rising junior at Le Moyne College said. “The putter was pretty good, I felt like I got it going pretty early, which was nice. Definitely missed some short ones, which I wish I could have back, but that happens, it’s golf.”

Lurking behind the top four is Spaulding, who was bogey-free with three birdies through 13 holes, including a chip in on the 10th, before dropping shots on the 14th and 18th holes.

“I was feeling pretty good and just started making a couple bad swings,” said Spaulding, who trailed by a shot after the first round last year. “This course is pretty tough, there aren’t too many under-par scores, and for me, that’s part of my game plan. You can’t really win it on the first day, but you can certainly lose it.”

Spaulding was tied at 1 under with fellow Brunswick Golf Club player Garrett Olson, Scott Nevers (Val Halla) and Neil Suchecki (Nonesuch).

Two players carded a hole-in-one, both on the 13th hole. Mark Wallace (3 over) had the first on the 122-yard par 3, and Eric Gosline (1 over) notched the second.