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CUMBERLAND — The putt started rolling toward the hole, kept tracking and finally fell in for an eagle, roughly 50 feet from where it started.

It was just that kind of day for Maria Ouimet, and just the kind of start to a Maine Women’s Amateur championship she’s been seeking.

Ouimet shot a 1-over 73 on Monday, giving her a four-shot lead after the first round at Val Halla Golf and Recreation.

Abby Flanagan and Julie Treadwell are four shots back after shooting 77, while Ruth Colucci (78) is fourth, and former champion Erin Holmes and Elizabeth Holden are tied for fifth at 80.

Two-time defending champion Jade Haylock (84) struggled and is tied for 14th.

The long-hitting Ouimet (née Cianchette) opened with two bogeys but was 1 under from there, notching two birdies and the eagle en route to her first opening-round lead.

“I’ve never been in this position so we’ll see. … I’m going to try to not let it affect what I do,” said Ouimet, who plays out of The Woodlands in Falmouth, and was third last year and ninth in 2024. “I hit some balls this morning and I felt good, so I was like ‘All right, don’t think about it and go play golf.'”

After five straight pars, Ouimet birdied the par-5 eighth, rolled in an 18-footer for birdie on 10, and reached the par-5 14th in two before sinking the long putt.

“I was like ‘Just get this close,'” she said. “I was in a good spot where it was probably a foot to the right the whole time. I just hit a good one and it kept going.”

Shortly after Ouimet finished, Flanagan came in with a 77 that featured six bogeys and one birdie. Flanagan, playing out of Springbrook Golf Course in Leeds, tied for fifth last year and third in 2024.

“Lots can happen in two more days of golf,” she said. “Four shots, you can make that up in two days easily.”

Flanagan said she was in good position off the tee for most of the round.

“Putting and around the greens wasn’t quite as good,” she said. “That’s what I’m hoping to really hone in on.”

Treadwell, out of JW Parks Golf Course in Pittsfield, was steady with 14 pars.

“I don’t hit the longest ball anymore, so I need to play really well 100 yards in,” she said. “I putted better than I have all summer. … If you had asked me yesterday or even this morning, I never would have told you (I’d be) in this position.”

Biddeford-Saco’s Colucci is also within striking distance, five shots back after weathering both the Cumberland course and her own sleep deprivation. She rolled in a 30-footer for birdie on the 11th.

“I didn’t expect (that) because I didn’t sleep very well. I had family over the weekend,” she said. “My whole morning was upside down. I didn’t think I’d shoot that but I’m happy I did.”

Holmes, the runner-up last year, got off to a nightmarish start at her home course with two triple bogeys in the first three holes, but steadied herself with a birdie on the fourth, the start of playing the last 15 holes 1 over par.

“I feel good since I had a good back nine. I kind of dug myself a hole,” she said. “Tomorrow, if I just kind of continue where I left off today, it will be good.”

Haylock saw her chances for a third straight title hurt by a shaky round in which she struggled to find her familiar accuracy.

“Today was just a bad day. I had a lot of nerves,” she said. “Usually I know how to manage them, but today something was just off. I felt no confidence standing over the ball.”

Haylock called the round “really disappointing,” but wasn’t giving up hope for a comeback. She had an 83 in the first round last year and rallied from eight shots down to win, and tied the women’s course record with a 68 during a practice round.

“Definitely, I know (I’m in it),” she said. “I just need to go home, not stress about things, come back and have a better day.”