FRAMINGHAM — Home course advantage paid off for Matthew Naumec on Friday.

Playing in front of a huge and largely partisan crowd at Framingham Country Club, Naumec overcame a slow start at the 116th Massachusetts Amateur Championship, coming out on fire for the second half of the 36-hole final to top Worcester Country Club’s Ricky Stimets 1-up for the title and a spot in the 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship.

Stimets led 3-up after 18 holes, but Naumec quickly erased that deficit after the lunchtime break. He pulled even in just three holes and only trailed for one other hole the rest of the way.

“It’s cool. It feels great. I’ve been so close for so long and to do it at Framingham is special,” the 27-year-old champion said. “It makes me really happy. It’s a great end to the week.

“Coming out of lunch and winning the first three, that got the momentum on my side. I knew a lot of people there, but I wasn’t trying to pay too much attention to it because saying hi to everyone would be distracting. I just tried to keep my head down and play some simple golf.”

The championship victory is the first by a golfer at his home course in 50 years.

Framingham Country Club’s Matthew Naumec tees off during the final round of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship on Friday. (Nick Mallard photo)

Though Stimets went 1-up on the sixth hole in the afternoon, Naumec — a former Boston College standout — made the shot of the day on the next hole. After having to take a drop when his ball found a stone wall, Naumec sent his next shot just over the green and down an embankment.

He calmly stepped to the ball and chipped up on to the green and into the cup to take the hole, 5-4, and pull even with Stimets. Naumec went 1-up two holes later and never looked back.

“I just kind of knew the contour of the green and said, ‘Hey, get it up there and make him match you,’ ” Naumec said. “I didn’t mean for it to go in and maybe it shouldn’t have gone in, but that happens.”

In front of a very supportive crowd, Naumec closed out the match on 18 after Stimets drew to with in one and threatened to send the match to a playoff. He sank an eight-foot putt to finish with a 4 and match his opponent, ending the title round.

“I knew I had a great read on. I knew Ricky was going to make 4 and I just had to tie it,” he said. “I kind of hit a little of the break out of it, just hit it nice and firm and I knew it was going to go in.”

Naumec, who fell to Ryan Downes last year in the Mass. Amateur final, advances to play in the U.S. Amateur in Chaska, Minn., next month.

It looked as though the fairytale finish wasn’t in the cards for Naumec early on. Stimets put the pressure on in the first 18 holes, going 2-up after four and 3-up at the turn. He took a three-shot lead to the break, but struggled coming out after the intermission.

“It was a grind. I played great in the morning and maybe let a couple slip by,” Stimets said. “He came out to a hot start and the crowd got behind him. It’s tough to keep your composure when everyone’s screaming his name.

“I just had to get to 18 and I felt pretty good. I played it great, but he made a hell of a birdie from where he was, so hat’s off to him. He played great.”

Naumec’s run to the title nearly didn’t happen, as the Framingham CC golfer had to survive a four golfer for three spots playoff to even reach match play. But once he advanced, he rolled through five opponents, with Friday’s final the closest of any of his matches.

“I didn’t have the chance to play a lot leading up to the Mass. Am, so I was just out here saying, ‘Hey, just tee it up. You’ve played out here a million times,’ ” Naumec said, “Little rusty the first two days, but I kind of snuck in in the playoff and as the week went on, I was feeling more comfortable with my game and form. That settled the nerves a little bit.”