MANCHESTER — For the most part, the second round of the Charlie’s Maine Open on Tuesday was tougher after many players got off to a blistering start on Monday.

Caleb Manuel, though, was an exception and the professional from Topsham put himself into championship contention.

Manuel followed a 1-under 69 to open the tournament with a 6-under 64 on Tuesday. The three-time Maine Amateur champion is three shots back of leader Sean Bosdosh in a tie for second in the overall competition. He has an eight-shot lead in the Maine professional field.

“I kind of struggled a little bit to start, but I was able to get myself going,” Manuel said. “I was in neutral for a little bit after I hit some nice putts on 6 and 10 to pick things up, but I was able to get birdies on the last three. To get down to three back after starting the day eight back, that’s great.”

After five pars to begin his round, Manuel birdied 6, 8 and 10 to pull to 4 under for the tournament. Then came five more pars and Manuel needed of a strong finish to close out the round.

Sean Bosdosh, of Clarksburg, Maryland, lines up a shot during the Charlie’s Maine Open on Tuesday at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

He began his final stretch by birdieing the par-4 16th hole before doing the same on the par-three 17th. Then, he got aggressive on the 18th hole to gain yet another stroke entering the final round.

“It’s kind of a tighter tee ball, and I hit my ball and tugged it a little bit, but it was fine,” Manuel said. “A year ago, I would have maybe tried to protect my score because I was 5-under par, but I said jokingly (to my caddy), ‘I’m probably seven back of the lead, so I’ve got to put my foot down.’ Then, he said, ‘You’re only three back.’”

Manuel is tied with Zachary Barbin (Elgton, Maryland) for second place. Barbin shot 1 under Tuesday after an impressive 6 under on Monday. Bosdosh also went 1 under in the second round, maintaining the same three-stroke lead he had to start the round.

Bosdosh, of Clarksburg, Maryland, enjoyed a strong start to the day, birdieing the first two holes to move to 12 under for the tournament.

After not posting a single bogey over the first 25 holes, he had four over the next 10 holes as he struggled on what he felt were makeable shots.

“I put myself in rough and hit a couple shots in the trees, and then I just ended up not closing in on the 8-footers I had for par,” Bosdosh said. “Tomorrow will be a different day, and I’ll play better. I think a couple more putts will go down for me tomorrow, and I’ll just keep hitting the greens and see what happens.”

Zane Thomas (Las Vegas) matched his 3-under 67 from Monday to move to 6 under for the tournament, and Patrick Healy (Centerport, New York) followed a 67 with a 2-under 68 to round out the top five. Ryan Celano (Naples, Florida), who entered Tuesday tied for second, shot a 2-over 72 to fall to sixth.

Ryan Celano, of Naples, Florida, lines up his shot during the Charlie’s Maine Open on Tuesday at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Eli Spaulding of Freeport followed a 2-under 68 on Monday with a 1-over 71 to take a one-shot lead over Jack Quinn of Litchfield in the amateur division. Quinn, who was tied with Spaulding entering the day, followed his 68 by shooting a 2-over 72.

“I feel like a lot of people had some high expectations going into this round, and then, once they made a bogey, it kind of just of (went downhill),” Quinn said. “That’s what happened to me today, and I had to battle. Being able to come out at even makes me feel good going into tomorrow.”

Spaulding struggled to begin the day, bogeying five of the first 11 holes to move 3 over for the tournament. He bounced back with a birdie on 12 before hitting his best shot of the day with an eagle on 14 to get back to par.

A bogey on 16 after a rough tee shot left Spaulding at 1 over entering the final hole. The three-time Class B state champ from Freeport High School answered with his second eagle of the day to improbably move to 1 under and enter the final round with the junior and amateur leads.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever had two eagles in one round before,” Spaulding said. “I felt going into 12, ‘Hey, these last seven holes are all pretty gettable,’ and I just turned it around. It feels good to rally back from a point where I just wasn’t feeling too good today and be able to stay in red figures for the tournament.

Kellen Adickes (Bristol) shot an even-par 70 to move to one back of the junior/amateur leads, and Mick Madden (Portland) followed a 2-under 68 Monday with a 6-over 76 to fall out of contention. John Hickson (Northport) fired a 1-under 69 to move to 3 over, tied with Gorham’s Jerry DePhilippo for the senior lead.

« Previous

Next »

Related Stories