MANCHESTER — After a scorching start to the tournament, Sean Bosdosh had finally been caught.

There was no panic, though, for the PGA professional. A stretch of birdies over six holes in the middle of his round allowed Bosdosh to reclaim his lead, and slowly, his biggest competitors faded.

Bosdosh shot a 1-under 69 on Wednesday to finish 11 under overall and win the Charlie’s Maine Open at Augusta Country Club. The Clarksburg, Maryland, native came back from a two-stroke deficit to best Topsham’s Caleb Manuel (9 under; 2-under 68 for the day) and also hold off fellow Marylander Zach Barbin (8 under, 1-under 67 for the day).

“I hit the ball really well today, and my putting was good,” Bosdosh said. “I just try to focus on my routine, and I do a really good job of hitting the ball well when all I think about is my target and my process. … I felt like I got better today; I struggled off the tee, but I maintained composure.”

After both players birdied the first hole and made par on the second, Manuel made birdie on No. 3 to move within two shots of the lead. Then, with Bosdosh bogeying the fourth hole and double-bogeying the fifth, Manuel made par on both to take his first lead of the tournament before a birdie on six put him two strokes ahead.

Bosdosh, though, immediately got back within a stroke as he birdied the seventh hole while Manuel made par. Then, on 8, Manuel bogeyed as he accidentally knocked his ball backward on a practice swing and was assessed a one-stroke penalty, allowing Bosdosh to draw even at nine under with a par.

Sean Bosdosh holds the Charlie’s Maine Open winner’s trophy Wednesday at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“It just kind of alarmed me because I was like, ‘Whoa, I just hit my golf ball,’ and I kind of knew what happened; that’s never happened to me,” Manuel said of the miscue. “I still felt like I hung in there and played solid. At least I lost by two strokes and not one (because of the mistake).”

Bosdosh then retook the lead with a birdie on 9 before another birdie on 10 put him ahead by two strokes. Manuel sank a 50-foot putt for birdie on 11 that would cut Bosdosh’s lead back to a shot, but Bosdosh would answer with a 40-footer for birdie on 12 to restore the two-shot advantage.

A three-putt double-bogey for Manuel on 13 then gave Bosdosh a four-shot lead before a Bosdosh bogey, Manuel par and Barbin birdie on 14 put Bosdosh at 11 under and Manuel and Barbin at 8 under. Bosdosh then made par over each of the final four holes to secure a two-stroke victory.

The bogey on 16 was uncharacteristic of Manuel after he had eagled the hole on Monday and made birdie on Tuesday. Still, even with the overall title largely out of reach, he was able to birdie each of the last two holes to win the Maine professional title by 10 strokes over Boothbay’s Everett Najera.

“The ball just carried a little bit farther than I wanted to,” Manuel said of his tee shot on the 16th hole. “I thought the bunker was 295 (yards) to carry, and it flew that and went all the way down. It was still nice to birdie the last two; I’m happy with the way I finished.”

Bosdosh matched his 1-under performance from a day earlier while previously coming one stroke shy of the course record with a 9-under 61 on Monday. Wednesday’s effort, while obviously not matching that of two days prior, was still plenty satisfying to Bosdosh after the rough start.

“I was really disappointed (after falling two shots back on 6), but I just tried today to myself that whatever happens is OK and to focus on your goal,” Bosdosh said. “I’m glad I came back and won it, but what I’m more excited about after all the practice I put in is to see myself able to calm myself down, focus on my routine and get back to what I’m good at.”

Barbin had briefly overtaken Manuel for second after 16 holes before the latter’s birdies earned him a sole share of runner-up honors. Will Frodigh (Westwood, Massachusetts) shot the best round of the day with a 4-under 66 to finish fourth at 7 under, and Zane Thomas of Las Vegas shot a 1-over 71 to finish fifth at 5 under.

Jack Quinn shoots out of a bunker on the 18th hole during the final round of the Charlie’s Maine Open on Wednesday at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester. Quinn, a Gardiner Area High School junior, tied for 11th overall. He also tied for first junior and first amateur with Eli Spaulding. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Barbin’s tournament trajectory was Bosdosh’s. He, too, had impressed Monday, shooting a 6-under 64 before following it up with 1-under efforts on Day 2 and Day 3. Three-putting 13 and missing the green on 15 ultimately did him in, he admitted, but he was happy with his performance overall on a day that included a 45-minute rain delay.

“I played really solid,” Barbin said. “Caleb got off to a really hot start. Sean got off to a fine start and then kind of floated a little bit, but then he came back really strong toward the middle stretch. It’s a long day of golf, especially with the rain delay, and you just never know, so I just try to focus on what I can control.”

The Maine senior crown went to John Hickson of Northport, who shot 5 over for the tournament to beat out Jeffrey Seavey of Rockland (7 over). Jack Quinn of Litchfield and Eli Spaulding of Freeport both finished at 1 under overall to finish tied for the Maine junior and amateur crowns.

“I definitely checked out a lot of the boxes with the goals I had,” Spaulding said. “I obviously wanted to shoot under par, so that par on the last hole was nice to keep it in the red. The last two days were more of a grind, but that’s golf, and you just kind of have to play with what you’ve been given.”

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