Fletcher Babcock holds off Caleb Manuel to win Charlie’s Maine Open

 Fletcher Babcock of Danielson, Conn., fist bumps his caddie, Haydon Lockhart, after a birdie putt on the third hole Wednesday during the final round of the Maine Open at Augusta Country Club in Manchester. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer) [Purchase this image](https://dev.mainetodaymedia.com/smugmug/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2026%5C%2F06%5C%2F43668531_20260623_kjms.maineopenday3.0625_0y064.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22Fletcher%20Babcock%20of%20Danielson%2C%20Conn.%2C%20fist%20bumps%20his%20caddie%2C%20Haydon%20Lockhart%2C%20after%20a%20birdie%20putt%20on%20the%20third%20hole%20Wednesday%20during%20the%20final%20round%20of%20the%20Maine%20Open%20at%20Augusta%20Country%20Club%20in%20Manchester.%20%28Anna%20Chadwick%5C%2FStaff%20Photographer%29%22%7D) View 19 photos MANCHESTER — The three-shot deficit was gone, and Caleb Manuel was charging. For Fletcher Babcock, however, it wasn’t a time for jitters. He knew this kind of threat was coming. “With the golf course, you know somebody is going to make a move,” he said. “I’m always going to be confident in what I can do. I just kind of stuck to the game plan.” On Wednesday, it was enough. Babcock, a professional from Danielson, Connecticut, shot 1-under 69 to win the [Charlie’s Maine Open](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/charlies-maine-open/) at Augusta Country Club with a score of 13 under. “The game wasn’t super sharp today, but I kind of did enough to get by,” he said. “I thought I fought well. … It’s always a grind, and you do what you can.” He held off Manuel, the Topsham-raised professional who finished two shots back at 11 under, Jared Nelson of Rutland, Vermont, took third at 10 under, and Jason Thresher and Nicholas Pandelena tied for fourth at 9 under. Advertisement Manuel, who started the day three shots behind Babcock, caught fire early and birdied five of his first eight holes to pull even. But he lost his feel off the tee, bogeying three of the next five holes, and struggled to make the putts on the back nine. “It’s tough to keep it going,” Manuel said. “But it was fun to be in contention and have a chance to win. … I looked at myself (after bogeying the 13th) and I’m like, ‘Dude, you’ve got five holes left and you’re two back. What else can you ask for?'” Babcock was steady, hitting nine of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation, but he knew he needed some answers when Manuel caught him before making the turn. “Caleb was hitting it unbelievably good,” Babcock said. “I told him in the scoring tent, ‘I thought you were going to shoot 25 on the front.'” Babcock didn’t let Manuel get ahead, however. On the eighth, when Manuel rolled in an 8-footer for his fifth birdie of the day, Babcock answered with a 6-footer. On the ninth, with Manuel on his way to bogey, Babcock was in danger of the same when he went over the green and had to chip back to a tight pin. He chipped to 5 feet and saved par to regain sole possession of the lead. Advertisement “A couple of the putts I made on the front nine were pretty big,” said Babcock, who also rolled in 15- and 7-footers for birdie on the third and sixth holes. “The great up-and-down on nine kind of settled everything a little bit.” Babcock birdied the 11th and held on to his advantage despite bogeys on the 12th and 16th. Another good save came on 14, where he again made up-and-down with a tricky chip to a tight pin. “Both were bad lies, down and a ton of grass behind them,” said Babcock, who earned $5,000 for his victory. “Those were two of the better up-and-downs I’ve had all year, especially in the situation.” Babcock was far enough ahead of the rest of the field, and Manuel was starting to fade after his blistering start. He pushed his drives right en route to bogeys on the 12th and 13th, and after a birdie on the 14th, he bogeyed the par-3 15th and 17th holes to cripple his chances. “It easily could have been in the 20s on the front nine,” Manuel said. “Golf just kind of got a little harder on the back nine, which happens most rounds.” Third place went to Nelson, who shot a 4-under 66 on the strength of six birdies, five of which came on the front. “I was just trying to go out there and shoot as low as I could, and see what was going to happen,” he said. “There wasn’t really much thought of catching Fletcher. I was going to need help, he was in control.” Copy the Story Link Tagged: [Charlie's Maine Open](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/charlies-maine-open/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/drew-bonifant) [Drew BonifantStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/drew-bonifant) Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire. [More by Drew Bonifant](https://www.pressherald.com/author/drew-bonifant)