Topsham's Caleb Manuel trails leader heading into final round at Maine Open

Fletcher Babcock grabbed the lead after two rounds of the Charlie’s Maine Open, but Topsham’s Caleb Manuel stayed within striking distance and carried local interest into the final day at Augusta Country Club in Manchester. For Sagadahoc County readers, Manuel’s place near the top of the leaderboard offered a familiar name in a tournament that Maine Golf calls the state’s oldest championship.

The 2026 event drew 111 players and was played June 22-24 at Augusta Country Club, the 19th time the Open had been held there and only the third running since a hiatus caused by Covid. Manuel’s presence near the lead gave the tournament a stronger local angle for Topsham and surrounding communities, where his results have long been followed as one of Maine golf’s most established storylines.

Manuel eventually finished at 11-under 199, two shots behind Babcock, who won the title. That placed Manuel in second for the 2026 Open and extended a pattern that has kept him near the top of Maine’s biggest open championship.

The finish also fit a season in which Manuel had played only a limited schedule. A June 24 profile said he had not competed much this year before the Open, aside from a handful of qualifying rounds and 13 PGA Tour Americas events last summer. That same profile said he had stepped back to reset after personal losses, including the death of his friend Marcus Steinman of Topsham in an automobile accident in October 2025, along with the deaths of his grandfather and uncle.

Even so, Manuel arrived in Manchester with a track record that already marks him as one of the state’s most accomplished amateurs. He won three straight Maine Amateur titles from 2021 through 2023, after playing college golf first at UConn and then at Georgia. Maine Golf also identified his three consecutive Maine Amateur wins as a run that included a tournament-record score of 13 under.

The 2026 Maine Open added another near miss to his record at Augusta Country Club. In 2024, Sean Bosdosh won wire to wire at 11 under, two shots ahead of Manuel, in a final round delayed about an hour by a thunderstorm. This year’s result again put Manuel in the chase until the finish, keeping Topsham connected to one of Maine golf’s most watched events.