4 min read

MANCHESTER — A few tough breaks here and there prevented this from being an outstanding day the likes of which Jacob Sollon had at Augusta Country Club on Monday and Tuesday.

The outcome, though? That was never really in doubt thanks to the lead Sollon amassed entering Wednesday’s final round of the Charlie’s Maine Open. Even as the others in the leaders’ group outscored him, the Venetia, Pennsylvania, native still earned a comfortable victory at 14-under overall.

“The other guys were putting a little pressure on me down the stretch, and I feel like I played pretty well,” Sollon said. “I did have a five-shot lead, so I was feeling pretty comfortable. I figured if I made a couple pars coming in that that would get the job done.”

Sollon’s 1-under 69 followed a 6-under 64 on Day 1 and a 7-under 63 on Day 2. Kevin Johnson (Bethesda, Maryland) shot a 2-under 68 Wednesday to finish three strokes back at 11-under, and James Imai (Davenport, Florida) went 3-under at 67 to close at 10-under.

Falmouth’s Shawn Warren placed fourth and won the Maine pro division, following up Tuesday’s 8-under 62 with a 4-under 66 to finish 8-under overall. Jack Quinn of Randolph went 3-under at 67 to win the amateur division by four strokes over Daniel Suter (Gaithersburg, Maryland).

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Sollon bogeyed the opening hole but responded with birdies on Nos. 2 and 4 to move a stroke under for the day. He then made five straight pars to close out the front nine, with multiple birdie putts that looked to be on point before lipping out or missing by mere inches.

“That’s just golf for you; those all went in the first two days, so I really can’t complain,” Sollon said. “I thought (the greens) were a little more receptive today, and they had already been good all week. … (The course) was phenomenal.”

Sollon then sandwiched a bogey on 11 between birdies on 10 and 12 to move to 15-under. Pars on the next four holes and on 18 were enough to survive a bogey on 17 and hold off Johnson and Imai as they gained momentum to close the day.

Johnson’s round Wednesday could not have been much different from the previous one. After a par-less back nine Tuesday that included six birdies and three bogeys, he made par on the first 15 holes before birdies on 16 and 18 to finish two strokes under for the day.

Kevin Johnson of Bethesda, Maryland, hits from the third-hole tee box during the 2025 Charlie’s Maine Open golf tournament Wednesday at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer)

“That was a strange day for me; it was pretty boring, honestly,” Johnson said. “Fifteen pars in a row, that’s pretty annoying, to be honest. I had some good looks, but I just wasn’t able to make anything until I got those couple of birdies coming in.”

Greenskeepers rolled back the fronts of the fringes following Tuesday’s round, leading to some quick rolls for golfers whose attempts to reach the green came up just short. That caused some problems for Johnson on the front nine, though he ultimately achieved a bogey-free round.

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“They were definitely a little quicker today, so you had to make sure you were below the hole, which I did not,” Johnson said. “That made it a little more stressful, but overall it was fine. … I liked the golf course; it’s fun, and there’s lots of birdies to be made out there.”

Fletcher Babcock (Danielson, Connecticut) tied for the day’s best score at 6-under 64 to finish 7-under overall and place fifth. Patrick Williams also shot a 64 Wednesday and finished tied for sixth overall with fellow Floridian Jimmy Jones.

J.J. Harris of Windham (1-over 71 Wednesday; 1-over overall) finished second to Warren in the Maine pro division.

Earlier in the day, Quinn and Luke Ruffing of Sidney were tied atop the amateur class at 2-under. Yet, while Ruffing quadruple-bogeyed 16, Quinn maintained consistent play with birdies on 7, 9, 10 and 16 to easily survive a bogey on 18 and claim the four-stroke victory over Daniel Suter.

Quinn, who was playing on his home course, also won the junior title by 26 strokes.

“The course was not playing easy today, and I know this place better than anyone else, so I knew I just had to play my game,” Quinn said. “I only had one three-putt today, and I had four yesterday. The course is definitely a lot quicker this year, so I had to lay back a little bit on those putts.”

Defending Maine Open champ Sean Bosdosh (Clarksburg, Maryland) shot a 4-under 66 to finish tied for 23rd at 2-over. Eli Spaulding, who tied Quinn atop the amateur leaderboard at last year’s Maine Open, shot a 1-under 69 on the day to tie for seventh at 4-over in the amateur field.

Mike Mandell came to the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel in April 2022 after spending five and a half years with The Ellsworth American in Hancock County, Maine. He came to Maine out of college after...

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