18-year-old becomes tourney’s youngest champion
A sometimes-contentious championship match turned downright ugly Sunday at the Gold Course at Congressional. But Sean Bosdosh withstood controversy and the comeback of Keith Unikel to become the youngest winner in the 89-year history of the Maryland Amateur.
Making a clutch par from a fairway bunker on the second playoff hole, and 38th of the day, the Maryland-bound Bosdosh, 18, won the biggest event of his budding career.
“I never expected to be in this position,” said Bosdosh, a Clarksburg resident. “All I wanted was to qualify [for match play]. I just had a lot of confidence coming into the rounds. I just told myself, ‘No one can beat me.’ I tried to play that way.”
Bosdosh emerged after a disagreement over a non-conceded putt on the 33rd hole. Frustrated by a 3-putt bogey, Unikel swiped his ball away before Bosdosh conceded the tap-in. After Bosdosh summoned an official, Unikel was penalized a stroke. Bosdosh then made a short bogey putt to win the hole, much to the frustration of Unikel, who went 2 down.
When Bosdosh hit his ensuing tee shot, Unikel yelled, “Get in the bunker.”
“It was my error in judgment, but you know what, a 3- or 4-inch putt, we’ve been giving them all day,” said Unikel, 31, of Bethesda. “I don’t respect him for that move, but he played well.”
Bosdosh, the son of acclaimed teaching pro Steve Bosdosh (Four Streams), had a strong run, beating future Maryland teammate Tom Hanna in the second round and 2008 champion Mike Mulieri in the semifinals.
In Sunday’s title match, Unikel made three birdies in a span of four holes to take a 3-up lead. But Bosdosh reversed the momentum, nearly holing an 8-iron on the 174-yard 18th.
On the second 18, Bosdosh started with 10 straight pars, and made Unikel pay for every mistake, going from 2 down to 3 up. Unikel appeared finished when he lost his composure on the 15th. But then he won the next two holes.
At No. 16, Unikel rolled a 40-footer from the fringe to within 6 inches, asking Bosdosh, “So is that good?” Bosdosh appearing rattled, left his 30-foot downhill putt 4 feet short, then missed the par putt, handing the hole to Unikel.
At the next hole, a 407-yard par 4, both players drove to the fairway and made spectacular approaches. But after Unikel drained his 8-footer, Bosdosh missed his 6-footer for birdie, leaving the match tied. It was the fifth straight green that Bosdosh missed a putt inside 8 feet.
“I got a little sidetracked,” said Bosdosh of the controversy. “But I got back on track, hit my shots, worried about what I was doing and not about what he was doing.”
After routine pars for both players on the next two holes, Bosdosh and Unikel hooked tee shots into a fairway bunker at No. 2. After Bosdosh hit a wedge to the back of the green, leaving himself a 30-foot putt, Unikel missed the green left and had a delicate downhill flop shot to a tight pin.
After Unikel one-bounced his chip off the green, Bosdosh putted to within inches for a par, forcing Unikel to chip in to extend the match. Unikel shipped his shot past the hole and shook the hand of Bosdosh, and his caddy, older brother Steven Bosdosh, who will transfer to Maryland this fall, joining him on the golf team.
“I didn’t even know that,” said Sean Bosdosh when told he was the youngest winner in Maryland Am history. “I feel honored to be able to play in the tournament. To be able to win it is awesome.”
For Unikel, it was a bittersweet return to competitive golf after playing in just one tournament five years. Unikel, a former two-time state champion at Churchill and All-American at Maryland, played five years of mini-tour golf before returning to the area to work as a wealth manager.
“I quit because of days like today,” said Unikel. “I play probably 20 to 25 rounds a year, half of those scrambles.”
After firing a back nine 33 in the morning, Unikel was frustrated by his driving and putting on the second 18. He drove three balls into the woods, losing each hole. He also had three 3-putt greens. When he finally made a 5-footer at No. 14, his first birdie in 14 holes, he raised his arms in mock jubilation.
“It makes me want to play less,” said Unikel, “You can’t play 25 rounds a year and compete in tournaments. What ends up happening, you make yourself crazy for three weeks. It’s not fun for me.”
