CHARLEVOIX >> A stunning, seeing-eye 60-foot birdie putt on No. 16 tied the match, and a two-putt par from 20 feet wrapped it up on No. 18.

Caleb Bond, a Michigan State University golfer from Williamston beat PJ Maybank, a University of Oklahoma golfer from Cheboygan, 1-up, in tense and birdie-filled championship match at the 114th Michigan Amateur Championship presented by Carl’s Golfland Saturday at 100-year-old Belvedere Golf Club.

“As much as you can wish to win every week, it’s really hard,” said Bond who with the victory will have his name inscribed on the historic Staghorn Trophy and earn a USGA exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship later this summer.

“To win an event like this, especially with match play takes a lot of luck and a lot of help. I think that’s always the goal and I think having to give that speech with the trophy is something you play through your head ever since you were a kid. Winning is always the goal, and you just kind of keep your head down and hit one shot at a time out there.”

Birdies were winning holes, and Bond went 1-up on the first hole with a birdie, and Maybank tied it on the second with a birdie. Bond had the biggest lead in the match at 2-up, but Maybank holed a 30-foot flop shot from heavy rough for a birdie at No. 7 and then won No. 9 with a par to tie the match through nine holes.

Maybank made a birdie on No. 10 to take his first lead, but Bond tied it at No. 12 with a birdie. Maybank made a birdie on 15 to lead again, and then Bond dropped the dramatic putt at 16.

“I made a little bit of a mistake in my driving in the rough there, especially with that pin (hole location off the front right edge),” he said. “I hit a decent wedge, but it had to be 60 feet. PJ missing the green there gave me a little bit of an opportunity. I didn’t expect to make it. I just focused on the speed and kind of finding a good line. That was pretty fortunate and just a good putt that went in the hole.”

Bond earned his spot in the finals with a 4 and 2 semifinal win over Zach Koerner of Laingsburg, his former roommate at Ferris State University before he transferred a year ago to MSU.

Maybank, meanwhile, topped Adam Burghardt, a former Wayne State University golfer from Clinton Township, 1-up in another match that stretched for all 18 holes. The semifinals were delayed until the afternoon because of rain and lightning, and the championship match didn’t start until 5 p.m.

Maybank said Bond played great in the final.

“I didn’t hit a very good iron shot (on 18) and had about a 50-footer downhill, and uphill and back downhill again and I left it 10-feet short and missed that unfortunately,” Maybank said. “All he had to do was get his par. Hey, but he played awesome. He deserves it. I thought I had him when I was 2-up, but then he made that freaky 60-footer on 16. I guess that’s golf. You lose a lot more than you win that’s for sure.”

Bond said beating Maybank, a two-time Michigan Junior State Amateur champion and top-level recruit out of high school, was a full-circle moment.

“I know how good PJ is and it was great to see him come back to the Michigan Am this year,” he said. “I think everybody appreciates great competition. There are so many great players here. I played PJ in the semifinals of the Michigan Junior (State Amateur) and lost on 18. It was my turn to win on 18 this time and that was pretty awesome.”

Bond gave an emotional speech during the trophy ceremony and made sure to thank his parents, Alexis and Brian Bond, and his 15-year-old sister Cara, who caddied for him. She said she isn’t a golfer, but she enjoyed carrying the bag.

“It was an incredible week,” Bond said. “The kind you dream about, and it feels amazing to be going to the U.S. Amateur.”