July 18, 2021 11:47 pm
By Dalton Balthaser
LINCOLN – At the end of one of the longest weeks in the history of the Rhode Island Amateur, Bobby Leopold cemented his name among the elites.
Leopold, a previous two-time champion (2009, 2014), put on a ball-striking clinic to defeat Pawtucket Country Club’s Andrew O’Leary, 5&4, to claim the 116th Rhode Island Amateur Sunday at Kirkbrae Country Club (par 72, 6,647 yards).
He played the 32 holes in bogey-free 10 under, including a 65 in the first 18 holes while O’Leary shot 70. That gave Leopold a 5-up edge heading into the second 18.
“Today my ball-striking was stupid,” said Leopold. “I stood over my driver on each hole and told myself to hit it as hard as I could each time. I was hitting bullets with the driver. It was one of those days where everything seemed to go well. My body felt good. I wasn’t tired and my body wasn’t in pain.”
For McKinley Slade, eight years ago was in a whole other life.
In 2013, he reached the Quarterfinals of the 108th Rhode Island Amateur at Quidnessett Country Club as an 18-year-old on his way to Bryant University. He fell to Wannamoisett Country Club’s Bobby Leopold, 1-up.
“There’s not as much pressure,” said Slade. “When I was a kid, all I was doing was playing competitive golf. Since I took some time away from playing competitively, when I came back, golf didn’t seem like life or death. Now I have a job and other things in life to focus on. Golf is a hobby for me now, not the career it felt like while playing junior golf.”
PAWTUCKET – Darkened McCoy Stadium will be bright for one night when the city sets off a one-time fireworks display on July 3, the date the stadium’s largest display was traditionally held when the Pawtucket Red Sox were playing here.
Mayor Donald Grebien and the Pawtucket City Council announced that the city will be hosting the Independence Day celebration fireworks event at McCoy Stadium at 9 p.m. that day.
The Breeze previously reported that the city was working on holding some type of fireworks display despite the stadium no longer being occupied by the PawSox, with the team previously responsible for up to 17 fireworks displays per season. Developers of a new soccer stadium on the riverfront have said that they want to be part of future displays.
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