The Town Council, yet again, told a crowd of more than 100 people who turned out Thursday night for a workshop about SouthCoast Wind that there was no current proposal or contract for the town to …
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.”