Brad Valois wins Rhode Island Stroke Play
7/30/2014 | by
see also: View results for Rhode Island Stroke Play, Ledgemont Country Club
Brad Valois has added Stroke Play Champion to his long list of Rhode Island Golf Association titles
From the Rhode Island Golf Association
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (July 30, 2014) -- Brad Valois has added Stroke Play Champion to his long list of Rhode Island Golf Association titles.
The four-time State Amateur winner captured the Stroke Play for the first time on Wednesday and did it in exciting fashion, edging Bobby Leopold, the guy who beat him in this year’s Amateur final, in a playoff at Pawtucket Country Club.
The two finished the regulation 54 holes at 4-under 203, one off the tournament record. Valois won with a par on the second playoff hole. Leopold missed the green left, chipped to 10 feet and then missed the par putt. Valois had stuck his approach on the 435-yard par-4 within five feet. Knowing he could win with two putts, he gently lagged his birdie attempt inches from the hole and tapped in for the victory.
``It was an eventful day,’’ the Metacomet star said.
He began the day four strokes back and recorded a sparkling 5-under 64 in the morning 18 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round. He lost his lead when Leopold went 3-under in his first eight, including an eagle. Valois forced the playoff by draining an eight-foot birdie putt on the last hole, then won it in the playoff.
While Valois has had another solid year _ earlier this week he qualified for the U.S. Mid Amateur _ he has not won titles, so there has been some frustration.
``This feels good,’’ he said. ``I needed a win.’’
Valois said a friend at Metcomet got him to try a new putter.
``They started dropping this morning,’’ he said. ``It helped. ‘’
Both players had chances to win on the first playoff hole, the 379-yard 18th. Leopold hit his approach within 15 feet, Valois within eight. But both birdie putts lipped out.
The playoff in the 31st annual Stroke Play was a fitting ending since there were so many twists and turns during the 36-hole final day. Valois had burst out of a tightly bunched pack after Tuesday’s opening round with a stellar performance in the morning’s second round. Starting on the back nine, he had birds at 10, 11, 13 and 16 for a 30 on the back side, then had birds on 3 and 8. Even with a bogey on the closing hole, he had a 5-under 64 and a 134 total through 36 holes, good enough for a three-stroke lead.
The race tightened early in the final round. When Valois bogeyed both 9 and 10, he dropped to 2-under for the tournament. Leopold, playing four holes behind him, eagled the eighth, the course’s only par-5. That vaulted him out of a four-way tie for the lead with Valois, first-day leader Ryan Pelletier and 2012 champion Jamison Randall and into the lead at 4-under.
Leopold was steady from there, running off nine straight pars on the back. While the other contenders were unable to make a charge, Valois birdied 14 to get to 3-under and then drained his eight-footer on the 18th to tie Leopold for the lead.
Two of the rising stars in RIGA play, Kyle Hoffman and Mike Hamilton, tied for third at 2-under 205. Those two played in the same threesome with Valois and put on the best show of the tournament in the final round. Hamilton recorded a 65, Hoffman 66 and Valois 69. The three combined for a best-ball of 60 over the final 18.
Leopold was bidding to become only the third payer in RIGA history to win Amateur and Stroke Play in same year. Charlie Blanchard did it in 2002 and Garrett Medeiros in 2010
In the morning’s second round, 69-year-old Paul Quigley, who has won this event nine times, shot a 68, one better than his age. It was the second straight year in which Quigley bettered his age in the tournament. He had a 67 last year when the event was at Crestwood. Quigley finished the tournament at 215. He was edged out for the Senior Division title by his longtime rival and fellow RIGA Hall of Famer, Dr. George Pirie
At the other end of the age spectrum, 14-year-old Patrick Welch had rounds of 68 and 69 to finish at even-par 207, in a tie for fifth.
Another of the day’s highlights was the appearance of RIGA Hall of Famer Norm Lutz. Lutz is the greatest player in Pawtucket history. He won the club championship 19 times, over six different decades beginning in 1958. A former Amateur champion and RIGA president, Lutz still plays to an eight-handicap.
About the Rhode Island Stroke Play
Format: 54 Holes - Stroke Play. Eligibility: Handicap index of 12.0 or less. Member of RIGA member club.
Most Popular Articles
2025 PGA TOUR Q-School Guide: Sites, Scores, and Who Advanced
Dec 5, 2025Second Stage is complete and Final Stage awaits at Sawgrass — follow every Q-School leaderboard and the players still chasing
2025 LPGA TOUR Q-Series: Final Qualifying Stage FINAL SCORING
Dec 8, 2025Helen Briem earns medalist honors, 31 players headed to the LPGA next year
2025 PGA TOUR Q-School Final Stage: Ewart Leads Five New TOUR Card Winners
Dec 14, 2025A.J. Ewart topped Final Stage at TPC Sawgrass, leading five players who secured PGA TOUR membership for 2026.
Australian Open at Royal Melbourne: Preview, amateur bios, and how to watch
Nov 30, 2025Rory McIlroy headlines one of the championship's top fields in years - at least four amateurs will have their chance at glory
Inside Gil Hanse’s Restoration of Baltusrol’s Upper Course: A Return to Tillinghast’s
Dec 11, 2025Renowned architect Gil Hanse reveals how he brought Baltusrol’s Upper Course back to life by honoring A.W. Tillinghast’s original