Rhode Island Senior Four-Ball: George Pirie and Tom Acciardo are Winners

10 May 2016
by Rhode Island Golf Association
see also: View results for Rhode Island Senior Four-Ball, Wanumetonomy Golf and Country Club
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CRANSTON, RI (May 10, 2016) - George Pirie and Tom Acciardo have turned in many impressive performances as they have piled up RIGA titles over the past 30 years, but their work on Tuesday might have been their best and most satisfying yet.

Those two won the association’s 23rd Senior Four-Ball Championship at Alpine for the fourth year in a row and fifth time overall with a great display of teamwork. They combined for the low round of the tournament, a 5-under 67, for a 36-hole total of 6-under 138. That was two better than the teams of Paul Quigley and Mike Soucy and Don Wright and Norm Levesque.

What made the performance even more special than usual was the way they did it. Where Pirie, an RIGA Hall of Famer, often has been the leader, this time he struggled much of the way. It was Acciardo who kept the team in the title chase and held everything together as the two posted a 71 in the opening round.

"He knows that he didn’t have the same partner he used to have," Pirie said of Acciardo.

Pirie had undergone heart surgery in which a pacemaker was placed in his body last fall. The 66-year-old periodontist posted his highest round ever, an 87, in the opening round of the Burke Memorial last week at Wanumetonomy. It looked as if his championship days were done. But, ever the competitor, he refused to quit.

"I begged him to see me," Pirie related. The doctor did dental surgery on Friday then headed to Harbour’s teaching school. "I didn’t get out of surgery until 6 o’clock. I didn’t get to see him until 7:30. He waited for me," Pirie said. "He took one look at me and said, `I can’t believe this move you’re making.' He instantly spotted a problem and he told me how to fix it."

Pirie said it took some work, "you can’t automatically go from one thing to another. I’m not that good. The move was very foreign to me," Pirie explained. "I told myself I was trying to figure this thing out. I spent at night watching tapes."

Still, in Monday’s first round, he struggled. It was Acciardo, the former Barrington High golf coach who now works at Agawam Hunt, who kept the team in the chase.

"He keeps me focused. He’s a great partner. He supports you regardless of the shot, so you really want to grind for him,’’ Acciardo said of his partner. "Yesterday, he was trying to find his swing. He kept me going and we were able to keep the round going."

Early on, fellow Hall of Famer Quigley created the spark. He holed out for eagle on the par-4 3rd hole then birdied the next hole. Through the first half of the round, everything was wide open. A wild finish was expected since so many teams were bunched heading down the stretch. Through 27-holes, no fewer than six teams were one-stroke apart at the top of the leaderboard.

The teams of Quigley and Soucy and first-day leaders Levesque and Wright stood at 3-under. The combinations Acciardo and Pirie, Joe Hassett-Herb Stevens, Barry Higham-Kevin Nery and Dave McNally-Peter Sozek all were 2-under with nine to play.

Then Pirie and Acciardo turned on the gas. "Yesterday, he was trying to find his swing,’’ Acciardo said. "Today it was the doc of old. The ball never left the flag and we got it going on the back nine."

The pair birdied 10, 12, 13 and 16 for 31 on the back side.

"In the end, we actually started to play really strong. We got stronger irons on the pin, longer tee shots. I’m excited at 66-years-old,’ Pirie said. "After last week, you’ve got to be kidding me."