Brother-In-Laws win Rhode Island Four-Ball
5/25/2016 | by Rhode Island Golf Association
see also: Potowomut Golf Club
Brother-in-laws Tyler Cooke and Bobby Leopold teams for Rhode Island Four-Ball
MIDDLETOWN, RI (May 25, 2016) - Tyler Cooke calls it brotherly love. He and his brother-in-law, Bobby Leopold, both are top players. Put them together as a team and they become all but unbeatable. At least they have been in the last two years in the RIGA Four-Ball Championship.
The two won the event convincingly for the second year in a row on Tuesday when they combined for a 7-under 65 at Newport National. With their 62 on Monday at Carnegie Abbey, that gave them a 36-hole total of 16-under 127 and a five-stroke victory over the teams of Kyle Hoffman and Ryan Pelletier, Billy Forcier and Michael Philipp and Dave Carvara and Kevin Silva.
While they did not match their 59-60 performance and 13-stroke win last year, Cooke and Leopold remained extremely impressive.
"We haven’t made a bogey in two years," Cooke pointed out.
In the first round, Cooke led the way with seven birdies. At Newport National, Leopold, a two-time State Amateur champion, stepped up his game. "I helped him some, but he played terrific, especially on the front," Cooke said of his brother-in-law.
The two began with a two-stroke lead and any doubt about whether they would be able to defend was dispelled before the front nine was finished on a cool, overcast day which only added to the European feel of the beautiful Newport National layout.
Leopold eagled the 495-yard, par-5 eighth hole. "I had 230 in but it was straight into the wind,’’ Leopold said. "I thought I could hit three-wood."
He did, to 10 feet, and made the eagle putt. He then birdied nine, as well, and the team was one its way to another title.
Silva and Carvara had a 65, Hoffman and Pelletier 66 and Forcier and Philipp a 68 to get into the second-place tie.
Hoffman and Pelletier, who won this event in both 2013 and ’14, were helped when Hoffman holed out a wedge for an eagle on the 396-yard par-4 15th. But that team hurt itself in the area where it usually excels, the par-5s. "We didn’t birdie any of the par-5s," Pelletier said. "That’s not us."
State Amateur champion Silva ran off three straight birdies on the back side to boost his team. That came after his partner, Dave Carvara, had made three birds on the front. Forcier pulled his team into the tie for second when he knocked his approach on the closing hole within three feet and birdied.
About the Rhode Island Four-Ball
36-hole four-ball stroke play championship, open to members of RIGA member clubs. Must have a combined team handicap of 18.0 or less.
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
Luke Ringkamp Cruises to Rolex Tournament of Champions Title at TPC San Antonio
Nov 26, 2025One week after committing to Pepperdine, Luke Ringkamp won the Rolex Tournament of Champions by nine shots.