By Dalton Balthaser

 

Photo Gallery: http://bit.ly/2Kwx6ou

 

WARWICK, R.I. - A lot has changed since Brad Valois won his last Rhode Island Golf Association Major.

 

Since he won the 2015 Stroke Play Championship at Green Valley Country Club he’s lost 85 pounds, committed to improving his overall health and struggled to find the form that made him one of the best players the RIGA has seen in the last 25 years.

 

The same form that won three consecutive Junior Amateurs (2002-04), four Rhode Island Amateurs (2006-07, 2011, 2013) and two Stroke Play titles (2014-15).

 

He was also the stroke-play medalist in the 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Conway Farms Golf Club.

 

Valois, channeling some old memories and form, took the lead in the 36th Stroke Play at Valley Country Club (par 72, 6,458 yards) after a round of 66 Tuesday.

 

The cut line fell at 76. The remaining players will play 36 holes on Wednesday. 

 

His round included plenty of fireworks after a pedestrian start. After playing his first five holes in 1 over, he stepped on the gas and played the last 13 holes in 7 under.

 

“I didn’t get off to the greatest of starts but my mother Abigail was out here with me and it felt like old times,” said Valois, 32, of Warwick. “I got rid of any expectations coming into this event since it has been such a poor year for me. I’ve been playing the polar opposite of what I am used to. I wanted to make it more fun today. I saw glimpses of how I used to play, which was nice.”

 

Valois, of the host club, got his birdie barrage started on No. 6 (par 3, 133 yards). He stuffed a pitching wedge to three feet and backed it up with a tap-in birdie on No. 7 (par 4, 378 yards).

 

He kept the momentum going with three consecutive birdies on Nos. 12 (par 3, 187 yards), 13 (par 4, 387 yards) and 14 (par 4, 365 yards). Each birdie putt was inside eight feet. A result of precise iron and wedge play.

 

Valois then closed with a bang. He eagled No. 16 (par 5, 458 yards) after hitting an 8-iron from 169 yards to 12 feet. He two-putted for birdie on No. 18 (par 5, 544 yards).

 

“Today’s round was well above and beyond my expectations,” said Valois. “It was a good step forward for me. The next hurdle will be to play well on consecutive days as ridiculous as that sounds. When I was younger I wanted to play well all summer, now it is just about playing well two days in a row.”

 

Valois hasn’t won a match in the Rhode Island Amateur in five years after a seven-year run that got him four titles. He said it hasn’t been fun getting old but said his performance Tuesday could be a turning point for him.

 

“Getting older and having to work has limited my time to play,” said Valois. “For me, it has been tough to get the time I had when I was younger and put in a lot of time practicing. In all honesty, today’s round might have been my first one under par all year. My golf game has been torture. I am just happy to make the cut.”

 

With a 36-hole marathon ahead on Wednesday, Valois said it doesn’t matter what you did on Day One.

 

“If someone is behind today but goes out tomorrow and lights it up, they can put themselves in front and separate themselves from the field,” said Valois. “You can’t separate yourself today but the player that gets hot tomorrow will win.”

 

Senior Division

 

2019 John Burke Memorial (Gross) Senior Division champion Jon Fasick along with Metacomet Golf Club’s Dean Parziale set the pace in the Senior Division with rounds of 1-under-par 71 at Valley (par 72, 6,175 yards).

 

New England Country Club’s Fasick went bogey-free with one birdie on No. 16 (par 5, 449 yards) and Metacomet Golf Club’s Parziale mixed five birdies with four bogeys.

 

A total of 21 seniors made the cut with scores of 76 or better.