By Dalton Balthaser

 

LINCOLN – The Rhode Island winters are not conducive to much golf. At this point, Rhode Island in the spring doesn’t offer hope to eager golfers either.

 

Tom McCormick usually puts his clubs away once the calendar hits October. The former hockey standout is used to spending his winters on or around the ice.

 

“I’ve been feeling terrible about my game,” said McCormick, 42, of Warwick. “I have been hitting weak and spinny fades. I came out to Kirkbrae Sunday to play and the wind was whipping just like it was today. I made a little adjustment and hit a rope. I don’t play golf from November to April and I don’t go south. I used to coach hockey, so I was used to putting the sticks away.”

 

McCormick showed no signs of rust, carding a round of 69 in U.S. Open (Local) Qualifying at Kirkbrae Country Club (par 72, 6,676 yards) Tuesday. He shared medalist honors with professional Fletcher Babcock who matched him in the final group of the day.

 

“I hit the first 16 greens in regulation,” said McCormick. “I couldn’t have hit the ball any better. I was hitting it within a yard of where I wanted to hit it. It was one of those days, where everything felt good. Since I haven’t played in so long, I was making little adjustments out on the course that worked well.”

 

Professionals Jimmy Hervol of Hopkinton, Mass. and University of Rhode Island junior Bryson Richards of Plainfield, Vt. carded rounds of 71 to advance.

 

Matt Baran, a professional out of Osterville, Mass., grabbed the last spot with a round of 72.

 

The 122nd U.S. Open will take place June 16-19 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.

 

McCormick, the 2005 #RIAmateur Champion at Kirkbrae and a member since, put his local knowledge to play in blustery conditions.

 

“Coming into today I wasn’t expecting to qualify but I wanted to find something I could work on,” said McCormick. “Playing a tournament round and putting the ball in the hole this early in the season helps give you the barometer on your golf game.”

 

He found his game quickly. McCormick made the turn in 3 under and made birdies on Nos. 10 (par 4, 324 yards) and 12 (par 5, 479 yards) to get to 5 under.

 

“I kept thinking to put as many birdies in the bank as I could,” said McCormick, the reigning club champion at Kirkbrae. “I knew it would be easy to give some away on the tough closing stretch here. I just wanted to hold on.”

 

This was the first time McCormick tried to qualify for the U.S. Open. He will make his first trip to Final Qualifying on June 6 at Century Country Club and Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, N.Y.

 

“U.S. Open Qualifying is so early in the season living in Rhode Island,” said McCormick. “I usually don’t play because my game is nowhere near ready. But with it being at my home club, I wanted to give it a shot.

 

“I don’t expect anything at Final Qualifying. I just want to enjoy every second of it. There are usually some big names competing there. I am just some schlub computer guy that will be competing against some tour pros. I have nothing to lose.”

 

Babcock is making a return trip to Final Qualifying also. He was red-hot in a round that consisted of seven birdies in his first 12 holes. He advanced through Local Qualifying in 2019 at Ledgemont Country Club in Seekonk, Mass.

 

“I feel good about my game,” said Babcock, a professional out of Danielson, Conn. “When the putter works, golf seems to come a lot easier to me. You had to play well throughout the first 13 holes to advance. The last five holes at Kirkbrae are brutal, especially with this wind.

 

“Controlling your golf ball is so important in these conditions. I have never had an issue with flighting the golf ball. I knew if I played my game and hit the ball solid, I would be in good shape."

 

Babcock, a teaching professional out of Connecticut National Golf Club and Bear’s Virtual Golf, was right. He bogeyed three of his last five holes to tie McCormick for medalist. But it doesn’t matter because he did what he had to do to qualify.

 

Babcock is still deciding which qualifying site he will head to.

 

“I think having experience in Final Qualifying will help me,” said Babcock, 29. “You know what to expect and what you must do to succeed. I am looking forward to it.”