By Joe McDonald
RIGA Senior Writer
MIDDLETOWN – Chris O’Neill and Brian O’Leary needed a little bit of Irish luck to capture the 31st Senior Four-Ball Gross Championship Wednesday afternoon at Wanumetonomy Golf & Country Club.
Thanks to an outstanding 40-foot birdie putt by O’Neill, they outlasted the teams of Peter Alofsin/Luke Hyder and Chris Roloff/George Potsidis to win the championship on the second playoff hole after each team finished tied at 4-under for the tournament. The first playoff hole wasn’t kind to O’Neill, but his teammate bailed him out and birdied the hole, matching Alofsin and Hyder. On the second playoff hole (the par-3 17th hole) both Alofsin and O’Neill landed their respective tee shots on the green. Alofsin putted firsts and just missed it before O’Neill sank his for the victory.
“Brian made a great birdie on 16 to keep us going,” admitted O’Neill. “Luckily, I had an opportunity to see a competitor’s putt before me because I was reading it the other way. Then I saw his putt and Brian gave me a great read and I just trusted it. It’s a great feeling . . . I’m still a little stunned that I made the putt and that I’m a champion. I love playing with Brian – tremendous player – and I’m very comfortable with him.”
While it was an overall fun experience for the winning team, they were a bit nervous on No. 18 and finished with a bogey that set up the three-way playoff.
“We kind of messed up the 18th hole, but we said, ‘Let’s redeem ourselves’ and we birdied 16 and 17 (in the playoff) and Chris made a great putt to get his first title in 48 years,” O’Leary said.
They produced a consistent effort both days of the tournament and held it together until they collected their trophies.
“Chris always says, ‘Let’s try to get two in the fairway and two on the green’ and if we’re both putting it takes the pressure off,” O’Leary said of the team’s overall play.
The entire field enjoyed two incredible days at Wanumetonomy G&CC. The conditions and weather were outstanding and all the players raved about the course. O’Neill made it a point during Wednesday’s round to introduce himself to the Wanumetonomy superintendent Shaun Marcellus and thanked him for the outstanding conditions.
“I just wanted to tell him how great this place really is,” explained O’Neill. “It’s in fabulous condition. It’s always tough when the wind’s blowing, but as far as the condition, it’s A1. Congratulations to the entire team here for the job they do with this golf course.”
In fact, O’Leary competed in the State Amateur here in 2022 and he thought it was in tremendous shape then and couldn’t believe how much better it was this time.
“It’s actually getting better and better,” he said. “They’re doing all the right things here and they’re really lucky with their superintendent.”
The only thing missing was a rainbow over Narragansett Bay.