Golfweek - Golf News Magazine

By RON BALICKI
Senior Writer

RUMFORD, R.I. – The most difficult stretch of holes at Wannamoisett Country Club are Nos. 1-4.

“For our members, if you’re standing on the fifth tee and you’re 2 over, you feel you’ve done well, and that includes our best players,” said club member and Northeast Amateur chairman Denny Glass. “It’s just one tough stretch of holes.”

Someone forgot to tell Brendan Gielow. If they did, he wasn’t listening during Saturday’s final round of the 47th Northeast Amateur.

The Wake Forest junior made three consecutive birdies to start the day on his way to a 3-under 66 and the biggest victory of his budding career.

Sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole, Gielow set a new tournament record with his 9-under 267 total, topping the old mark held by John Cook (1979), Luke Donald (2000), and Kyle Reifers (2005).

And with his previous rounds of 68-66-67, Gielow became the only player in tournament history to post four sub-par rounds.

“The key was having such a great start,” said Gielow, who tied for second at this year’s NCAA Central Regional. “It really helped relax me. My goal was to make par on the first couple holes so this was a big-time bonus and certainly was what carried me through the round.”

The gauntlet of Nos. 1-4 is comprised of the par-4, 428-yard, uphill opening hole and the 474-yard second; the par-3, 138-yard third – where missing the green often produces bogey; and the par-4, 445-yard fourth.

Gielow, of Muskegon, Mich., finished three strokes in front of Nathan Smith, the 29-year-old financial advisor from Pittsburgh. Smith, the 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, also closed with a 66.

“I’m proud of how I played this week,” said Smith, who tied for third two weeks ago at the Sunnehanna Amateur. “I’ll take a lot out of the week. To shoot 6 under on this golf course is great. I just happen to run into someone who played better. My hat is off to him.”

Billy Horschel, a senior at Florida and three-time All-American, closed with a 65 and finished third at 4-under 273. Horschel was scheduled to leave Rhode Island Sunday on his way to Scotland where he will represent the U.S. in the Palmer Cup.

John Hahn, who helped lead Kent State to a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championship, had the low round of the day, a 6-under 63. He carded eight birdies and a pair of bogeys in matching the tournament’s low round for the week.

Hahn tied for fourth a 1 under, along with Marquette senior Mike Van Sickle, who closed with a 64, Todd White (68), the 1990 Northeast Am champ, Kevin Tway (70), a sophomore at Oklahoma State, and Rory Hie (69), a first-team All-American from USC.

Gielow, whose father Eric caddied for him, took a two-shot lead into the final round. His three quick birdies took him to 9 under. When he birdied No. 9 to turn in 4-under 30 and get to 10 under, he was five shots clear of Smith, who birdied Nos. 1 and 9.

Smith birdied the 10th and when Gielow bogeyed Nos. 11 and 14, the lead was cut to three. Smith birdied the 17th, the course’s only par 5, and the margin was two.

Gielow had a chance to pad his lead, but missed an 8-foot birdie putt on 17. Still he took a two-shot edge to the final hole as Smith closed his round with a par.

“I never looked at a scoreboard, but after the way I started I had a good idea I was leading,” Gielow said. “I took a peak at the scoreboard when I got to the 18th green and saw I had a two-shot lead.

“I really wanted to make that last putt, not only to get the record, but just for the feeling of birdieng the last hole to win,” Gielow said.

And when he did, it capped the greatest week of his golfing life. He has yet to win in college and said it’s been “three or four years since I won a tournament. It feels like it’s been forever.”

When that last putt disappeared into the cup, Gielow broke into a big smile and let out a huge sigh.

It was worth the wait.

• • •

Ron Balicki is a Golfweek senior writer. To reach him e-mail rbalicki@golfweek.com.

---

Final scores with relation to par from the Northeast Amateur, played June 18-21 at the 6,688-yard, par-69 Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I.:

1. Brendan Gielow	68-66-67-66--267			-9
2. Nathan Smith	63-69-72-66--270			-6
3. Billy Horschel	70-70-68-65--273			-3
4. John Hahn	73-73-66-63--275			-1
4. Mike Van Sickle	70-70-71-64--275			-1
4. Todd White	68-68-71-68--275			-1
4. Rory Hie	67-66-73-69--275			-1
4. Kevin Tway	67-68-70-70--275			-1
9. Danny Lee	67-68-71-70--276			E
10. Brent Paladino	68-71-71-67--277		+	1
10. Philip Francis	65-70-74-68--277		+	1
10. Jon Curran	70-68-67-72--277		+	1
10. Will Strickler	69-67-67-74--277		+	1
14. Brian Harman	70-75-67-66--278		+	2
14. Matthew Swan	71-69-69-69--278		+	2
16. Mike McCoy	72-71-72-65--280		+	4
16. Cody Paladino	68-69-74-69--280		+	4
16. Morgan Hoffmann	72-66-71-71--280		+	4
16. Robert Rohanna	63-70-74-73--280		+	4
16. Dan Woltman	66-69-69-76--280		+	4
21. Matt Savage	72-71-71-67--281		+	5
21. Greg Forest	66-72-74-69--281		+	5
21. Bo Hoag	73-74-65-69--281		+	5
21. Charlie Blanchard	68-68-73-72--281		+	5
21. Sean Knapp	69-67-72-73--281		+	5
21. Peter Uihlein	69-68-71-73--281		+	5
27. Hudson Swafford	73-69-74-66--282		+	6
27. Brad Valois	72-70-70-70--282		+	6
27. Jon McLean	68-70-72-72--282		+	6
27. Sihwan Kim	69-71-70-72--282		+	6
27. Kevin Foley	68-75-66-73--282		+	6
32. Carlton Forrester	70-78-69-66--283		+	7
32. Cameron Tringale	68-72-73-70--283		+	7
34. Cameron Wilson	69-76-71-68--284		+	8
34. Jin Jeong	71-74-70-69--284		+	8
34. Grant Scott	71-72-71-70--284		+	8
34. Chris Gold	73-69-72-70--284		+	8
34. David Marino	73-72-67-72--284		+	8
39. Drew Kittleson	71-73-70-71--285		+	9
39. David McAndrew	72-70-72-71--285		+	9
39. Sam Cyr	70-72-71-72--285		+	9
42. Mark Anderson	74-73-71-68--286		+	10
42. Kelly Kraft	75-75-68-68--286		+	10
42. Jeffrey Hedden	73-72-72-69--286		+	10
42. Chesson Hadley	68-72-70-76--286		+	10
46. Eddie Olson	74-72-74-67--287		+	11
46. Phillip Mollica	71-68-79-69--287		+	11
46. Mu Hu	74-68-72-73--287		+	11
46. Matt Jager	71-67-76-73--287		+	11
46. Tim Schaetzel	73-69-71-74--287		+	11
51. Jason Scrivener	72-75-73-68--288		+	12
51. Mark Johnson	75-69-72-72--288		+	12
51. Jesse Speirs	72-71-71-74--288		+	12
51. Nick Gillespie	69-73-72-74--288		+	12
51. David Tobon	67-71-75-75--288		+	12
51. Gene Elliott	73-68-70-77--288		+	12
51. Lanto Griffin	71-69-70-78--288		+	12
58. Michael Blodgett	72-72-75-70--289		+	13
58. Hudson Johnson	79-70-67-73--289		+	13
58. Michael Morrison	71-72-70-76--289		+	13
61. Mark Stevens	77-69-73-71--290		+	14
61. Michael Quagliano	69-73-72-76--290		+	14
63. John Chin	75-71-75-70--291		+	15
63. Bill Hadden	71-71-76-73--291		+	15
63. Charlie Holland	74-71-72-74--291		+	15
66. Frank Vana	69-73-76-74--292		+	16
67. Matt Parziale	71-75-74-73--293		+	17
67. Harris English	73-72-72-76--293		+	17
67. Jamison Sindelar	70-70-76-77--293		+	17
67. Vince Nadeau	73-69-71-80--293		+	17
67. Adam Long	68-71-72-82--293		+	17
72. Michael Muscatell	79-75-70-70--294		+	18
72. Buddy Marucci	71-76-73-74--294		+	18
74. Corey Nagy	77-74-73-71--295		+	19
74. Frank Ford III	72-75-76-72--295		+	19
76. A.J. Oleksak	73-71-79-73--296		+	20
77. Bank Vongvanij	71-75-78-73--297		+	21
78. Michael Harrington	75-71-79-74--299		+	23
79. David Sampson	73-76-77-74--300		+	24
80. John Herrick	77-79-72-79--307		+	31
81. Matt Czarnecki	75-82-76-78--311		+	35

Posted: 6/21/2008

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