Warwick’s Valois secures spot in U.S. Amateur
Lincoln’s Hamilton finishes fourth to pick up alternate spot
WARWICK – Brad Valois has now qualified for the U.S. Amateur for the fifth time in his outstanding golf career. For the Warwick native who now plays out of Kirkbrae Country Club, it’s a feeling that never gets old, nor is it an accomplishment he takes for granted.
Come next month, Valois will make his way to Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. It’ll mark his second straight U.S. Amateur appearance after the Toll Gate/URI product carted a nine-under 135 to earn co-medalist honors during Tuesday’s 36-hole qualifier held at Valley Country Club (par 72, 6,673 yards).
“It’s the greatest event in the world … first-class venues and first-class players,” said Valois about the U.S. Amateur that’s scheduled for Aug. 15-21. “It’s a dream just to play in it but it’s also a dream just to compete in it which isn’t always easy to do.”
Valois lit the leaderboard up when he turned in a minus-six 66 during Tuesday’s morning round. For someone who spent a good amount of time around Valley CC as a youngster, the low number that he tossed out there had a certain throwback vibe to it – his first bogey-free round dating back to his high school days.
“I’ve been trying. It’s something that’s been on my mind every time I play,” said Valois.
As much as Valois gave off the impression that everything was clicking during the first 18 holes, he noted that he had to scrap and claw for everything prior to hitting the reset button for the afternoon round.
“Just crazy tired. The muscles were going nuts, but I was able to stay focused and that was it,” he said.
There’s plenty of golf knowledge tucked away in Valois’ mind. He’s also been around the block enough times to understand that there are going to be moments where slippage occurs. The trick is minimizing the mistakes and not letting them throw the round into a tailspin.
His afternoon round got off to an inauspicious start that proved to be a one-hole mishap. An errant tee shot that sailed out of bounds on his second hole – the par-four, 392-yard No. 11 – resulted in Valois taking a double bogey.
“It was about walking it off and still try to finish the day,” said Valois, who responded with four pars, two birdies, and one eagle (par-five, 549-yard No. 18) before making the turn.
Valois dipped as low as minus-11 with three holes remaining before back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8. Still, he wasn’t in any immediate danger in his quest to lock down another U.S. Amateur berth.
Could his strong showing at Valley be interpreted as a harbinger with the R.I. Amateur scheduled to begin next Monday at Wanumetonomy Golf & Country Club? Valois has four R.I. Amateur titles to his credit, the last one coming in 2013.
“I’m happy to get July off to a good start and excited that I won my first match in a while,” said Valois. “Hopefully I can have some confidence going into next week.”
New York’s Matthew Lowe shared medalist honors with Valois while Lincoln native/Kirkbrae product Michael Hamilton will be the second alternate after turning in a minus-6 138.