By Dalton Balthaser

 

CHARLESTOWN - Any supporters of Wannamoisett Country Club’s Bobby Leopold would have had a roller coaster of emotions on Thursday.

 

The highs of his steady play, advantages in both of his matches and the lows of having to stave off elimination even though he shouldn’t have been concerned about it in the first place.

 

Leopold, the 2009 and 2014 Rhode Island Golf Association Amateur Champion, relied on his past experiences to outlast No. 15 seed Augie Sottile of Cranston Country Club in 20 holes during the Round of 16 and No. 10 seed Eric Marchetti of Metacomet Golf Club in 19 holes during the quarterfinals at Shelter Harbor Golf Club.

 

Joining No. 2 seed Leopold in the semifinals will be No. 1 seed Andrew O’Leary of Pawtucket Country Club, No. 21 seed Kolby Simmons of Crestwood Country Club and No. 22 seed Seamus Fennelly of Wanumetonomy Golf and Country Club.

 

In Friday’s morning matches, O’Leary will face Simmons at 7:30 a.m. and Leopold will face Fennelly at 7:38 a.m. The first 18 holes of the 36-hole final will be played immediately following the conclusion of the semifinal matches. The remainder of that match is tentatively scheduled for Saturday morning.

 

“It feels good to get back to the semifinals,” said Leopold, 34, of Coventry, R.I. “Now that I am getting older and have three kids instead of two, I don’t get to practice as much as I’d like. And sometimes I hit some really bad shots as a result. I still have a lot of good shots in the arsenal. Then there are times where I say ‘that is one of the worst shots I have ever seen.’ It comes with the territory.”

 

Leopold entered No. 18 (par 4, 422 yards) nursing a 1-up lead in both matches. He bogeyed it both times.

 

He had Marchetti down three holes through the first four after birdies at Nos. 1 (par 5, 576 yards), 2 (par 4, 379 yards) and 4 (par 3, 178 yards). Then he lost a 3-up lead with four to play after Marchetti made a late charge with two birdies.

 

It all started with an errant 6-iron on No. 15 (par 3, 180 yards). That left him a long way right of the green.

 

“Sometimes you are your own worst enemy,” said Leopold. “No. 18 has been my nemesis hole all week long. It’s the widest fairway on the golf course and I can’t hit it. Putts had been made on me for the majority of the day. At some point, the odds have to turn into your favor.”

 

On his 39th hole of the day, the odds finally turned.

 

After Marchetti missed a 5-footer for birdie on the 19th hole of the match, which was the first hole at Shelter Harbor, Leopold had the same distance to end the match. He rolled it in with confidence and punched his ticket to the next round.

 

“I’m most proud of that putt on the first playoff hole,” said Leopold. “I played so well on the front nine against Eric, shot 5-under-par and was only 2-up. I let my game slip a little on the back nine.

 

“You get more scars the longer you play this game. The scars give you experience. You feed off the good stuff and stay away from the bad stuff.”

 

O’Leary, a rising sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, continued to cruise through his competition with a 3 and 1 victory over Metacomet’s Jason Kalin in the morning and a 4 and 3 victory over Shelter Harbor caddie Nick Hedden in the quarters.

 

“I think always having some sort of a lead in match play helps calm you down,” said O’Leary, 19, of Norfolk, Mass. “You hit better shots when you are ahead as opposed to behind. There’s not as much pressure because you feel like there is more room to miss. I can be aggressive and try to make a lot of birdies.”

 

Fennelly, a 2012 semifinalist in the RIGA Amateur at his home club, defeated Valley Country Club’s Colin Sutyla, 1-up, in the Round of 16 and clubmate William Hall, 5 and 4, in the quarterfinals.

 

“I told my mom, my girlfriend and my buddies before I played here this week that I felt something click in my game,” said Fennelly, 25, of Newport, R.I. “I felt really good. I went back to feeling what’s natural and not being too technical.

 

“I am going to treat it like any other Saturday match at Wanumetonomy. I am happy to be back in this position.”

 

For Simmons, being in this position is new. It’s his first semifinal appearance in the RIGA Amateur. But he’s no stranger to high-level tournament golf.

 

He qualified for the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur at the John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, Fla.

 

“Being at this point in the tournament is where you want to be when you start stroke play,” said Simmons, 32, of Attleboro, Mass. “Once you get into match play you only have to beat a certain amount of people to get to the end. Match play suits me better because I tend to hit an errant shot now and then.

 

“Each round has been unchartered territory for me. I am feeling confident and I am going to play my own game and give it everything I have. Andrew [O’Leary] has been playing really well. He has everything working.”