By Dalton Balthaser

 

Photo Gallery: http://bit.ly/2Z9KMeM

 

HOPE VALLEY, R.I. - Andrew O’Leary woke up Thursday morning with one goal.

 

He wanted to beat his personal-best tournament score of 65.

 

He came up one stroke short, but set a new course record at Fenner Hill Golf Club with a 7-under-par 65 to claim medalist honors in a #RIAmateur qualifier at Fenner Hill (par 72, 6,636 yards) Thursday.

 

The 114th Rhode Island Amateur Championship will take place June 24-28 at Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Charlestown.

 

A total of 25 players secured their spot at Shelter Harbor with the cut line falling at 79 (7 over).

 

“I’ve been playing well coming into this,” said O’Leary, 19, of Norfolk, Mass. “I played this course a couple of years ago and went low. I was hoping to do better than that today. I wanted to go out and see what I could do. Thankfully I was able to do that.”

 

He shot 67 at another #RIAmateur qualifier at Fenner Hill in 2017. He definitely has good vibes at this tournament venue.

 

The rising sophomore at the University of Notre Dame broke the course record of 66 that stood the test of time for more than 12 years.

 

“Getting the course record here means a lot,” said O’Leary. “I don’t have any course records so to be able to get it here without expecting it was great since I was just trying to put together a good round.”

 

The birdies, small and large, were out in full force for O’Leary who carded six birdies and an eagle.

 

It all started with a birdie of the two-putt variety on No. 3 (par 5, 520 yards). He blistered a drive and had only 158 yards for his second. He hit a 9-iron to 10 feet and after lipping out his eagle putt, he tapped in for birdie.

 

Birdies on Nos. 4 (par 3, 162 yards) and 7 (par 4, 429 yards) came as a result of tidy approach shots to 10 and six feet, respectively.

 

Then the eagle landed on No. 8 (par 5, 575 yards).

 

He hit a 5-iron from 208 yards after his drive landed in the right rough. He finished 25 feet away with a delicate right to left slider.

 

O’Leary said he was lucky to make the putt but was happy it went down.

 

“I enjoy Fenner Hill’s layout. There are a few quirky holes where you have to just play conservatively. The par 5s here are quite gettable so I was able to have some easy birdies and I rolled in an eagle.”

 

He failed to take advantage of No. 10 (par 5, 480 yards) after hitting his drive out of bounds by five feet. But rebounded nicely by making birdie on the second ball and limiting his damage to just a bogey.

 

The Pawtucket Country Club member regained his composure by carding back-to-back birdies on Nos. 12 (par 4, 452 yards) and 13 (par 4, 352 yards) as a result of a well-shaped 9-iron from 140 yards to 15 feet on No. 12 and a tasty high flop shot from 60 yards on No. 13 to seven feet.

 

O’Leary closed out his 65 in style with a birdie on No. 18 (par 4, 455 yards) as a result of stuffing an 8-iron from 162 yards to three feet. He couldn’t see the green when hitting his approach but that didn’t matter.

 

O’Leary’s ball-striking was something to behold. He hit 17 of 18 greens with some newly-acquired weaponry.

 

I just got new Titleist irons about a week ago,” said O’Leary. “I was able to dial those in quite quickly. I just wanted to have a little more consistency. The shafts are lighter so they are easier to hit. I couldn’t be happier with them. They are working great.”

 

His summer form is rounding into shape. A runner-up finish in May’s John Burke Memorial (Gross) has been the catalyst.

 

“The runner-up at the Burke was a good start for me,” said O’Leary. “I liked how I played on that final day. I used the last day of the event at Shelter Harbor as a practice round for the Amateur because I had never played Shelter Harbor in a tournament before. That was a strategic move for me and I am glad I did it. Getting a confident feeling going into that event is important.”