By Dalton Balthaser

 

PAWTUCKET - When Andrew O’Leary is down and out, he responds. 

 

When he’s out in front he finishes the job.

 

O’Leary, aided by his steady mental game and everlasting determination, advanced to the semifinals of the Rhode Island Golf Association Amateur Championship for the second consecutive year after Thursday’s Round of 16 and Quarterfinals at Pawtucket Country Club (par 69, 6,420 yards).

 

The rising junior at the University of Notre Dame defeated No. 16 seed Kevin Blaser of Swansea Country Club, 7&5, in the Round of 16 and No. 9 seed Michael Hamilton of Kirkbrae Country Club in 20 holes in the Quarterfinals.

 

Joining No. 1 seed O’Leary in the semifinals will be No. 2 seed Bobby Leopold of Wannamoisett Country Club, No. 3 seed Jamie Lukowicz of Agawam Hunt and No. 4 seed Kevin Silva of Montaup Country Club. 

 

O'Leary will play Silva at 7:30 a.m. and Leopold and Lukowicz will play at 7:39 a.m. Friday.

 

Three of them are past champions: O’Leary (2019), Leopold (2009, 2014) and Silva (2015). Lukowicz lost to Wannamoisett’s Billy Forcier in the 2017 Final at Valley Country Club.

 

Last year, O’Leary and Leopold were the top two seeds and battled it out in the Final at Shelter Harbor Golf Club. This year the Top Four seeds as a result of the stroke-play qualifying are still left. A rarity in match play.

 

O’Leary, of the host club, entered No. 18 (par 4, 379 yards), 1-up, after he won No. 17 (par 4, 434 yards) with a bogey. Hamilton had 20 feet left for his birdie at the last and O’Leary had 10 feet.

 

Hamilton had to make it, or the match was over. He poured it right in. Putting the pressure on O’Leary to make his.

 

“Mike made a great putt on No. 18 to extend the match,” said O’Leary, 20, of Norfolk, Mass. “I was glad he made it because I didn’t want the match to end on a concession. I just didn’t read my putt properly.”

 

A halve of pars on No. 19 (par 4, 389 yards) moved them to No. 20 (par 4, 416 yards). That’s when O’Leary clutched up.

 

A 51-degree wedge from 130 yards to 12 feet was the ending he needed after a long day of golf.

 

“I was fighting and grinding all day,” said O’Leary. “I just wanted to get the match over with as soon as possible. It’s nice to be back in semifinals, but I got more work to do. I didn’t have my best today and struggled off the tee.”

 

Leopold defeated Potowomut Golf Club’s George Cidade, 4&3, in the morning and came from behind to defeat Rhode Island Country Club’s Harry Dessel, 4&2.

 

“I am a guy who likes to play shots more to the front of greens,” said Leopold, 35, of Coventry. “My long game tends to be pretty straight and at Pawtucket if you are playing from the fairway, you have a better chance to succeed.”

 

The key hole for Leopold against Dessel was No. 11 (par 4, 308 yards). Leopold hit a lob wedge from 78 yards to 10 feet but Dessel hit it inside him. The only difference was Leopold made his putt and Dessel missed.

 

That birdie gave Leopold his first lead in the match and he never looked back.

 

“One match at the time,” said Leopold about trying to return to the #RIAmateur Final. “If you free up and get ahead of yourself, matches can swing out of your favor quick. Trying to stay in the moment and worry about the shot you have in front of you. I’d love to get back to the Final, but I have the semifinals first.”

 

Lukowicz punched his ticket to the semis with 2&1 victories over Wannamoisett’s Chris Roloff in the Round of 16 and Kirkbrae’s Tom McCormick in the Quarterfinals.

 

“I was exhausted at the end of my match against Tom,” said Lukowicz, 46, of Newport. “In match play you can be aggressive, or you can be conservative once you see what your opponent does. At the end of the day, you can’t make bogeys. If you make bogeys, you lose matches.”

 

Silva has been out of golf for a little bit. A job change left him without much time to play golf. The 2015 champion and 2016 finalist is back and hungry for title No. 2.

 

He defeated Wannamoisett Country Club's Darren Corrente, 3&2, in the morning and Button Hole Golf Club's Nico Ciolino, 2&1, in the afternoon.

 

“It’s good to be getting back to golf in general,” said Silva, 36, of Fall River, Mass. “I changed jobs last year and didn’t get a chance to play a lot last year. I took the year off and it feels good to be back under the gun and in the competitive atmosphere.”