Eastbayri.com

EAST BAY — The 2011 Rhode Island Golf Association season finished with a slew of events over the last month, including the annual Tri-State Team Matches involving players from the Ocean State, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The 78th edition of the event, which consisted of Four Ball and individual matches, took place Oct. 6 and 7 at the Lake of Isles Golf Club in North Stonington, Conn. The team from the Commonwealth won for the eighth year in a row with a total of 70.5 points. The Rhode Island squad, which included a number of East Bay area players, was the runner-up with 50.5. Connectictut was third with 41.

Members of the Ocean State team included Bobby Leopold, Charlie Blanchard, Mike Caprio, Tyler Cooke, Ben Tuthill, Jon Costa III, Brad Valois and Dave Patrick. The Senior Division players included Paul Quigley, Dr. George Pirie, Tom Acciardo and Dave McNally.

Mid-Am results

The 18th Annual Mid-Amateur Championship was contested locally at Carnegie Abbey in Portsmouth, Sept. 12 and 13, and was won by Cranston’s Leopold.

Off his superb performance at the U.S. Amateur, Leopold locked up the 2011 RIGA Player of the Year Award with his one-stroke win over Wannamoisett’s Tuthill.

Playing out of Potowomut, Leopold shot a two-round total of 3-under par, 169. Tuthill shot 2-under, 140. Another Wannamoisett standout, Blanchard, finished at even par 142.

Barrington’s Jim Stallman, out of Rhode Island C.C., was fourth at 3-over. Bristol’s Costa, out of Crestwood, was fifth alone at 5-over. Carnegie’s Mitchell Pozez and Wannamoisett’s Michael Caprio each shot 6-over.

Senior Division champ George Donnell and Wannamoisett’s Dave Apuzzo shared eighth place at 7-over. Donnell defeated Pirie by a stroke for the top spot among the elder set. Acciardo, of Barrington, and Jim Mahoney shared third 11-over.

Player of the Year

Leopold edged Blanchard for the 2011 RIGA Player of the Year Award with 887 points to the latter’s 870. Metacomet’s Valois, winner of his third State Am this summer, finished third with 830.

Pirie won the Senior Player of the Year going away, 810-588, over Barrington’s Quigley. Acciardo was third with 427.

For Leopold, the award was his second in three years. Blanchard, the reigning POY holder, has won the award six times over the last 11 seasons.

Senior Am

Held Sept. 27 and 28 at Crestwood and Pawtucket, Acciardo won the 53rd Annual Senior Amateur Championship with a two-round score of 2-over, 142.

Acciardo, who plays out of Agawam Hunt, finished two shots better than Wannamoisett’s Tom Goryl. Defending champ Gary McLane finished fifth, five strokes off Acciardo’s pace.

Acciardo and Goryl also went one-two in the Super Senior Division wile Steve Travis, playing out of Wanumentonomy in Middletown, defeated two-time defending champ Jim Baxter, of Wannamoisett, by four shots to win the Legends Division.

Mulligan Team Championship

In the 2011 Robert Mulligan Interclub Team Championship tourney held at Alpine in Cranston, Valois was the medalist with a 3-under round of 69 to lead Metacomet to the title with a 291 total.

Dave Nuttall shot 1-over to pace the rest of the Metacomet crew. Rick Audett shot 2-over, Jason Kalin 3-over and Steve O’Brien 10-over. The top four scores from each side counted towards the team total.

The Wannamoisett contingent finished second with a 296 aggregate. Blanchard and Caprio each shot 1-over. Tuthill was 2-over and Thomas Detorie 4-over. Pete Porter shot 11-over.