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May 16, 2007

Forcier wins Burke Memorial

There is a new name on the R.I. Golf Association’s list of champions. He is Bill Forcier, a Coventry resident and URI junior who earned his spot in style.

Forcier won a three-way contest with David Sampson and John Drohen yesterday in the Burke Memorial. He overcame a slow start by going 4-under over his last 13 holes at Carnegie Abbey to finish the 36-hole event, also held at Shelter Harbor, at 2-under 140.

Drohen and Sampson made Forcier earn it. Alpine’s Drohen, a former Mid Amateur champion, settled for a front-nine 30 when his birdie putt on the ninth lipped out. He was 5-under for the day and in  the lead before back-to-back double bogeys on 16 and 17. He finished with a 70 and 143.

Sampson, who had the lead for the first half of the final round, missed four putts inside 10 feet in the final holes — one for eagle, one for birdie and two for par. He finished at 74 and 144. Shelter Harbor’s Mike Warburg was fourth at 148.

While Drohen, Sampson and Forcier all had the lead at different points, Forcier was the one making all of the clutch shots to win it. He did not hide what it meant for him.

“This is, by far, my greatest achievement in golf, definitely,’’ he said. “I haven’t won anything like this against the older guys. It’s good to get a win against all the best amateurs in Rhode Island.’’

Forcier got off to a weird start. Like Sampson, who was in the final threesome with him, he had never seen Carnegie Abbey before. The course used for RIGA events is different than the members’ layout. Play begins on what is the fourth hole on the club scorecard and goes in order from there, ending on what is normally the third.

“I stepped up on the tee and someone told me it’s a par 5,’’ Forcier said. The scorecard says it is a 521-yard yard par-5. But for the tournament, play begins on the 410-yard fourth.

“I was about to hit when they told me it’s really the fourth hole,’’ Forcier said. “I put my driver back and took a 3-wood.’’ He obviously was a bit rattled. He topped his shot barely 100 yards.

“I picked my head up real bad,’’ he said. He bogeyed the hole. He double-bogeyed the par-3 fifth to go to 3-over for the day and trailed Sampson and Drohen. But Forcier played flawlessly from there, with four birdies and nine pars the rest of the way.
“The par-5s were good to me,’’ he said of three birdies on those holes. “I didn’t make any mistakes coming in, which was nice.’’

Forcier birdied 10, then pulled even with Sampson when Sampson, his former Hendricken High teammate, bogeyed 11. Forcier was up by two with two to play. The decisive swing came on the par-3 17th, where Forcier sank a 12-foot putt to save par and Sampson missed a four-footer for his par.

“I missed a couple of key putts,’’ Sampson said. “I played well. Bill played solid. It was tough to catch him at the end.’’

Drohen, playing two groups ahead of Forcier and Sampson, also played excellently. He got it to 5-under in the first eight, and his birdie putt on the ninth lipped out for a 29.

“I just felt so confident out there, so good about the way I was playing,’’ he said. “I had putts on 10, 11 and 12 (all for birdies) that had a chance to go in. I love the way I was playing.’’

He did not know, it but he led by one before doubling the par-5 16th. He used an iron off the tee to play it safe on the dogleg hole.

“I hit a good shot. I just hit it too far. I was so pumped up,’’ he said. Later on the hole he had problems in a bunker. On the par-3 17th, too, he had bunker problems that led to a double bogey.

Forcier made no such errors. He was in total control down the stretch in earning his first statewide title.

--PAUL KENYON

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 9:25 PM to Golf | Permalink

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