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EAST PROVIDENCE — Nick Dunlap won the Northeast Amateur, U.S. Amateur and his first PGA Tour event within the span of a few months beginning in summer 2023.
That sizzling stretch of success started here, and it’s an example of how close players who tee it up at Wannamoisett Country Club in a couple of short weeks are to the top of the golf world. It could be just a matter of time before the next champion on the classic Donald Ross layout is bound for something greater.
Preston Stout captured the 63rd edition of the event last year, riding an 8-under 61 in his second round to cruise by eight shots. He just became the 10th player from Oklahoma State to capture an individual NCAA championship and is among the amateurs who have qualified for next week’s U.S. Open at nearby Shinnecock Hills on Long Island.
“I think it’s the depth of the players today that’s so impressive,” Northeast Amateur cochair Ben Tuthill said Tuesday, June 9. “There are just so many — and a lot who aren’t going to be in our field.
“They just started playing and learning the game and competing at such a young age, and they’re ready to perform at the highest level before they’re old enough to go to college or drive a car. It’s crazy.”
A fresh breeze on what was otherwise a perfect day mirrored conditions in the third round last year. Players survived to the finish while giving back an average of multiple shots over par and Stout limited the damage ahead of a closing 65. Miles Russell closed as runner-up, a teenager and Florida State commit who entered as a top-ranked junior competitor.
“The conditions at this golf course rival just about any place you’ll ever find,” cochair Mick Hogan said. “The players love that. They come out here and it’s still a stern test for these guys.”
Russell and Luke Poulter are two of the current top 10 players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and both were in the field released Tuesday. Tyler Watts, Josiah Gilbert and Jacob Modleski all find themselves in the current top 20. Watts and Gilbert, Alabama natives, were both top-10 finishers here last year.
Watts was the U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up in 2024, an event Dunlap won in 2021 and Hamilton Coleman captured in 2025. He’s set to make a first appearance at the Northeast along with U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell, who lifted the trophy last summer at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Coleman and Howell are two of eight players who received invitations to the Northeast and also qualified for the U.S. Open, which will begin Thursday, June 18.
“There have been years where we haven’t lost any players to the Open and there have been years where we’ve lost them all,” Tuthill said. “We’ll see what shakes out.
“We have some local talent who really would love to get in the field. It’s always nice to open those doors if it does become possible.”
Five-time Rhode Island Amateur champion Bobby Leopold is among the familiar names from the area to be included in the field. Mike Calef won the 2025 edition and is also expected to play alongside former Masters participant Matt Parziale, Connecticut Amateur champion Adam Friedman and New England Amateur champion Eli Spaulding.
“We spend a lot of time and resources and energy putting this together,” Hogan said. “There really isn’t a lot of outside involvement, so we take a lot of pride in that as a membership.”
The opening round is scheduled to begin Wednesday, June 24, and the eventual champion will join an exclusive fraternity. Luke Donald was a two-time winner in 2000 and 2001 before going on to a strong professional career and captaining Team Europe at the Ryder Cup. Dustin Johnson (2007) and Collin Morikawa (2017) developed into major champions after wearing the winner’s blazer here.
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: A look at the golfers who'll tee it up at the Northeast Amateur
Continue reading...
That sizzling stretch of success started here, and it’s an example of how close players who tee it up at Wannamoisett Country Club in a couple of short weeks are to the top of the golf world. It could be just a matter of time before the next champion on the classic Donald Ross layout is bound for something greater.
Preston Stout captured the 63rd edition of the event last year, riding an 8-under 61 in his second round to cruise by eight shots. He just became the 10th player from Oklahoma State to capture an individual NCAA championship and is among the amateurs who have qualified for next week’s U.S. Open at nearby Shinnecock Hills on Long Island.
“I think it’s the depth of the players today that’s so impressive,” Northeast Amateur cochair Ben Tuthill said Tuesday, June 9. “There are just so many — and a lot who aren’t going to be in our field.
“They just started playing and learning the game and competing at such a young age, and they’re ready to perform at the highest level before they’re old enough to go to college or drive a car. It’s crazy.”
A fresh breeze on what was otherwise a perfect day mirrored conditions in the third round last year. Players survived to the finish while giving back an average of multiple shots over par and Stout limited the damage ahead of a closing 65. Miles Russell closed as runner-up, a teenager and Florida State commit who entered as a top-ranked junior competitor.
“The conditions at this golf course rival just about any place you’ll ever find,” cochair Mick Hogan said. “The players love that. They come out here and it’s still a stern test for these guys.”
Russell and Luke Poulter are two of the current top 10 players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and both were in the field released Tuesday. Tyler Watts, Josiah Gilbert and Jacob Modleski all find themselves in the current top 20. Watts and Gilbert, Alabama natives, were both top-10 finishers here last year.
Watts was the U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up in 2024, an event Dunlap won in 2021 and Hamilton Coleman captured in 2025. He’s set to make a first appearance at the Northeast along with U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell, who lifted the trophy last summer at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Coleman and Howell are two of eight players who received invitations to the Northeast and also qualified for the U.S. Open, which will begin Thursday, June 18.
“There have been years where we haven’t lost any players to the Open and there have been years where we’ve lost them all,” Tuthill said. “We’ll see what shakes out.
“We have some local talent who really would love to get in the field. It’s always nice to open those doors if it does become possible.”
Five-time Rhode Island Amateur champion Bobby Leopold is among the familiar names from the area to be included in the field. Mike Calef won the 2025 edition and is also expected to play alongside former Masters participant Matt Parziale, Connecticut Amateur champion Adam Friedman and New England Amateur champion Eli Spaulding.
“We spend a lot of time and resources and energy putting this together,” Hogan said. “There really isn’t a lot of outside involvement, so we take a lot of pride in that as a membership.”
The opening round is scheduled to begin Wednesday, June 24, and the eventual champion will join an exclusive fraternity. Luke Donald was a two-time winner in 2000 and 2001 before going on to a strong professional career and captaining Team Europe at the Ryder Cup. Dustin Johnson (2007) and Collin Morikawa (2017) developed into major champions after wearing the winner’s blazer here.
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: A look at the golfers who'll tee it up at the Northeast Amateur
Continue reading...
