GolfNewsRI

Davis Chatfield, Chris Francoeur and Patrick Welch will all be returning to Rhode Island in two weeks to play in the 60th Northeast Amateur Invitational at Wannamoisett Country Club. 

The tournament is set to be held from June 22 to June 25. 

“Wannamoisett’s own Davis Chatfield, a recent graduate of Notre Dame, looks to improve on his 5th place finish from last year. Also representing Wannamoisett is Rhode Island Player of Year and State Amateur Champ Bobby Leopold, while players with local connections to note include former RIGA Am champ and Notre Dame standout Andrew O’Leary, four time RI Junior champ and Oklahoma standout Patrick Welch and Connecticut Am champ and Virginia standout Chris Fosdick are also in the field,” notes the tournament press release. 

Chatfield helped lead the Fighting Irish to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, while Francoeur led Louisville to the big dance. 

Welch helped the Oklahoma Sooners to the NCAA Championship, but they were upset in their first match. 

Other major players in the field include defending champion Dylan Menante of Pepperdine, Stewart Hagestad, Matt Parziale, Preston Summerhays and superstar Am Michael Thorbjornsen. 

Historic Northeast Am 

This year’s Northeast Amateur is going to be a historic one. 

First, it is the biggest field in the history of the event. 

Secondly, the tournament is now part of the Elite Amateur Golf Series, as GolfNewsRI reported back in December. 

Starting in 2002, the top five players in the series will receive exemptions into the 2022 U.S. Amateur and 2023 U.S. Open final qualifying. There will also be four tour exemptions including the PGA Tour’s Bermuda Championship, Korn Ferry Tour’s NV5 Invitational, Lake Charles Championship, Memorial Health Championship and another event which is to be determined. 

Along with the individual tournaments, there will be an overall Elite Amateur Cup. 

The cup will feature a points race determined by using the players World Amateur Golf Ranking points earned in the seven events. 

Players must play in at least three tournaments to be eligible.