EAST PROVIDENCE — Recent Pepperdine University graduate Fred Wedel was the last man standing during a frenetic final round Saturday, June 25, as the Malibu, Calif., native won the 55th playing of the Northeast Amateur Invitational held last week at Wannamoisett Country Club.

Wedel, a standout for the Waves during his college career, finished with a winning total of 6-under, 270 as a host of competitors hovered at the top of the leader board on the last day.

The winner of the Texas Amateur the previous week, Wedel shot -2, 67 for his final 18 holes, however it wasn't until Zimbabwean Sean Crocker missed a four-foot par putt on the last that the championship was secure. Crocker, who plays collegiately at the University of Southern California, settled for a share of second with Patrick Martin at -5, 271.

Crocker will likely rue the win that got away. After he birdied the par 4 16 to climb to -6 overall, he reached the par 5 17th in two, but three-putted to settle for a bogey. He then three-whacked the 18th for the costly bogey, missing the relatively short uphill putt that would have sent him into a playoff with Wedel.

The eventual winner had his own difficulties down the stretch. He reached -8 after birdying the par 4 13th and par 3 15th holes. But Wedel made bogey on the 17th after slicing his drive into the pond down the right side of the fairway, the made a bit of a mess of the 18th to drop another shot and finish at -6.

"It was difficult for me to handle my emotions. Obviously you think about every single shot and you try to stay in the moment," Wedel said after the final round. "But it's hard when you're potentially a few shots away from winning an event like this."

University of Texas All-American Scottie Scheffler, possibly the best-known player in the field last week, led three players in a share of fourth at -4. Seven players finished at -3 and T-7, including Matt Gilchrest, a senior from Auburn who held the outright or a share of the lead after the first three rounds.

Four-time Rhode Island State Amateur champ Brad Valois led the local contingent. Valois, a Metacomet C.C. member, was one three locals who made the 54-hole cut and held a share of the first round lead before settling for a T31 finish at 2-over. Fellow former State Am champ and Wannamoisett member Bobby Leopold finish T35, +3. Will Dixon, the Moses Brown junior and three-time reigning Interscholastic League champion, finished T45, +5.

(Northeast Amateur photos by eastbayri.com staff photographer Rich Dionne.)

More amateur notes
Valois previously added another significant Rhode Island Golf Association to his case as he captured the 18th John P. Burke Memorial Tournament Championship, the governing body's annual season-kickoff event.

Valois was the only golfer in the 80-man field to wind up in the red as he carded rounds of 66 and 72 at the Wanumetonomy and Newport Country Clubs, respectively, to finish with a winning two-day total of 4-under par, 138. Leopold, a four-time Burke winner, was second with a 1-over par total of 143.

Six of the top 10 finishers had local ties, including Valois and Leopold. Metacomet's Kevin Blaser was solo third at 2-over, 144. Wannamoisett's Billy Forcier shared fourth at 3-over, 145. Metacomet's Joel Harvey finished T7 at 7-over, 149. And Wannamoisett's Christopher Roloff finished T9 at 9-over, 151.

The next event of significance on the RIGA calendar was the 67th Four-Ball Championship at Carnegie Abbey and Newport National Golf Club May 23-24 where reigning champions Leopold and partner Tyler Cooke defended their title with a two-day total of 16-under, 127. The teams of Dave Cavara-Kevin Silva, Forcier-Michael Philipp and Kyle Hoffman-Ryan Pelletier shared second at -11.

Most if not all the aforementioned local players, including defending champion Silva, were scheduled to compete this week in the 111th Amateur Championship, taking place through July 1 at Point Judith C.C. Of note as well, the 33rd Stroke Play Championship takes place next month in city at the Agawam Hunt Club, July 25-26.

High school notes
As mentioned, Dickson won 2016 Interscholastic League individual title while leading his Moses Brown mates to their third consecutive team title as well.

Dickson finished with a two-day best total of 3-over, 145 at Cranston Country Club. The Quakers won the team championship with a combined score of 604. LaSalle was the runner-up with Hendricken third.

Meanwhile, another Quaker, Caroline Farber, claimed the girls' individual championship by shooting 1-over 73 at Newport Country Club. Portsmouth's Katie Um, the defending champ, was second with a 77.

East Providence High School freshman Isabelle Wetmore finished in a share of 10th with Bay View's Alana McGuinness after each shot 98. Two other Bengals finished in the top 10 as Laura Rubino was eighth with a 94 and Jaclyn Levesque was ninth with a 95.