Anthony Delisanti wins Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett Country Club

June 23, 2024

EAST PROVIDENCE – Anthony Delisanti experienced a personal highlight within a few hours at the 62nd Northeast Amateur on Saturday: disappointment.

He shook off a difficult third round by breaking the course record on the fourth hole. To become the event’s next champion, more was needed – a playoff that ended in a draw after four holes, a suspension of play due to thunderstorms and an early evening restart on Wannamoisett Country Club’s signature par-3 hole.

The wait for the outstanding player from Valparaiso was worth it. Delisanti made a birdie on the fifth extra hole – the second sudden death play – to defeat Bryan Lee and become the first playoff winner here since Justin Shin defeated Jordan Russell in 2012.

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“This is 100% the biggest accomplishment on my resume,” Delisanti said. “I’m definitely happy about it.”

Both players finished within one stroke of three holes, with Lee making bogey on the first hole and Delisanti immediately losing his lead with a bogey on the second hole. Both made two straight pars on the third hole before bad weather moved through, and Lee kept the honor on the tee when play resumed, hitting the green left about 30 feet from the hole while Delisanti hit a wedge about eight feet over the hole.

“A loss in a playoff is not what I wanted, but I take my hat off to Anthony and his great shot,” said Lee. “Great week – lots of positives to take away.”

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Delisanti started his tee shot from the middle left of the hole and the ball never left its line. He celebrated on the green with his girlfriend, Kennedy Lang, who was his caddie for the week after both had traveled from their homes near Buffalo. They met as junior players at the local Willowbrook Golf Course in upstate New York – their personal partnership reached a whole new dimension here over the four days.

“She definitely made it a lot easier for me,” Delisanti said. “She is the most positive person I know.”

Delisanti and Lee both hit long birdie putts on the 18th hole that would have given them the title in regulation. Both players heated up the edge of the hole while playing in separate groups of three, and Delisanti’s 11-under-par total was matched by Lee in the final group of the day. Lee was consistent throughout in his second appearance in the event, and the Duke standout followed an opening 67 with three consecutive 66s.

“The only thing going through my mind was that I had to get the ball in the hole,” Lee said. “I had been putting pretty well all week. I knew my lag putt was good.”

Delisanti was in contention on Friday but slipped to a 71, well behind the leader. He finished the weather-delayed round on Saturday morning and set up his tee time just before noon. Delisanti birdied five of his first seven holes to shoot 62, one stroke shy of the course record set by Luke Guthrie in the 2011 edition.

“I had to do something special in the last 18 holes because I was five or six holes down,” Delisanti said. “I just left the door open mentally for something good to happen.”

Cameron Tankersley and Zac Jones both made birdies on the par-4 18th hole to tie for third place at 10 under par. Tankersley shot a 63 (6 under par) in his final round, while Jones birdied his first three holes en route to a 66 (3 under par). Lance Simpson tied Delisanti for the tournament round with a 62, and his 9 under par total was part of a four-way tie for fifth place.

“Every hole I just pulled out my phone and looked at the leaderboard,” Simpson said. “I knew I had to go out and make some birdies. I just went full throttle and hit every pin.”

Simpson made eight consecutive three-pointers at one point – five of them good for birdies, starting on the par-4 ninth hole. He added another three-pointer for eagle on the par-5 17th hole to make a steep climb from outside the top 20.

Hunter Thomson was among those tied with Simpson, but two double bogeys on Saturday – one late in his third round, one midway through his fourth – knocked him back from the lead he had secured with an opening 63. Paul Chang shot a 65 in the afternoon to finish tied for ninth with Gordon Sargent. The world’s top amateur made a strong finish in the morning but could only manage a 68 (1 under par) later in the day.

Final results (three rounds long)

Wannamoisett Country Club, Par 69

T1, Anthony Delisanti (64-68-71-62), Bryan Lee (67-66-66-66), -11 (Delisanti won on the second sudden-death playoff hole); T3, Cameron Tankersley (69-67-63-63), Zac Jones (66-68-66-66), -10; T5, Lance Simpson (70-68-67-62), Justin Hastings (70-66-65-66), Cameron Huss (69-64-68-66), Hunter Thomson (63-65-70-69), -9; T9, Paul Chang (65-68-71-64), Gordon Sargent (67-66-67-68), -8; 11, Marshall Meisel (65-70-69-65), -7; T12, Garrett Endicott (70-63-71-66), Luke Colton (68-67-68-67), Josiah Gilbert (65-67-70-68), -6; T15, Garrett Rank (65-69-70-67), Blades Brown (71-68-64-68), Jackson Van Paris (72-63-67-69), -5.

T19, Eric Lee (67-67-72-66), Jack Wall (73-68-66-65), Jake Hall (75-67-64-66), Wells Williams (69-65-71-67), Brendan Valdes (68-68-67-69), Maxwell Ford (68-68-66-70), -4; T25, Cody Paladino (66-70-70-67), Palmer Jackson (70-65-70-68), Matthew Kress (73-63-69-68), Sebastian Moss (68-69-67-69), -3; T29, Drew Goodman (71-67-70-66), Caden Fioroni (66-69-70-69), -2; T31, Joshua Bai (73-67-67-68), Deven Patel (64-71-72-68), Max Herendeen (72-71-65-67), Carson Bacha (69-71-67-68), Segundo Oliva Pinto (69-70-66-70), -1; T36, Connor Jones (67-70-71-68), Tyson Shelley (69-67-75-65), E.

T38, Stephen Campbell Jr. (67-70-70-70), Ethan Tseng (67-71-71-68), Scotty Kennon (72-72-66-67), Tyler Watts (70-68-74-65 ), +1; 42, Dylan McDermott (71-68-70-69), +2; T43, Stewart Hagestad (67-68-72-72), Shea Lague (72-68-68-71), Aidan Thomas (66-69-71-73), Jayden Ford (73-70-68-68), Evan Vo (68-67-76-68), Reed Lotter (69-76-67-67), +3; T49, Christoph Bleier (70-70-68-72), Tyler Kowack (75-69-65-71), Henry Guan (69-73-68-70), James Imai (73-69-68-70), Miles Russell 69-71-65-75), Jonathan Griz (71-71-69-69), Zachery Pollo (69-74-69-68), Justin Biwer (68-73-71-68), +4.

T57, Ryan Downes (66-70-72-73), Nathan Franks (71-73-68-69), Jonathan Bale (70-68-74-69), +5; T60, Pongsapak Laopakdee (70-72-69-71), Jordan Gilkison (68-73-71-70), +6; 62, Bradford Tilley (69-74-68-72), +7; T63, PJ Maybank (72-67-69-76), Ricky Stimets (71-70-68-75), Gray Albright (70-74-68-72), +8; T66, Jacob Modleski (74-69-67-75), Gerardo Gomez (69-69-74-73), +9; 68, William Love (73-71-69-75), +11.

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