The 2010 RIGA Player of the Year race has been a three-headed monster all season, and as the season winds down Charlie Blanchard, Garrett Medeiros, and Bobby Leopold all put together great campaigns. Independently they collected seven major wins this season, and they finished second overall in the USGA Men’s State Team Championship, four strokes behind the trio from Kansas.
Leopold scored a top five finish at the team championship. Medeiros finished up an impressive amateur career by winning the Stroke Play Championship and breaking into the top 200 in the Golf World Amateur Rankings. In search of his sixth POY in the last ten years Blanchard played in nine majors with three wins, and an impressive showing at the Northeast Amateur against some of the best amateurs in the country on his home course, Wannamoisett CC. Less than 90 points separate first place Blanchard from third place Leopold, with Medeiros in second with only 23 fewer points despite competing in only five events this season.
The forecast for 2011 looks much clearer with Medeiros and Leopold both potentially out of the local amateur picture. Medeiros has begun his professional career with an upcoming debut on some minor league tours while Leopold will do the same later in the year.
With his two greatest challengers turning pro, Blanchard will be the odds on favorite to capture another POY in 2011.
About Matt Manco
I am a freelance writer, baseball instructor, and restaurant manager embarking on the first New England Golf Challenge. The New England Golf Challenge is an experiment to find out how much the average golfer can improve in one year with diligent practice and lessons. Check in weekly for updates and articles chronicling my experiences working towards a better golf game.
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