By TERRY NAU

Sports editor

EAST PROVIDENCE – Wannamoisett Country Club started looking like the golf capital of New England on Monday as many of the nation’s top amateur players began checking in for this week’s 47th Annual Northeast Amateur Invitational tournament.
The early arrivals spent some time on the putting and chipping greens, then headed out for a practice round, effortlessly launching 300-yard drives off the first tee. And over in the clubhouse grill, several club members and tournament officials parked themselves in front of the television to watch Monday’s U.S. Open playoff between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate.
Cumberland’s Dave Marino, who finished in a tie for 27th at last year’s Northeast, showed up at noon with a plan.

“I’ll split my time between practicing and watching some of the Open playoff,” the University of Mississippi graduate admitted. “I’ll go back and forth between practicing and checking in on the playoff. I’d much rather play golf than watch it.”

Like any fan of the game, Marino couldn’t help but marvel at the performance of Woods, who managed to play 91 holes of U.S. Open golf on a sore left knee, winning the tournament playoff with a red-hot putter that offset many bad swings from the tee.
“The thing that always strikes me about Tiger is just the way he hangs in there,” Marino said. “When things are not going well, that’s when he really keeps his focus. He usually finishes in the top 10 even when he’s not playing well. Part of that is because he makes so many putts. He’s such a great putter.”
Marino opened last year’s Northeast Amateur with a three-under par round of 66 and remained in contention for a top 10 finish until the final day, when he shot 76 and finished with a 72-hole total of 286 – 10 over par for the tournament. Some people might have been satisfied to play so well in their own home state. Marino – a two-time high school state champion -- looks back and only sees how he can improve this time around.
“I’m going to try my best,” he said, stating the obvious before addressing the nuances of tournament play against a field of elite amateurs from around the world.
“The key is to stay focused and remain patient,” he said. “You have to put the ball in the right spot on these greens. Last year, I hit a couple of putts in the final round that ran way past the hole. And I probably went for a couple of pins that I shouldn’t have gone after. Overall, I was satisfied with the way I played. I didn’t play well enough to win but I played well enough to contend.”
This year’s field is led by University of Florida senior Billy Horschel, Golfweek magazine’s fifth-ranked amateur, is back for another try at the elusive Northeast title. He shot a 62 during last year’s tournament while tying for fourth place with Stanley at 278, three shots behind the winning score posted by Coastal Carolina’s long-hitting Dustin Johnson, who has won over $500,000 on the PGA Tour this year and tied for 48th in this year’s Open.
Second-ranked amateur Kyle Stanley of Clemson University withdrew from the tournament on Monday. And while that hurts the strength of field somewhat, there is no shortage of strong contenders, including Oklahoma State sophomore Kevin Tway, son of PGA Tour veteran Bob Tway. Kevin missed the cut at the U.S. Open last Friday. An honorable mention All-America this past spring, Tway tied for 15th at the Northeast last year.
Other top contenders include 2006 champion Carlton Forrester, who tied for fourth at the Northeast last year. Forrester is 31 years old, a full-time amateur player from the old school who will play the role of Rocco Mediate this week against the young bloods from the college ranks.
Northeast Amateur tournament director Denny Glass is rightfully proud of the way some of the tournament’s recent champions and top contenders have fared on the Tour. 2004 champion Anthony Kim is among the rising young stars in just his second full season as a professional.
Glass has also noticed how the game has changed over the past 15 years.
“I think it was back in 1994 that we had Evan (Big Cat) Williams here for an exhibition,” Glass said. “I don’t know if you remember him. He was the Long Drive champion, a guy who hit the ball farther than anyone at the time. He hit from the back of our No. 1 tee and put the ball in the sand trap at the top of the hill, over 300 yards away.”
Glass gestured up the first fairway, pointing out the sand traps.
“That’s a routine drive for most of the young players today,” Glass noted.
Today’s players are better conditioned than those of a generation or two before. That’s part of the way Tiger Woods has changed the game, pushing young golfers to match his level of strength through workouts instead of just practicing and playing the game the way old-timers dating back to Bobby Jones and Harry Vardon did nearly a century ago.
Improved conditioning along with enhanced technology of golf clubs would seem to make for lower golf scores. Wannamoisett, which plays to a very short (by today’s standards) 6,688 yards, has stood up to the technology revolution and only grudgingly yields consistent scoring under its par of 69.
“Our course is still holding up,” Glass said, noting that the winning scores remain comparable to those of 30 or 40 years ago. Dustin Johnson’s 275 total last year was just one-under par.
The tendency among contenders in recent years is to shoot something low in the first round or two and then try to survive the tricky and slick Wannamoisett greens over the final two rounds as the pressure begins to build and the greens become slicker than a kitchen countertop.
“Our greens will be running between 12 and 13.5 on the stimp(meter) this week,” Glass said. “The course is set up the same way as it is for the members. We’ll have some rough although it’s not too bad this year. Some pin placements will be more difficult than we have for the members. We’re always going to try to be fair about where we place the cups.
“After the first day, I think the players get a little more defensive in the way they putt the ball,” Glass added.
The tournament begins on Wednesday morning and – weather permitting – will conclude on Saturday afternoon.