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PLAINVILLE - One of the Attleboro Area Golf Association's founding fathers Alex Ohlson was on the No. 1 tee being introduced to the entire field, to those who did not know of him or aware of his exploits in building the Norton CC back in the 1950's, then getting the Wading River Golf Course off the ground. After 15 years at the Ballymeade CC on Cape Cod, Ohlson related that it was a "thrill to be back" and see so many familiar faces. His wife June is the women's pro at the Woods Hole Golf Course ...

Some heartfelt moments also taken by the three inductees into the AAGA's Hall of Fame, Derek Johson, Bert Bouley and Dave Heylin. For Johnson, 2009 marked his 17th top 10 finish, "eventually we'll get there," he said to long time caddy Pat Kelleher of the title chase. For Bouley, the 2006 Open champ, "it's what I've learned playing with all of these guys," he said of the sportsmanship on display. And for Heylin, battling back from a stroke, the course record holder (a 64) at the Locust Valley Golf Course, "I love this game, I know that it helped me in my recovery" ...

Peter Ohlson, the course superintendent at Wentworth Hills and his staff had to compensate a bit for an inch of rain which fell overnight, which even left some standing water in sand traps. "The course was set up medium, but with the rain, the greens are going to hold" ...

Back-to-back bogeys wasn't exactly the way Brandon Nolan saw his final round starting. But from that point on, the Attleboro High senior could do no wrong, playing the final 16 holes 5-under par to post a 3-under par 68, the second low medalist on the day with nine pars and six birdies. "I putted real well on the back, which I haven't done all four days," said Nolan, 3-under on the back nine.

But it wasn't a birdie putt that stood out most in the Highland CC member's mind. It was a par-saving two-putt on the par-4 13th hole that got the Bombardier going. "I was front right and the pin was way back left and over a ridge," he said. "The greens are soft so I had to kill it to get it there. I put it right on top of the ridge and I had just about eight feet left with a little break and I made a good putt. That kind of helped with the putting on the last couple of holes (birdies at 15, a 30-footer, at 16, a 10-footer and at 17, a 25-footer)." AAGA Tournament Committee Member Justin Ciombor, the former Bishop Feehan High Shamrock and UConn Huskie, shot a 75 with a 1-under-par 34 on the backside, but it was his foursome members that stole the show - each day, a member having an eagle - J.B. Randall on the 18th hole at the Foxborough CC, Jay Poirier on No. 11 at Highland, David Yurek on No. 5 at Norton and on Sunday, Kyle Bouley at Wentworth Hills' par-5 No. 14 - hitting a 5-iron 200 yards in, then knocking in a wedge shot from 10 yards out. "Good for them, not for me," said Ciombor, who had just two birdies during the entire tournament. "You're not going to win playing like that" ...

Both Steve Finocchi and Jamison Randall in the final threesome pulled out their "Pinseeker" binoculars to better accurately measure distances. "I know that it helps me because of my eyes," said Finocchi ...

Finocchi's final medalist round of 4-under-par 67 and four-day score of 292 would have won 12 titles otherwise over the past two decades ...

Randall, incidentally, was on the practice tee at Wentworth Hills and for fun, staff members measured out some of his drives - the best stretching out to 335 yards! "Playing in that last group today was special," said the Cumberland High junior, the 2008 AAGA Junior Tournament champion and runner-up in 2009. "I was glad to be able to experience that. My goal after the second day was to make the top 20, then it was the top five - I'm very proud of that" ...

Breakfast of champions? For Ryan Riley that meant a bowl of corn puffs and a croissant - no coffee, no juice ...

Two of the Foxborough CC's best had outstanding rounds - Scott Congdon with a 1-under-par 70 (11 pars, four birdies) and Greg Brastow with an even par 71 (10 pars, four birdies). The secret to Brastow's round can be traced to Congdon. Brastow, who was up and down all weekend, went to his third putter of the tournament before his round on Sunday, taking Congdon's old one out of his trunk.

The results speak for themselves, as Brastow's even-par round shot him up the leaderboard on the last day. "It worked out well, I liked it," Brastow said. "He owes me big time for my putter," Congdon joked.

Brastow really heated up on the back nine, where he shot a 2-under par 33. "It was a little bit more of an aggressive round. I figured might as well come out and try to make some birdies," he said. "I started to swing it a lot better and I felt a lot more comfortable on the back nine." His most important hole came on the par-4 12th, the most difficult hole on the course. Brastow pulled his drive into the long rough and then left his approach shot short. A chip left him with 30 feet to the hole for par, but Congdon's putter came through.

"And right about at that point the putts started to fall and I started to gain a little bit of momentum," Brastow said.

Congdon, meanwhile, a semifinalist at the Mass. Amateur and senior at Bryant University, had high hopes going into this Open. And with a solid round at his home course things were looking good for him. But two tough rounds on the middle days put Congdon relatively out of contention. Nevertheless, Congdon rallied to finish in third place at 298, 14 shots over par. "My goal is always to finish at the top, I thought I had a chance after my first round but I kind of fell off after my second and third rounds, which was a little disappointing," he said. "But I'm happy I hit the ball better today, that gives me a little more confidence so hopefully I can go forward with that"...

One of the most remarkable feats was by Rob Butler, who came in at even-par 71, struggling to even walk the past two days with a bad back. "It hurt, but I took an extra club," said Butler, who 11 pars and four birdies on his scorecard. "I got lucky," said Butler. "I put the ball in play and put it on the green" ...

It was quite a feat, but not unexpectedly with three-time champ Billy Vine, 1983 champ John Renner, 17-time top 10 finisher Derek Johnson and 2007 champ Billy White all finishing in the top 10. Vine had an even-par 71(12 pars, three birdies), "I hit it from tee to green very strongly," said Vine, who switched to a cross-handed putting style at No. 12 and promptly sank a birdie putt ...

Renner was spectacular, at 3-under-par through 15 holes with 12 pars and three birdies, including a chip in from 30-yards out on the par-3 No. 7 hole. Then he came in bogey, double-bogey, double-bogey. "I'm giving it one more year," said Renner. "I'm not a kid anymore, I have to grind it out - the old goat will show up" ...

Next up for Ryan Riley will be the Mass. Golf Association's Mid-Amateur Championship September 15-17 at the Haverhill CC ...