A Dream Start for Andrade
By Joe McDonald
RIGA Senior Writer
NEWPORT – Don’t let Billy Andrade’s smile, personality, or hospitality fool you this week during the 44th U.S. Senior Open Championship at Newport Country Club.
While the Rhode Island native is having a blast showing off his home state, the man is here to win a major championship. Andrade hosted over 100 people, including players and their families at his home in Bristol Tuesday night, but once he hit his first tee shot at 1:54 p.m. Thursday, it’s now all business.
“This would be a crowning moment for me to be able to have a chance to win this tournament in my state where I grew up,” he said. “It would be a hell of a story.”
He made his presence felt during Round 1.
Andrade shot 6-under 64 for third place and is one shot off the leaders. He said he couldn’t have imagined a better first-round performance in front of the home crowd.
“No. When you go into these things you don’t want to embarrass yourself, you don’t want to make a lot of bogies, fight your game and all that stuff,” he explained. “I went out today and got off to a great start, birding three of the first four holes, had a lot of chances, didn’t make a bogey, made a couple of birdies coming in, so just a great, unbelievable, awesome day on a course I absolutely love. I just love it here. I love everything about it. I loved it when I was a little boy and I love it now. Great start but we have 54 holes to go.”
Andrade recently changed his putter and putting stroke and it’s paying dividends. Since he did birdie three of the first four holes, it allowed him to gain much-needed confidence to start.
“Every time you start a round and birdie three of the first four holes is awesome. A lot of times it has gone the other way and then you have to fight, claw to get it back,” he said. “It was a really great start. I kept it together and getting off to a good start is what we all want. We strive for that every time we play and every golfer in the world strives to start off, birding three of the first four. It was a great start and I’m off and running.”
Andrade, 60, understands that his impressive career is slowly winding down and he would love nothing more than to win this week at Newport Country Club.
“Winning is the ultimate goal that every player wants to do here,” he said. “It would be awesome. I just want to have a chance with nine holes to go. That’s what every player here wants every week we play. A lot of stuff’s going to happen. You’re going to make birdies. You’re going to make bogeys. You’ve got to handle yourself and not get too excited, but we all want to have a chance with nine holes to go and that’s our goal. If I have a chance, I like my chances.”
Even though it was only the first day, a large gallery followed Andrade’s entire round. The local fans cheered every shot and it was evident he fed off the energy from the crowd.
“It was great,” he said. “It was really nice support today. A lot of faces I haven’t seen in a while. Some relatives I haven’t seen in a while, so it was nice to see them all. I hope it continues. I don’t know what the numbers are and how the USGA feels about the attendance today, but I thought it felt like a major. It felt like a real tournament. It felt the way it’s supposed to feel. I thought it was a great first day.”
Andrade has been thinking about this tournament since it was announced prior to it being cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020. He’s played several practice rounds here and wanted to be playing his best golf leading up to this week. He tied for sixth at the Dick’s Open last week in Endicott, N.Y., and it gave him a huge boost of confidence.
“Last week was huge for me,” he said. “I just love the way I played and I’m really excited and thrilled about being here. This is a magical place and I’m so excited about being a part of it . . . you always want to play well and play well leading into majors. I accomplished my goal last week and now I have to go out this week, hit good golf shots, make a few putts and give myself an opportunity on Sunday.”
He accomplished his goal on Day 1 and proved he’s all business now.