Myopia Assistant Pro Earns Alternate Spot At Championships

Joe Rocha has a knack of coming through when the pressure is on.

And he's hoping to get a chance to show his ability to be cool under pressure at the 2012 PGA Club Professionals Championship next summer at the Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Club in Seaside, Calif., just outside of Monterey.

The assistant pro at Golf Course followed a playoff win at the Boston Open at William Devine Golf Course in Franklin Park, on the NEPGA circuit last month with an extra holes victory during the NEPGA Championship at Pinehills Golf Club on in late August. The latter earned him a top 15 finish and the second alternate for the 2012 championship.

It was a bittersweet finish for Rocha, a Lynnfield native and a resident of Beverly. He finished the third round at Pinehills in bogey-double bogey, which forced him into a four-way playoff for the alternate spot.

“I was somewhat disappointed that I was playing for alternate and I didn’t qualify outright,” he said. “That being said, I took it as a challenge to see what I can do and if can come out on top. I saw it as a mini-accomplishment (winning the playoff).”

On the first sudden death playoff hole - the 16th - three of the four golfers carded a birdie while the fourth ended at par. Another contestant bowed out on the 17th hole when Rocha was among two to make par. He finished off the final foe with a par on the 18th.

“I really took it as a challenge to win (in the playoff). I felt like I gave it away finishing the tournament bogey-double bogey,” said Rocha, who carded a 77-72-76­ – 225. “I sort of got revenge on the golf course in playoffs. It made the drive home a little easier.”

Rocha, 40, who has been an assistant pro at Myopia for two years, said that despite being the second alternate that his chances of playing on the West Coast are pretty good. He explained that many people can’t afford the trip or can’t take time off and spots open up.

It would be a good chance for more redemption. Rocha qualified in 2007 for the Championship in Greensboro, Ga. in 2008, where he missed the cut.

Going to mid-coach California will also give him the opportunity to practice with Ben Doyle, a coach he has worked with in the past. Doyle has worked with many players on the PGA tour, including Steve Elkington.

Despite his recent success Rocha doesn’t have aspirations to play alongside Elkington and others on the tour. He is looking to do well at this level and see where it takes him.

He figures the experience can only help him in his other job, a golf instructor at Golf Country in Middleton.

“The NEPGA offers me an opportunity to play a dozen times a year. I aim to do well in those events and then go from there,” he said. “My goal is to win locally.”

Myopia head pro Bill Safrin has been impressed with the run Rocha is on.

"We are proud of Joe for playing so well and representing the club in a professional manner," Safrin said. "He is obviously playing well despite handling a full work load and teaching in his spare time. The fact that he can play so well with little time to practice is remarkable."