EAST PROVIDENCE — They all know how to play.

The collegiate stars who have come to dominate the prestigious Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett all hit their tee balls long and straight. They all can calibrate the distance on their irons down to the yard. They all putt fearlessly — and accurately.

Yes, they all know how to play.

It's knowing how to win that matters.

Look at the list of Northeast winners: Ben Crenshaw. Scott Hoch. John Cook. Hal Sutton. Brett Quigley. Jay Sigel. David Duval. Luke Donald. Anthony Kim.

Now, to those names, add that of 22-year-old Dan Woltman — a Wisconsin Badger through and through, having grown up in Beaver Dam and played his college golf at "the U" in Madison.

"This gives me a lot of confidence," Woltman said yesterday afternoon, after shooting a final-round 64 for a tournament record total of 265 — 11-under-par and three shots better than anybody else in a field that included 17 of the top-20 ranked amateurs in the country.

"We had the best amateur players here," tournament director Denny Glass said, "and they played like it. The scores were amazing."

None was more amazing than Woltman.

"It's a great honor just to play here," he said. "To win is an awesome feeling."

This was the fourth year Woltman has played in the Northeast. His best previous finish was a tie for fourth in 2006, when the tournament was only 36 holes because of severe rains.

"I was second going into the final round last year," Woltman said, "and shot 76. I struggled."

This year, he breezed — cruising around Donald Ross' classic layout with six birdies and only one bogey.

"I striped my drive off the first tee down the center," he said, "hit my second shot to five feet and made birdie."

That set the tone for the day.

"I learned from my mistakes," Woltman said. "As I've gotten older, I've gotten smarter. That helped me shoot 12 shots lower in the final round this year than I did last year."

Woltman put up his 64 and headed to the practice range with his caddy, Bryan — who also happens to be his father — to stay loose and wait to see if anyone still on the course could match him.

"We've been out here about 45 minutes," Bryan said only a few minutes after learning that his son's score wouldn't merely hold up, but would be three shots the best.

They didn't say much in that time, because there wasn't really much to say.

Bryan enjoys caddying for his son and says he follows these basic rules: "Keep up, shut up, give him yardages when he asks, and don't say anything negative."

Everything was positive for the Woltmans yesterday, except they weren't positive of victory, even after posting a tournament-record score.

"I've just been over here, beating balls," Dan said. "I'm not a 'numbers' guy. But I had thought: 'If I get to 10-under, that's the tournament record. If I shoot the tournament record and still don't win, well, it's out of my hands.' "

Woltman was on the range when he got the news that his closest pursuer, David Holmes, who had held the first-round lead and was at 10-under with two holes to play, had pulled his second shot on the par-5 17th out of bounds.

For Woltman, it wasn't as dramatic as winning on the 18th green, but it was every bit as satisfying.

"Last summer," he said, "I wasn't outside the top 20 in any of the tournaments I played. I was 15th, 14th, ninth. Then, at the Sunnehanna, I was second. To be so close and not win was frustrating."

The list of players who have played in the Northeast Amateur, but haven't won, is as impressive as those who took home the trophy — U.S. Open champions Jerry Pate, Curtis Strange, Corey Pavin, Steve Jones and Jim Furyk, as well as Masters champions Fred Couples and Trevor Immelman, and British Open champions Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard, Ben Curtis, and Todd Hamilton.

A fellow by the name of Eldrick Woods, nicknamed "Tiger," played 27 holes in 1993 before withdrawing with what later was diagnosed as mononucleosis.

Now, Woltman, who hopes to play on the U.S. Walker Cup team against Great Britain and Ireland this fall — every Northeast Amateur champ since 1991 has been picked for the team — after which he'll turn pro and go to Q-School, hoping to earn a spot on the PGA Tour for 2010, knows he belongs in that exalted company.

"Last year," he said, "I kept wondering what I needed to do to break through. People told me to just keep working hard — to keep my head on my shoulders and just play golf, not get in my own way.

"It's nice to finally break through, especially against a quality field like this in a tournament with so many great past champions. This was the spark I needed."

It's a win that sets him apart, that moves him to the next level. Because everybody who tees it up in the Northeast Amateur can flat-out play. But only one player can win.