Golf
Here’s who’s atop the leaderboard after Day 1 of the RIIL high school golf championships
CRANSTON — The new era of high school golf has arrived.
Some of what went down on Day 1 in the RIIL Golf Championships went as expected. Moses Brown’s Adriana Eaton set the tone for the girls tournament as she tries to win her second straight title. La Salle and Barrington set the stage for what should be an epic team battle in Wednesday’s final round.
But the story of the day was the boys tournament, where the leaderboard was dominated by the sport’s newest stars. The two biggest were a pair of freshmen, as Prout’s Rocco Capalbo and La Salle’s Drew MacLeod both shot a 1-over par 72 to tie for first, one stroke better than Pilgrim’s Rich Cavanagh and Chariho’s Ian Dunham.
“It’s Day 1 but I’m tied for the lead,” Capalbo said. “There’s another day left, 18 holes of golf; you never know what can happen but I’m ready for [Wednesday].”
“I feel relieved, kind of, in a way, but I also feel composed about my round,” MacLeod said. “I hit the ball well all day so I know I can do it. I’m playing against one of my best friends [on Wednesday], so that should be a fun day.”
On the girls side, Eaton was methodical. The sophomore is a silent killer, who plays the game as efficient as someone playing a video game. Hitting fairways and greens all morning long, Eaton shot a 1-over par 72, giving her a three-stroke lead over Barrington’s Claire McTaggart.
“I didn’t really let it bother me too much. It’s just another round of golf,” Eaton said. “You take one shot at a time. I’m here with my team, so shoot low for my team and hopefully that will help me individually, too.”
The girls leaderboard was filled with familiar names. Five of last year’s first-team All-State selections were in the top 10; four of the top five were first-teamers and the fifth — Emma Lockhart — is a freshman. McTaggart came in at 75, followed by La Salle’s Olivia Williams (76), Barrington’s Lily Dessel (78) with Lockhart’s 81 rounding out the top five.
It’s a different story on the boys side.
None of the top 16 finishers was first- or second-team All-State selections last year and the lone first teamer in the top 20 is former two-time champ Max Jackson, who came in at 78 and is tied for 17th.
A newcomer set the tone early, as Cavanagh — who was munching on peanut butter M&M’s throughout his round — was even par through 14 before running into two bogeys to take the lead in the clubhouse at plus two.
Capalbo and MacLeod both took notice. With the RIIL introducing a live scoring app last year, players were able to see how they stood in real time and both freshman relished the opportunity to see what they needed to do to stay atop the board.
Both players dealt with the nerves of playing their first state championship like experts. Capalbo made bogey on the par-5 first hole — a birdie hole for players of their caliber — but ripped off eight pars to close the front, with two more to start the back.
On the par-3 12th hole, Capalbo drilled his shot close and made birdie to get back to even. He bogeyed 17, but closed with a par on 18 and felt good about his day.
“I was just trying to not get in my head. There’s a lot of golf left,” said Capalbo of his start. “I was trying to stay in the tournament.
“Just staying with it was important for me.”
MacLeod, who shot a 30 at Kirkbrae Country Club in the first match of his high school career, was solid from the start before making bogeys on No. 7 and 9. Playing in the last group, MacLeod stuffed a shot on 11 and made a kick-in putt for bird, then found another on 14 to get back to even.
A bogey on the par-3 15th ended his hot streak, but MacLeod finished with two pars to send himself to Day 2 tied for the lead.
“Bogey doesn’t mean you’re going to lose the tournament,” MacLeod said. “You just go out and try to get another birdie. You don’t have to attack every pin because it’s a two-day tournament. It’s not one day where you’ve got to absolutely fire at everything.
“I just played it the way I was supposed to and just trusted my game.”
The final round should be a thriller. Seven players are within three shots of the lead, with Cavanagh and Dunham — who jugged a shot from the fairway on 18 for eagle — both back by one. They’re followed by Barrington’s Adam Gorman (74), Coventry’s Andrew Lavoie (74) and a trio of players at 75 — East Greenwich’s Dylan Marcantonio, East Providence’s Billy Fitzgerald and North Kingstown’s Will Owens.
“I have to be aggressive but I have to play smart. I can’t make big mistakes,” Capalbo said. “Hopefully a couple more putts drop and I should be good.”
MacLeod’s round will also play a huge factor in the team event. La Salle shot an 18-over 302, two shots better than Barrington. East Greenwich is within earshot at 311, followed by Hendricken (314) and Cranston West (316), Prout (317) and Moses Brown (318).
“If I play good golf, I’m certain the rest of our team is going to play good golf,” MacLeod said. “I trust my teammates. I know that they’re good players.
“We played pretty well [on Tuesday] so hopefully [on Wednesday] we can get the team championship locked up and I can get the individual title while I’m at it.”
2023 RIIL Team Golf ChampionshipsRound 1
1, La Salle, 302; 2, Barrington, 304; 3, East Greenwich, 311; 4, Hendricken, 314; 5, Cranston West, 316; 6, Prout, 317; 7, Moses Brown, 318; 8, Coventry, 326; 9, North Kingstown, 330; 10, Pilgrim, 334.
2024 RIIL Boys Golf ChampionshipsRound 1
t-1, Rocco Capalbo, Prout, 72; t-1, Drew MacLeod, 72; t-3, Rich Cavanagh, Pilgrim, 73; t-3, Ian Dunham, Chariho, 73; t-5, Adam Gorman, Barrington, 74; t-5, Andrew Lavoie, Coventry, 74; t-7, Billy Fitzgerald, East Providence, 75; t-7, Dylan Marcantonio, East Greenwich, 75; t-7, Will Owens, North Kingstown, 75; t-10, Shawn Cadieux, Cranston West, 76; t-10, Samuel Perry, La Salle, 76; t-12, Garrett Carney, East Greenwich, 77; t-12, Nick Emery, St. Raphael, 77; t-12, Nolan Leonard, Barrington, 77; t-12, Jack Marques, Cranston West, 77; t-12, Sawyer VonFlatern, Hendricken, 77; t-17, Gianni Fontenault, Hendricken, t-17, Samuel Iden, North Kingstown, 78; t-17, Max Jackson, La Salle, 78; t-17, Connor Paradise, La Salle, 78; t-17, Ben Peters, Mt. Hope, 78; t-23, Tyler Asay, East Greenwich, 79; t-23, Kyle Biewala, Portsmouth, 79; t-23, Sam Fuentes, Coventry, 79; t-23, Parker Kroll, Moses Brown, 79; t-23, Harris Krupp, Prout, 79; t-23, Avery Picchione, Hendricken, 79; t-29, Nathan Carter, East Providence, 80; t-29, Rocco DiMatteo, Barrington, 80; t-29, Jack Hannigan, Smithfield, 80; t-29, Lenny Kiernan, East Greenwich, 80; t-29, Michael Pezzullo, Hendricken, 80; t-34, Michael Farina, Cranston West, 81; t-34, Gunnar Lundin, Moses Brown, 81; t-34, Alex Morrone, Prout, 81; t-37, Noah Araujo, East Providence, 81; t-37, Ncholas Davenport, Narraganset, 82; t-37, Gregory Fitta, Barrington, 82; t-37, Jack Lawson, Lincoln, 82; t-37, Eric Whitlock, Cranston West, 82.Missed cutThomas Hanson, Hendricken, 83; David Lippy, Hendricken, 83; Devin Stevens, Pilgrim, 83; Jake Biafore, Narragansett, 83; Mathew Bolduc, Mount St. Charles, 83; Nate Crossman, Coventry, 84; Charles Melvin, La Salle, 84; Sam Medici, Cumberland, 84; Joey Andreozzi, La Salle, 84; Logan Jarbeau, West Warwick, 85; Charlie Horne, Prout, 85; Griffin Cooper, Hendricken, 85; Tiernan Leahy, Hendricken, 85; Pierce Potter, North Kingstown, 85; Caleb Burnett, Prout, 86; Luke Cavanaugh, Lincoln, 86; Peter Vachon, Cranston West, 86; Grayson Moore, East Greenwich, 86; Jesse DeSarro, Chariho, 86; Lucas Leroux, Prout, 87; Ryan Gervais, North Providence 88; Matthew Lavoie, Coventry, 89; Michael Spooner, Pilgrim, 89; Brody Corcoran, Pilgrim, 89; Michael Shih, Moses Brown, 91; Jagger Dion, Cranston West, 91; Ben Tamul, Hendricken, 91; Jackson Bromage, Pilgrim, 91; Benjamin Recupero, North Kingstown, 92; Kohen Camberg, North Kingstown, 93; Brady Pongvongkeo, North Providence; Gunnar Krein, Moses Brown, 93.
2024 RIIL Girls Golf ChampionshipsRound 1
1, Adriana Eaton, Moses Brown, 72; 2, Claire McTaggart, Barrington, 75; 3, Olivia Williams, La Salle, 76; 4, Lily Dessel, Barrington, 78; 5, Emma Lockhart, Barrington, 81; 6, Katherine Waldorf, Bay View, 84.Missed CutElizabeth Kue, Johnston, 85; Hana Shuster, Moses Brown, 86; Jordan Vrees, La Salle, 88; Ava Andoscia, Prout, 88; Julia Nault, Cumberland, 90; Alexandra Colardo, Cranston West, 93; Molly McCrillis, La Salle, 94; Brooke Barner, Exeter-West Greenwich, 95; Lily Howard, Pilgrim, 96; Megan Eastman, Cranston West, 97; Sydney Pagnozzi, Scituate, 107; Lauren Adamonis, Bay View, 107; Frankie Main, Westerly, 113; Riley Giroux, Toll Gate, 116; Maddie Murphy, North Kingstown, 125; Evelyn Button, Middletown, 137.
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