GolfNewsRI

Two of the most exciting days of the golf season get underway on Tuesday morning at Cranston Country Club – the Rhode Island High School Golf  State Championship. 

First round tee times begin around 7 a.m. on Tuesday and end just before noon time.

In this preview, GNRI will breakdown what teams made it, storylines and more.

What Teams Made It:

The ten teams that will be competing for the title include La Salle, Barrington, North Kingstown, East Greenwich, Hendricken, Moses Brown, Prout, Cranston West, Coventry and Pilgrim.

Overall, five teams made it from the Central Division and not one team from the North Division made it.

The qualifier for the State Title was just the top ten teams in iWR (scoring average), no matter what division.

There will be a cut after the first round to the top three teams.

Notable Individuals Playing (not part of team tournament):

Along with the teams, there are a handful of boys and girls playing for individual titles, despite their teams not making the tournament.

Some of those players include Cumberland’s Sam Medici, Smithfield’s Jack Hannigan, Mount St. Charles’ Matthew Bolduc, Lincoln’s Jack Lawson and Narragansett’s Jake Biafore. 

Everybody playing for their respective teams have a shot at the individual title.

Storylines

La Salle Going for Three-Peat

The Rams are looking to be the first team to three-peat since Will Dickson’s Moses Brown Quakers did it from 2014-2016. 

La Salle enters the tournament with five players who can all put up a low number starting with Max Jackson and Olivia Williams, to freshman Drew MacLeod, senior Charlie Melvin and Sam Perry. 

However, teams such as Barrington and North Kingstown, among others, will surely make a run at them and try to prevent a three-peat. 

The Eagles took La Salle to extra holes in the McCampbell Cup earlier this year. 

Girls State Championship

The Girls State Championship is sure to be a fascinating one. 

Adriana Eaton is the defending champion after winning the title as a freshman, but tough competition is lurking. 

La Salle’s Olivia Williams is the defending Junior-Am Champ and Women’s Am Champ, beating Eaton both times in match play format.  

Williams won the girls State Championship as a freshman two years ago.  

Another player to keep an eye on is Barrington’s Lilly Dessel. 

Dessel scored a big win earlier this season at the Hendricken Invitational and will be a contender this week. 

Boys State Championship

Playing in his final High School State Championship, Max Jackson will surely look to go out on top by winning his third State Title in four years. 

However, he is going to have a slew of competitors, including his own teammates. 

NK’s Will Owens, Coventry’s Sam Fuentes, La Salle’s Drew MacLeod, Prout’s Rocco Capalbo and Charity’s Ian Dunham will all vie for the Individual Crown. 

MacLeod, a freshman, had the best stroke average in the state during the regular season, followed by Dunham and Capalbo. 

Battle of the Freshmen

A highlight of the regular season has been the outstanding play of the freshman, namely La Salle’s Drew MacLeod and Prout’s Rocco Capalbo. 

Together, they make up two of the top three in the state in scoring average, MacLeod at 0.186 and Capalbo at 1.505. 

It will be fun to see them battle down the stretch on Wednesday afternoon with a State Title on the line. 

Notable Tee Times

Full list of Tee Times HERE

First Tee Time Off

7 a.m. Nick Davenport, Alexandra Collard, Jack Hannigan

9:15 a.m. – Andrew Lavoie, Jack Marques, Adriana Eaton 

9:24 a.m. – Sam Fuentes, Shawn Cadieux, Parker Kroll 

10:36 a.m. – Gianni Fontenault, Rocco Capalbo, Garrett Carney 

10:54 a.m. – Ian Dunham, Nick Emery, Ben Tamul 

11:30 a.m. – Claire McTaggart, Olivia williams, Pierce Potter 

11:39 a.m. – Lily Dessel, Max Jackson, Will Owens 

11:48 a.m. – Adam Gorman, Drew MacLeod, Sam Iden