Rhode Island may be the smallest state, but it is full of great golf talent, with more on the way.
Whether it’s talent that is still playing locally or talent that has taken the next step in their careers, Rhode Island has a lot to be excited about in 2025.
With the Players to Watch, GolfNewsRI aims to highlight two men’s and two women’s players that could be/will be making moves during the 2025 season.
And not necessarily the star players.
So without further ado, here are GolfNewsRI’s Women’s Players to Watch in 2025:
Lilly Dessel: Lilly Dessel has been on the junior golf scene for the last couple of years as one of the stars of the Barrington High School golf team.
But last summer, she announced her arrival by beating Olivia Williams in the Rhode Island Junior Amateur and then making a deep run in the Women’s Amateur the following week.
“This gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I can beat all the junior girls in Rhode Island. I will probably go in with confidence next week and all the future tournaments and high school. I feel like last season it was all about Olivia and Adriana, but now I think the stories will shift a little,” Dessel said after the victory.
Just weeks after that, she committed to Holy Cross to play college golf starting next fall.
Watch out for Dessel as she looks to close out her high school and junior golf career with a bang.
Vinny Papa: Vinny Papa is certainly not a new name on the Rhode Island golf scene. She has won medalist honors in Women’s Ams, and dominated Junior Ams over the years.
Papa closed out last season by winning the Nutmeg Junior Championship and the Ocean State Junior Classic.
Prior to that, Papa finished second in the Granite State Junior Classic, losing to Adriana Eaton in a playoff.
In December, Papa committed to Division II Anderson to play golf starting in the fall of 2026. At the time, Anderson was the number one ranked team in the country in D II.
Let’s see if Papa can ride this momentum into the 2025 season.
Honorable Mentions
Veteran Presence: This past year’s Women’s Amateur was electric, in part, due to the return of veterans/past champions like Emily Brooks, Alexis Florio and Addy Douglas to the field.
All of them have admitted that they don’t play as much golf as they used to, the working world calls, but clearly they still have game.
Brooks won the tournament, while Florio and Douglas made deep runs.
Good to have a veteran presence.