The 2025 Rhode island Women’s Amateur Final is set.
Top-seeded Alise Knudson will face 2022 Amateur Champion Kylie Eaton on Friday morning at Alpine Country Club.
“Same mindset, just try to make as many birdies as I can. I have a lot of wedges in so if I can get the putter going, it should be a good match tomorrow and hopefully, lots of birdies,” Knudson told the media after her semifinal win over Isabella Cioe on Thursday.
Eaton will be back in the State Am Final for the second time in the last four years.
“Alise is a great player, so I’m going to have to bring my A game. Just going to try and make some birdies and stay even keeled no matter what. She is going to make some birdies and I’m going to have to accept that, and hopefully the other way around. We will see what happens,” Eaton told the media after the round.
Tee off is set for 8 a.m.
Kylie Beats Adriana
In second battle of the Eaton sisters in the last three years (at least on a State level), Kylie beat Adriana 3&2 to advance to the finals.
“She’s very competitive and I’m very competitive, as everyone is in this tournament I’m sure, but definitely bragging rights is on the line always when we play each other. So we both want it a little bit more, but I try and not think that because then I’ll put more pressure on myself,” noted Eaton about player her sister.
Kylie jumped out to an early two-up lead on the first two holes, but Adriana battled right back to tie the match on the fourth hole.
The sisters split the next two holes and went into the turn even.
“I went birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey for awhile, which was a little frustrating, but we were even at the turn and I still hadn’t played at the level that I wanted to be at,” said Eaton.
Adriana took her first lead of the match on the tenth hole, before Kylie responded with a win on the 11th.
Kylie then went birdie, par, birdie over the next three holes to take a two-up lead through 14 and a three-up lead on 16 to close out the match.
“Birdie, par, birdie is really what did it for me. I finally got the wedges going and the putter working so, better late than never. A couple of good shots and a couple of good putts,” Eaton added.
Kylie will now look to rack up a second Women’s Am title on Friday morning.
She noted that her caddie on Friday morning will either be Adriana or her dad, former NHL defensemen Mark Eaton.
Knudson Advances to Final
This match looked like it was going to be another runaway victory for the Knudson, who has yet to play a close match in this tournament.
Knudson won three of the first four holes and was five-up after nine.
“I played super solid on the front, shot three-under. I was five-up at the turn. I was making a lot of putts so that was really fun,” said Knudson.
Upon making the turn, things got a little interesting as Cioe won the tenth hole and notched another win on the 14th to cut Knudson’s lead to three-up.
“At the turn, I struggled a little bit. Made a couple of bogeys. Isi made a couple of great putts, a couple of great birdies. She actually birdied 16 which forced me to make my putt to win the match. It was really fun out there, it was a great battle with Isi,” said Knudson.
Knudson would halve the 15th and the 16th holes to close out the match and advance.