Familiar names near top of leaderboard after Day 1 of Rhode Island Junior Amateur

PAWTUCKET — Two defending champions are firmly in contention again entering the match-play portion of the 105th Rhode Island Junior Amateur.

Olivia Williams and Max Jackson were among the top players in their respective fields through the opening 18 holes of stroke play on Monday. Both navigated Pawtucket Country Club and some challenging weather conditions in fine style.

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Willliams was the medalist by one shot among the girls, firing an even-par 73 to edge playing partner Lily Dessel.

Jackson finished in a five-way tie for second among the boys at 1-under, one shot behind medalist Quinn Dumas.

“I feel like I played pretty good,” Williams said to the R.I. Golf Association. “I stayed pretty steady. I stayed focused and I had fun.”

“I only had one bogey today,” Jackson said. “Any time you have more birdies than bogeys, it’s always a good thing.”

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Williams carded three birdies and three bogeys while playing among the morning groups. She’s a two-time Junior Amateur champion, a two-time Interscholastic League girls champion with La Salle Academy and the reigning state Women’s Amateur champion. Williams will defend that crown at Wannamoisett Country Club next week, but first comes this battle with her fellow teenagers.

“It’s a big deal,” Williams said. “It’s the best juniors in the state. It’s a competitive tournament — it's a fun tournament.”

Dessel is a high school rival who carded an extra bogey against three birdies for a 1-over 74. Claire McTaggart was four shots back at 77 and Adriana Eaton rounded out the top four at 5-over 78. Williams prevailed against Eaton in last year’s Amateur final, a matchup of two gifted young players just scratching the surface.

“Obviously I feel a little nervous,” Williams said. “There are a lot of great competitors. But I’m just going to try to stay focused and take one shot at a time.”

Jackson teamed with Williams to help the Rams to a state team title in the spring and is looking for a fourth straight crown here. He carded a pair of birdies on the front side against a lone bogey and rattled off nine straight pars on the back. Jackson is competing this week on his home course and should enjoy some strong support over the coming days.

“It was pretty rainy,” Jackson said. “Stuff was getting slippery. Today you just have to get to the top 16, so I wasn’t really trying to go at pins.”

Jackson started with two pars before a birdie at the par-4 third. He added another at the lone par-5, drilling a 3-wood to the front of the eighth green and chipping to within tap-in range. It was safety first from there with the top 16 boys making the cut for match play.

“I’m going to have to make birdies to beat these guys,” Jackson said. “There are so many good players.”

Dumas is a Massachusetts native who plays out of Wannamoisett and made his presence felt here. He made the turn at 2-under after three birdies on the front side, including a blast out of the sand at the par-3 seventh. Dumas was even on the back side and grabbed the top seed entering match play.

“I just hit the ball really well,” Dumas said. “Hit a couple of putts here and there. That calmed me down.”

Jackson was joined at 68 by reigning Interscholastic League champion Rocco Capalbo, Sam Fuentes, Drew MacLeod and Ian Dunham. Charles Melvin fired an even-par 69 to close out the top seven.

Mitch McTaggart and Raj Mammen tied atop the boys U14 field at 78. Kailer Louangxay is two shots behind, Ray Rainville trailed by three and Aidan Connell was off the lead by four. Nico Capalbo rounded out the top half of the field at 85.

Match play begins on Tuesday and is scheduled for the next four days this week. Each 18-hole final is set for Friday.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Familiar names near top of leaderboard after Day 1 of Rhode Island Junior Amateur