WARWICK _ It was not planned that way, but the 94th RIGA Junior Championship turned into one big coming out party. Well, actually two big coming out parties. Davis Chatfield and Alexis Florio, two teenagers who have been hailed by golf insiders as future stars, used the event to post their first major victories. Wannamoisett’s Chatfield won the boys’ championship with a 2-up victory over Sam Knowlton of The Misquamicut Club. Alpine’s Florio took the girls’ crown with a 5-and-3 triumph over Allison Paik of The Wheeler School. In both cases, it likely will be the first of many. The people who best know the game have spoken for a couple years about how both the 15-year-old Florio and 16-year-old Chatfield have outstanding swings as well as excellent attitudes. While the area has a host of young talent, both are regarded among the very best prospects. Both already have had high finishes in a number of events, but were without a breakthrough win in a major event. Both now have it thanks to strong play all week at Valley Country Club. ``This is definitely a boost of confidence. I had a lot of second-place finishes in Challenge Cup this year so to finally seal the deal feels good,’’ Florio said. Chatfield has been much the same. He made waves when he not only qualified for match play in the State Amateur but won a match before falling to Charlie Blanchard in the round of 16. Then, he played in the Mass Juniors _ he is eligible because the family lives in Attleboro _ and finished second in the MGA’s 54-hole stroke play format. ``I played great in the Mass so I can’t get upset with where I finished,’’ he said. ``I was kind of hoping I could win this one because of what I did in Mass. I felt like I could win.’’ Chatfield ended Patrick Welch’s three-year run of 10 straight victories in this event in the semis on Thursday. That one meant much to him because he and Welch have become good friends. ``The competition playing Pat Welch is so good. How he plays cross-handed is unbelievable for me. It makes you get better,’’ said Chatfield, who will be a junior at Bishop Feehan this year. Knowlton also gave him all he could handle in the title match. Chatfield looks as if he would do it easily as he built a 3-up advantage through six. But the long and lean Knowlton, who also is a top hockey prospect, fought back and three times drew within one hole, after 10, 14 and 17. At 5-feet-4 and 110 pounds, Chatfield gives up distance to Knowlton. And the final hole is a 515-yard par-5. But Chatfield responded by pitching within four feet on 18 for a conceded birdie and the 2-up decision. Chatfield earlier had made a key decision. He was invited by both Mass and Rhode Island officials to play on their state Junior team in next week’s matches in Maine. He decided to play for Rhode, in large part he explained because he wanted to be on the same team with Welch. The other members of the Rhode Island team will be Knowlton, Jesse Boog, Riley Griffin, Jeff Giguere and Joey Tucker. Chatfield hails from a golf family. His oldest brother Brett, who plays for Bentley College, caddied for him and his middle brother Patrick won the Second Division title over Ben Morgan in 19 holes. Florio also comes from a great athletic background. Her dad, Peter, was an All-State golfer at LaSalle. Her mother, Denise (Armstrong) was a three-sport athlete at Cranston West and a basketball star Bryant, to the point of now being in the school’s Hall of Fame. Alexis was an All-Stater at Cranston West as a freshman this year as she finished sixth in the co-ed tournament and third in the girls’ championship. She has come on in leaps and bounds this summer with a series of good finishes in US Challenge Cup play. The last two weeks, though, were her biggest yet. She qualified for the national Big I Classic in Kansas and last week made the cut with rounds of 76-79, even though she had to play with borrowed clubs after hers were lost by the airline. It was her first trip away from home without her parents. ``I stayed with a host family. It was a great experience. I loved it,’’ she said. The course set-up was more challenging than she had ever faced. ``I was so happy to come here and just play the course again. It was kind of a relief compared to what I had to deal with last week,’’ she said. Using new clubs, she was strong all week, including her victory over Paik in the final. The 13-year-old Paik, who also is a major prospect (she qualified for the US Juniors earlier this summer) was 1-up through seven. Florio responded to the pressure with some of the best golf of her life. She ran off seven straight pars, four of which won holes, to go 3-up. Then she finished with a flourish, with birds on both 14 and 15 to win the title. In the other divisions, Eli Epstein-Lubow won the First Division, 4 and 2 over Claudio Soukamneuth and James Burke Jr. edged Alex Sienkiewicz, 2 up, for the Third Division crown.
Day 4 Recap
By Paul Kenyon
WARWICK _ Everyone knew it was going to take something special to end Patrick Welch’s run as champion in the RIGA Juniors. Thursday afternoon, Davis Chatfield produced that kind of round. Chatfield broke open a close match with a run of three birdies in four holes late on the back nine and went on to a 2-and-1 thriller over the two-time defending champion. Chatfield will meet Sam Knowlton of The Misquamicut Club in Friday’s title match. Knowlton had a great match of his own in the semis against Jesse Boog. Knowlton built an early 4-up advantage, saw Boog rally and draw even after 17 then came back with a birdie of his own the par-5 18th to pull out a 1-up decision. The girls’ matches showcased the talents of the two best players in that division all week, Allison Paik and Alexis Florio, both of whom won convincingly to set up their showdown in Friday’s final. The long day at revitalized Valley Country Club, with both quarter and semifinals held, produced plenty of story lines. Easily the biggest was the end of the domination by Welch, who had won 10 straight matches over the last three years and was bidding to become only the fourth player in the event’s 94-year-history to win three in row. Brad Valois, Brad Faxon and Tom Cunningham are the others. Chatfield might not yet be as well known as Welch, but he has the game to become a star on Welch’s level. The two each had a turn on the lead early on and were tied through 12. Chatfield birdied 13 to go ahead, then birdied 14 to go 2-up. After both parred 15, Welch got home in two on the par-5 16th. Chatfield was short, but then pitched within two feet for a certain bird. Welch two putted but only got a halve out of it with his bird. When 17 was halved, Chatfield had the spot in the final. The match was doubly interesting because Chatfield had made a significant decision two weeks ago because of Welch. Chatfield had just finished second in the Massachusetts Junior Championship and was invited to join the Bay State team for the New England Junior Team Championships, which will be held next week in Maine. Chatfield had to think about it. His family lives in Attleboro, so Massachusetts is home. But the family plays its golf at Wannamoisett in East Providence, which also makes him eligible to play for the Rhode Island team. Chatfield opted to play for Rhode Island. He said there was one big reason he chose Rhode Island. ``I wanted to be on the team with my friend Pat Welch,’’ he said. Knowlton, the guy Chatfield will meet in the final, continued a great run by players from The Misquamicut Club in RIGA when he won twice on Thursday, including his dramatic 1-up decision over Boog in the semis. Misquamicut’s Lisa McGill Griffin won the RIGA Woman’s Amateur just last week. Knowlton, who was a semifinalist in this event last year, lives in Connecticut but spends the summer with his family in Misquamicut. Knowlton birdied the first hole to take a quick lead and was 4-up after seven. Boog did not quit. He won 9 and 10 and then 16 and 17 to pull even. Both were short in two on the par-5 18th. Knowlton pitched within four feet, Boog to 18 feet. Boog narrowly missed his bird, then Knowlton made his for the spot in the finals. There were no surprises in the girls division as the two strong favorites, Paik and Florio, powered their way to the final. Those two were one stroke apart in qualifying, and 15 strokes ahead of the rest of the field, and they did much the same thing in match play. Paik, who fired a 77 in qualifying to edge Florio for the medal, is only 13-years-old but already has won some national honors both in AJGA play and USGA play. Earlier this summer she qualified for the U.S. Junior Championship and fired a first-round 75 before faltering in the second round. She has played in Massachusetts events in the past, but she now attends The Wheeler School and the family has a home in Providence. She defeated Mackenzie Conley, 8 and 6, in the quarterfinals then turned back Demi Dischert 6 and 4 in the semis. Dischert gave Paik a test, going even through seven before Paik took control. Florio, an All-Stater as a freshman at Cranston West, has been equally impressive. She came in off a strong performance in the national Big I Insurance Championship where she shot 76-79 and made the cut despite playing without her clubs, which were lost by the airline on her flight to Kansas. She won her quarterfinal over Lauren Dohony, 7 and 6, then birdied three of the first five holes (1, 5, 6) as she downed Courtney Breen 8 and 7 in the semis.
Day 3 Recap
By Paul Kenyon
WARWICK _ The seed chart will record the work Drew Aiken turned in Wednesday as a major upset in the RIGA Junior Championship. The reality is, though, that it was not that big a surprise. Aiken got match play in the 94th Junior event off to a rousing start when he ousted medalist Rio Holzwarth, 4 and 3, at Valley. Aiken had been 11 strokes higher than Holzwarth in qualifying, with a 78. But it was a very different story once match play began. The two were even through five holes when rain forced postponement of action on Tuesday. When they resumed play on a beautiful Wednesday morning, Aiken won five of the next six holes, two with birdies, to build a 5-up advantage. He coasted home from there. Aiken, who is part of a strong contingent of players from the Connecticut National Club who have joined the RIGA, spoke about how he did not feel like a big underdog when the match began. ``I had played with him in qualifying so I kind of knew what to expect,’’ he said. ``The 78 I had (in qualifying) is not really what I can do. All I was trying to do was make sure I got into the championship division.’’ Aiken will meet Sam Knowlton of The Misquamicut Club in the quarterfinals. Knowlton beat Dylan Kane, 4 and 2, in a wild match that saw only two holes halved. Knowlton never trailed. The two were even through seven before Knowlton won three holes in a row and went on from there. Aiken was not alone in posting an upset. Two other tournament favorites, Riley Griffin and Jeff Giguere, both were knocked off, too. Jesse Boog of Wanumetonomy eliminated Griffin, 1 up. Griffin entered off a second-place finish in the national Big I Classic in Kansas last week. He was 2-up over Boog through 12 before Boog won 13, 14 and 15 to go ahead. When each of the last three holes was halved, Boog had the spot in the quarters. It will be an interesting one for him since he will meet his friend from Wanumetonomy, Kyle McGowan. McGowan never trailed as he held off Zachary Najarian, 2 and 1. Giguere, who had made big news with a strong run in the State Amateur, fell to Joey Tucker, 4 and 3. Tucker won three straight holes after the resumption of play on Wednesday, 5, 6 and 7, and went on to a 4-and-3 decision over Giguere. Tucker draws another tough assignment in the quarters where he will meet another of the favorites, Davis Chatfield. Chatfield got past Stephen Vye, 3 and 2. Chatfield is playing in his second state Junior event of the summer. He came in second in the Mass Junior, which is contested at stroke play over 54 holes. He was eligible for that one because he lives in Attleboro. He is eligible for the Rhode Island event because his family has a membership at Wannamoisett. Chatfield also competed in the RIGA Amateur last month where he finished fourth in qualifying and won a match before losing to Charlie Blanchard in the second round. Two-time defending champion Patrick Welch survived the upset run, but not without some tough moments. He was extended by C.J. Charpentier of the home course before prevailing 3 and 1. The two were never more than one-hole apart before Welch birdied the par-5 16th to go 2-up, then won 17 with a par to move on. He will face Sean Irons of Potowmout. Irons squeezed past his Hendricken High teammate Colin Sutyla, 1-up. Iron built a 5-up advantage before Sutyla won four in a row to close within one through 15. Irons won 16, Sutyla stayed alive by winning 17, and 18 was halved, allowing Irons to move on. In the girls’ division, where the top four seeds had byes, matches were not as close. MacKenzie Conley defeated Amanda Woodard, 8 and 7, Marissa Isabella beat Gabriella Scarcella 7 and 6 and Lauren Doheny of Alpine got past Sarah Melaragno in 19 holes. Melaragno had won each of the last two holes in regulation to force the 19th hole.
Day 2 Recap
By Paul Kenyon
WARWICK _ Rain was the only winner Tuesday in the 94th RIGA Junior Championship at Valley. Match play began as scheduled at 7:45 a.m., but lasted only 75 minutes because of rain. The first group in the boys championship division had completed only five holes. Play was halted just in time. ``We had a deluge just after we got everyone into the clubhouse,’’ noted Bob Ward, the RIGA’s executive director. Initially play was going to be suspended. Weather reports said the rain would end in late afternoon. In other events, an attempt might have been made to try and resume play later in the afternoon. However, the situation is different with the juniors. ``We have a number of players who have transportation issues, so we did not think it would be fair to have them waiting around until 4 o’clock or so,’’ Ward said. ``So we just decided to call off play for the day. We will resume Wednesday at 8 a.m.’’ One round will be contested Wednesday. Both the quarterfinals and the semifinals now will be held on Thursday and the title matches in all division on Friday.
Day 1 Recap
By Paul Kenyon
WARWICK _ It was not a surprise that one of the players from Moses Brown’s Interscholastic League championship team earned medalist honors Monday in the RIGA Junior Championship at Valley. What was a surprise was which Quaker star did it. Rio Holzwarth, who spent much of the high school season playing out of the fifth spot in the Moses Brown lineup, was number one in qualifying with a sparkling 5-under-par 67. Holzwarth finished with a flourish, with an eagle on the par-5, 515-yard 18th hole. That vaulted him ahead of two-time defending champion Patrick Welch, who had a 69. In the girls division, 13-year-old Allison Paik edged All-Stater Alexis Florio by one, 77-78, for medalist honors. The 12-player girls division might lack depth, but not the boys division, which looks stronger than it has been in some time, even with the highly regarded Dickson still away working for the summer. Welch looks ready to make a run at becoming only the fourth player in the event’s 94-year history to win three times in a row, but his challenge looks to be more difficult than ever. Welch had a big finish himself with his fourth and fifth birdies of the day on 17 and 18 for his 69. He is accustomed to being at the top of the leaderboard. It is different for Holzwarth. He was overshadowed on the Moses Brown team by Will Dickson, the Interscholastic League champion each of the last two years. Riley Griffin, also an All-Stater, played number two for the Quakers, but has emerged his summer as a major star in his own right. Griffin just returned from Kansas where he finished second in the national Big I Insurance Youth Classic, the best finish by a Rhode Island in that event since Billy Andrade won it more than 30 years ago. Caroline Farber, who won the RIGA Juniors each of the last two years but is not competing this year, played out of the third spot for Moses Brown and Eli Epstein-Lubow usually played number four ahead of Holzwarth, who was only a freshman. ``We had a good team. And we’re going to be even better next year,’’ said Griffin, who posted a 73 on Monday. Griffin said he was not really surprised that Holzwarth shot so low because so many players on his Moses Brown team are playing so well. The difference with Holzwarth is that, for now, golf is his second sport. ``He’s a really good soccer player,’’ Griffin said. Holzwarth is so much into soccer that he left Valley soon after shooting his 67 because he had to go play in a soccer game. Griffin stayed around a while, enough to accept congratulations for his performance last week at the Big I in Kansas, one of the best performances by a Rhode Island junior in a long time. He put together rounds of 74-68-71-73 to come within one of Wells Padgett of Wichita, Kan., for the title. ``It was a great time,’’ Griffin said. ``I got to play four rounds of golf on an awesome course and I played pretty good. So it was all good.’’ In addition to his work in the tournament, he also won the long drive contest at the tournament with a belt of 309 yards. He is playing better than ever, he said, because of help he has received from Kyle Phelps, the pro at Rhode Island Country Club. ``I’ve been trying to hit it straighter. That’s been my problems forever, not hitting it straight,’’ Griffin said. ``He put my swing path pretty much on a different line, got the clubface square so I’m not coming underneath it anymore and hitting big hooks and big slices.’’ Griffin overcame a stretch in the middle of the round in which he went 4-over in three holes to post his 73 and easily earn a spot in the championship division. In the girls division, Paik and Florio were well ahead of third-place finisher Courtney Breen, who came in at 92. Paik qualified for the U.S. Juniors earlier this summer. The 13-year-old has won numerous honors already while living in Massachusetts. The family has moved to Providence and Allison now attends The Wheeler School. Her 1-over effort on the back nine allowed her to edge past Florio by one stroke for medalist honors. Florio played with brand new clubs, although not by choice. The Cranston West star also qualified for the Big I Classic last week. The problem was her clubs did not arrive in Kansas with her. Using borrowed clubs, she shot 76-79 in the first two rounds and made the cut. She returned home and the airline still had not found her clubs, so she and her parents had to go out and buy a new set. ``They’re OK,’’ she said of her new clubs. She made it clear, though, that she hopes her clubs eventually are found and returned. Match play in brackets of 16 begins on Tuesday. Cart and Caddie policy: Players are permitted to employ a caddie. A parent, teacher or coach are not eligible to caddie. Motorized are not allowed. Spectator carts are not available.
Food & Beverage - Will be available all days on a cash basis.
