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EAST PROVIDENCE — A four-putt on the 14th hole could have meant sent Morgan MacLeod into a downward spiral of despair. A lip-out putt on No. 15 could have been the kiss of death for Emily Brooks.
Instead, both players handled adversity like champions — and because of that, they’ll play for a title.
After spending the front nine of their Rhode Island Golf Association’s Women’s Amateur semifinal building comfortable leads, MacLeod and Brooks spent the back holding on to them. MacLeod overcame her miscue with a clutch putt on 15 that propelled her to a 2-and-1 win over Lily Dessel while Brooks put her miss behind her and finished with two pars to close out Kylie Eaton, 2-and-1.
“I felt good getting here,” MacLeod said. “On the putting green, on the range, it just felt like my day.”
“It was a fun fight right toward the end,” Brooks said. “Even when I was 3-up, I knew this was not a cushy lead at all, not against Kylie.”
MacLeod, the 2022 runner-up, will meet Brooks, the 2021 champion, at Wannamoissett Country Club at 8 a.m. Friday.
Here’s how they got here:
MacLeod’s mental approach pays off
At the pace she plays, no one will ever accuse MacLeod of backing up a golf course.
She didn’t slow down just because a spot in the Women’s Amateur final was on the line. With Dessel playing at a similar place, the two flew around Wannamoisset and played the front nine in 75 minutes.
MacLeod’s game plan was simple — make pars. Playing on her home course and at a speed that would make any ranger cry for joy, MacLeod found a groove, got comfortable and built herself a 4-up lead at the turn, making only one bogey.
“I was expecting it to be all square for a while because we were just making pars,” MacLeod said. “I was confident, but I was also like, ‘Just play your game. Go out and make pars.’ ”
Desperate to find some momentum, Dessel got things turned around on the back nine, winning the first two holes before MacLeod got one back.
On the short, par-4 14th, both players had tough birdie putts. Dessel left hers short, then missed before taking a bogey. MacLeod also missed short, then hammered it past the hole, missing the bogey putt to take a double, which isn’t something that typically happens to a player of her caliber.
“Morgan was steady today,” Dessel said. “So, little hiccups like those can cause things to happen.”
A moment like that can make or break a match and MacLeod handled it exactly the way you’re supposed to — by ignoring it completely.
Both players hit the green on the par-3 15th, and with Dessel in for par, MacLeod looked as if she hadn’t recovered from the previous hole. Her birdie putt was well short of the hole, but instead of panicking about what might happen, MacLeod stepped up and drained the par to keep her lead at 2-up.
“I just try to think about the next shot ahead. It’s just put it close and two-putt,” MacLeod said. “It’s over. I don’t try to get mad, because then I think about it and then the next shot it just keeps going.”
The clutch putting continued on 16 with another tough par putt that became a halve when Dessel’s birdie putt missed. MacLeod couldn’t make par on No. 17, but her bogey was enough to earn a halve and send her to her second Women’s Amateur final in two years.
“I’m super excited, especially since this is at my home course,” MacLeod said. “This is something I wanted to try and win for a while. … I’ve definitely learned from that finals experience and will try to take it into [Friday].”
Dessel took the loss in stride. She struggled to find her game on the front but, despite the sizable deficit, never felt she was out of the match. Dessel, a rising senior at Barrington High School, wanted to play one more match, but felt good about her game, especially with how the summer went.
“This summer has definitely given me a lot of confidence,” Dessel said. “I won last week, I made the semis this week and beat a bunch of good players. I definitely feel good about where my game is and it sucks to lose, but I feel good about the run I had over the last nine days.”
Brooks was there
It’s tough to find anyone who has hit as many good shots at Wannamoisset as Brooks has this week.
For all her talk this week about having fun and playing just to be competitive, Brooks has played better than just about everyone. On Thursday morning, the 30-year-old was on her game, going birdie-birdie to start her day before shooting 1-over on the remainder of the front nine as she built a 3-up lead on Eaton in the process.
“I didn’t even realize I was under par on the front nine until I got to like 11,” Brooks said.
“What helps me is just staying in the moment. I like when I don’t know what I am.”
Eaton played too well to be down three. The Moses Brown All-Stater was 1-over on the front, carding a double bogey on No. 5 and a birdie on No. 9 to go with seven pars.
But with Brooks playing terrific golf, it was difficult to cut into the lead. Eaton won two of the first three holes on the back, but Brooks’ par on No. 11 helped keep the lead at 2.
“I saw my game get better as the round went on,” Eaton said. “It finally returned to the form I’m happy about and knew I had coming into this.”
The match looked as if it was turning in Eaton’s favor on No. 14, when she hit a delicate downhill chip to 2 feet and made par. Brooks had two putts to halve, but missed the shortie and found herself nursing a 1-up lead.
“I’m a streaky putter. My short putts, I’m either on or I’m not,” Brooks said. “You can talk to all the guys I play with. They say I’m much better than I am from 10 feet than I am from 4.
“I was a little shaky there and I just tried to guide it.”
All week, Brooks has told herself to be aggressive and she continued that mentality down the stretch. She hit an impressive approach on No. 16, lofting a high wedge that sat softly, and two putts later had a birdie to maintain the lead.
On No. 17, Brooks’ second shot went wide right, but she hit a perfect pitch back and was in position to make birdie.
Eaton wasn’t as fortunate. Her second shot stuck in grass on the upslope above the bunker, leaving her with an impossible stance. Eaton and her sister, Adriana, who was caddying, went over the options, including reversing a club and hitting it lefty, before Eaton decided to take a punch shot that looked like a baseball swing.
“It was sort of just a shot that’s unlucky and you have to do what you can with it and hope for the best,” Eaton said. “I don’t have the lefty shot in me, I tried to punch out a little nine and I didn’t think I was going to get pure contact on it but I did.”
The ball rolled deep, her short-sided chip went long and Eaton’s putt powered over the edge of the hole. Brooks calmly rolled her putt close enough and Eaton conceded the match.
“I made it to the finals, which was my goal for the week,” Brooks said. “I’m excited to be in the finals and just have a shot to leave it all out there.”
Eaton didn’t think she had her A-game this week at Wannamoisset, which is a scary proposition for where it is. It’s clear that spending a year at IMG Academy in Florida did wonders for how she plays, and with her college career starting soon at the University of Illinois, it’s only going to be better next summer.
“I’m very excited to finally get to go compete in college,” Eaton said.
Players are ready for a fight
Brooks and MacLeod have taken different approaches to match play this week. Brooks has been aggressive, trying to get to every par 5 in two and firing at every pin she can. MacLeod has been a bit more conservative, taking shots as they come but playing consistent in just about every round.
“[My confidence] is pretty high, but anything could happen [Friday],” MacLeod said. “I’ve just got to go in level-headed.
“I’m just going to go play.”
With what’s on the line, neither should stray far from what got them there. Brooks very much wants to win a title in what could be her final State Amateur — she’s moving to Nashville in the coming months — and for MacLeod, winning her first title on her home course would be a perfect ending to the week.
“I had a home-course advantage two years in a row and I only won one of them,” Brooks said. “It’s fun. It’s just out here playing golf and we’ll see what happens.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Results from RIGA Women’s Amateur semifinals played on Thursday