EAST PROVIDENCE — Lily Dessel knew what she needed to do, who she was up against and what was at stake.
And when the golf gods gave her a break, she made the most of it.
There were plenty of storylines in the quarterfinals of the Rhode Island Golf Association Women’s Amateur at Wannamoisset Country Club on Wednesday, but Dessel’s win over top-seeded Alexis Florio was the story of the day. Down two with two holes left, Dessel battled to send the match to extra holes, missed an opportunity and then caught a break before getting the job done on the third hole to earn a spot in Thursday’s semifinal round.
“I wouldn’t say I feel lucky,” Dessel said. “Coming down the last three holes, it was more like I can do it and I have it in me to do it.
“It doesn’t feel lucky to win, but I felt like it was all in my hands in the playoff.”
Dessel’s win was the story, but it wasn’t the only impressive showing on Wednesday morning.
Here’s what occurred at Wannamoisset:
The comeback of all comebacks
Both Dessel and Florio played terrific all afternoon, but Florio found herself with a 2-up lead after winning the 10th and 11th holes. Dessel got it back to one, but Florio stuffed one on the par-3 15th for a birdie that had her 2 up with three left.
“Coming off 15, my dad was like, ‘You kind of have to make three birdies in a row if you want to stay in this,’ ” Dessel said. “So I was like, ‘OK.’ ”
Florio’s length put her on the par-5 16th in two but Dessel stuck a wedge tight with her third that allowed the match to continue after Florio’s clutch two-putt.
“There’s a feeling when you make a putt that’s a must-make, it’s like, ‘Whoa,’ ” Dessel said. “Walking over to 17, I was like, ‘OK, I’m still in this — just have to keep going.’ ”
Dormie on 17, Dessel made a putt for birdie to send the match to 18. She found the fairway while Florio’s drive plugged on an upslope just above the face of the bunker. Florio couldn’t scrap up a par and Dessel’s two putts sent the match to extra holes.
Dessel thought she had it won on No. 1. Florio’s downhill birdie putt missed left, leaving Dessel with an 8-footer uphill for the win. She left it short.
“I was standing over it and felt a little shaky, because that’s kind of what you do on those putts — a putt to win,” Dessel said. “The moment it came off the face, I knew I didn’t hit it.”
No. 2 is a long par 5, very much reachable for Florio, who did so in two, but requiring three shots from Dessel. Her approach sat just short of the green, and while she hit it to 2 feet, figured her chances to win were gone with Florio 6 feet from a birdie.
Florio struck the putt well, but it caught the edge and spun out of the cup, giving Dessel life after she drilled her own 2-footer for par.
“You don’t want to tell yourself it’s over, but in my head, when the putt started going, I was like, ‘OK, it’s over,’ ” Dessel said. “Then, all of a sudden, it wasn’t.”
Dessel made the most of the opportunity. On the 125-yard par 3, Dessel hit a perfect 8-iron that landed at the front left of the green and settled to 15 feet. Florio missed in the bunker left, had some trouble getting out and eventually conceded.
“If you’re going first, you can set the standard or leave it wide open,” Dessel said. “I was very happy with how my shot turned out.”
The home course hero comes up big
Dessel’s win sets up a match with another player in search of her first Women’s Amateur, as Morgan Macleod, a member at Wannamoisset, played solidly in a 2-and-1 win over 2007 champion Val Blinn.
“I feel comfortable here,” Macleod said, “but it’s definitely different than when I’m playing here just for fun.”
Macleod, a rising junior at Merrimack College, looked like she was playing a casual Saturday round. From her first hole to the last, Macleod didn’t waste a second over the ball and played at a breakneck pace.
“If I take too long, I overthink it and contradict myself,” Macleod said. “Once I have what I’m going to do, it’s just hit it and don’t overthink it.”
Macleod appeared to be comfortable all day. She won three of the first four holes, had a 2-up lead at the turn and went 3-up with a win on No. 10. Blinn tried to rally late with wins on Nos. 14 and 15 but Macleod answered with a clutch putt on No. 16, getting the match to dormie.
Blinn didn’t go away quietly. She made an impressive birdie putt on No. 17 to gain some momentum, but her drive on 18 found the bunker. Macleod hit one in the fairway, put the next shot off the green and got up-and-down to close the match.
“I wasn’t really thinking anything extraordinary,” Macleod said. “I wasn’t thinking about birdie — it was just getting it down there.”
Macleod, the Women’s Am runner up in 2022, and Dessel are more than familiar with each other after playing junior golf over the years. Both are chasing their first title, but neither plans on changing her approach for Thursday’s semifinal.
“It should be a good competitive match [Thursday] and she just won…
