CRANSTON – Midway through the second day of play, the outcomes at the 2026 Rhode Island Interscholastic League Golf Championship seemed inevitable.
The finish told a different story.
Drew MacLeod spent most of Wednesday comfortably ahead of the field, but things got a little tight over the last two holes. The La Salle junior put himself in a tough spot on the 18th green, but managed to prevent a disaster from occurring and closed out with a clutch five-footer to finish 67-75-142, good for a two-shot win over Cranston West’s Kailer Loungxay.
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“I feel pretty good. I played very well [Tuesday],” MacLeod said. “[Wednesday] wasn’t as great, but I still got it done.”
Things were looking good for Drew MacLeod as he crossed the bridge on the 17th hole on his way up to the green, but the La Salle junior had to come up clutch on the final two holes to pull out a win at the 2026 RIIL Golf Championships.
Adriana Eaton was in similar position. She held a three-shot lead on the 17th tee, saw it slip to two on the 18th, then needed to make a four-footer to finish 71-77-148, besting Johnston’s Elizabeth Kue by one shot.
“I was definitely a little scared at the end,” Eaton said. “It really came down to the last hole but at the end of the day, that’s what golf is.
“You’re not always going to have your ‘A’ game, so you have to battle through with the game that you have and I did that today.”
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Rocco Capalbo, Prout Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Rocco Capalbo, Prout Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Drew MacLeod, La Salle Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Luke Cavanaugh, Lincoln Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Ray Rainville, Hendricken golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Adriana Eaton, Moses Brown golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Maggie McDonald, Lincoln School Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Adriana Eaton, Moses Brown golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Maggie McDonald, Lincoln School Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Elizabeth Kue, Johnston Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Claire McTaggart, Barrington Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Jack Marques, Cranston West Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Jagger Dion, Cranston West Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Kamryn Kue, Johnston Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Emma Lockhart, Barrington Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Rocco Dimatteo, Barrington Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Sean Carroll, Lincoln Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Kailer Louangxay, Cranston West Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Mitch McTaggart, Barrington Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Kailer Louangxay, Cranston West Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Adriana Eaton, Moses Brown Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
A turtle swims goes for a dip in the pond next to the 14th hole at Cranston Country Club during Day 2 of the RIIL Golf Championships on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Adriana Eaton, Moses Brown Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Adriana Eaton, Moses Brown Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Sam Perry, La Salle Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Sam Perry, La Salle Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Tiernan Leahy, Hendricken Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Grayson Moore, East Greenwich golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Sam Perry, La Salle Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Sam Perry, La Salle Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Maggie McDonald, Lincoln School Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Bags from teams all around the state waited near the patio at Cranston Country Club as players waited for results to become official at Day 2 of the RIIL Golf Championships on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Elizabeth Kue, Johnston Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Adriana Eaton, Moses Brown Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Drew MacLeod, La Salle Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Drew MacLeod, La Salle Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Ray Rainville, Hendricken Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Drew MacLeod, La Salle Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Kailer Louangxay, Cranston West Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Drew MacLeod, La Salle Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Barrington High School Golf Bag sits near the patio at Cranston Country Club during Day 2 of the 2026 RIIL Golf Championships.
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Adriana Eaton, Moses Brown Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Adriana Eaton, Moses Brown Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Drew MacLeod, Moses Brown Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
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Take a Look: Past champions shine at 2026 RIIL Golf Championships
Drew MacLeod, Moses Brown Golf
(Eric Rueb/Providence Journal)
Last year MacLeod spent the final day of the tournament chasing the leaders, catching them on the 18th hole and then winning his first state crown in a playoff. This year, MacLeod was the one being chased.
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The junior’s game is unapologetically aggressive, but Wednesday MacLeod played with tremendous poise. He made a tough double bogey on the seventh hole to shoot two over on the front, but there wasn’t a soul making a move on the leaderboard to even raise the idea that he might get caught.
“It was definitely a little different,” said MacLeod of the atmosphere this year compared to last. “I definitely didn’t feel like I had to press down the stretch and make a bunch of birdies.”
La Salle’s Drew MacLeod tries to will his ball to slow down on a birdie attempt on the 17th hole during Wednesday’s RIIL Golf Championships.
As MacLeod continued to play steady, smart golf, Loungxay started to make a bid. The freshman shot even par on his front, but came up with two birdies on the back nine – including one on the par-5 17th hole – and led in the clubhouse at 74-70-144.
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Things started getting interesting when MacLeod made a bogey on the very scorable par-4 16th, then followed by blocking his drive into the treeline in the right rough. MacLeod pitched himself back into play, then hit a stellar shot from 225 yards out to get a look at birdie.
MacLeod didn’t need a birdie. He needed to keep the slippery putt close and managed to do just to make a par.
Drew MacLeod gives a wave to spectators after making the clinching putt on the 18th hole at Cranston Country Club during the final day of play at the 2026 RIIL Golf Championships.
Armed with a three shot lead, MacLeod found the green on 18 in two, but couldn’t have been further from the hole. With the pin front right, MacLeod had to find a way to avoid disaster. Instead of trying to make the putt or get aggressive, he hit it to a spot where he’d have a better chance at two-putting.
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This was about winning, not about scoring, and it worked brilliantly. He hit his next putt to five feet and rolled it in, preventing any further drama and winning his second straight state title.
“I knew if I played it too far left, it had a chance of rolling off the green,” MacLeod said. “I played it far enough right, 15 feet uphill and gave myself an opportunity to two putt.
“… I feel like being in that situation over and over again, that’s definitely helpful. I knew I had two putts from there (to win), but I really wanted to make it.”
The road to a third title was a wild one for Moses Brown’s Adriana Eaton, but the senior came up clutch and was able to finish off with a one-shot win over Johnston’s Elizabeth Kue.
Last year, Eaton shot a state record on Day 1 and put it in cruise control as she won her second girls title. The senior didn’t light up the scoreboard on Tuesday, but her even-par round gave her a three-shot lead over Kue with Barrington All-Stater Claire McTaggart five shots back.
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Even after a double-bogey on the par-5 13th hole, Eaton never looked to be in trouble. Pars were going to be enough and the gap bounced back between three and four over both Kue and McTaggart.
Eaton had a three shot lead on 17, but made bogey while Kue made another par. A mental mistake on her second shot prevented Eaton from reaching the green and, with Kue on in regulation, a playoff didn’t seem out of the question.
Kue was aggressive in her birdie attempt, but stepped up to make a comebacker for par she celebrated with a fist pump. All of a sudden, Eaton found herself staring down the throat of a tough four-foot putt to win the title.
If she was nervous, it didn’t show. The senior stepped up and rolled it dead center.
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“Off the tee shot I was nervous. All of 18, after the tee shot, I was thinking about the tree [that protects the green] that might be in my way and I hit right into it,” Eaton said. “Over the four foot putt, nerves were definitely high but I was glad I could get it done.”
Adriana Eaton had quite a day at Cranston Country Club on Wednesday, but came up clutch when she needed to and secured the third RIIL Girls Golf Championship of her career.
Eaton’s first title came her freshman year and she nearly had a second before giving shots away late and not being able to hold off a charge from La Salle’s Olivia Williams. Last spring was pure dominance and this year’s title showed how she learned from all of these experiences.
“I’m definitely really happy with how my career went,” Eaton said. “I had a very supportive team all four years.
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“… I love wearing the Quaker and representing MB, so I’m glad I was able to get a third one for the school.”
Sam Perry and the La Salle golf team were all business on Wednesday as they wrapped up a 20-shot win at the 2026 RIIL Golf State Championship tournament to give the program its fifth straight state title, a state record.
Lost in the drama of the individual titles was the absolute dominance by La Salle in the team competition. The Rams crushed the competition, shooting a two-day total of 595 and beating Hendricken by 20 shots.
La Salle had three players in the top four, with MacLeod winning and Brent Rollo and Sam Perry finishing tied for third. Nate Jackson and Delan Phinney also had top-20 finishes to help the Rams win their fifth straight title, becoming the state’s first golf program to do so.
“We had a pretty good lead [after Day 1], probably one of the better scores our team has ever shot,” MacLeod said. “I still really wanted to get the team win because that’s a state record right here.
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“I knew even if I didn’t play my greatest, my boys would still have me. It feels really good to five-peat.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Results from the 2026 Rhode Island High School Golf Championships