By Dalton Balthaser

 

LINCOLN, R.I. – Brendan Fay said Monday getting the No. 1 match-play seed was “added pressure he didn’t want.”

 

If you looked at his match results to this point, it doesn’t seem like there is any tension.

 

“I don’t feel any pressure as the No. 1 seed like I did on Monday,” said Fay. “Making it to the semifinals is a good thing. I am just going to play my game Thursday and see what happens.”

 

Fay, of Metacomet Golf Club, advanced to the semifinals of the 98th Rhode Island Golf Association Junior Amateur after another 5&4 victory Wednesday at Kirkbrae Country Club (par 71, 6,317 yards). This time he defeated Wannamoisett Country Club’s Logan Smith to punch his ticket to the Final Four.

 

Joining Fay in the semifinals Thursday will be No. 5 seed Henry Horgan of Newport, R.I., No. 7 seed Harry Dessel of Rhode Island Country Club and No. 14 seed Nolan Marcoux of Quinnatisset Country Club.

 

In Thursday’s morning matches, Fay will face Horgan at 7:30 a.m. and Dessel will face Marcoux at 7:38 a.m. The 18-hole final will take place following the conclusion of the semifinal matches.

 

He birdied Nos. 1 (par 4, 337 yards) and 2 (par 4, 392 yards). A smooth 30-yard pitch on the first to three feet and a 60-yard sand wedge to six feet on the second put him in charge of the match.

 

He never looked back.

 

“It’s nice to get a spot in the semifinals,” said Fay, 18, of Barrington, R.I. “But you don’t put your name on a plaque or a trophy after winning a quarterfinal match. After birdieing the first two holes of the match, I had a good feeling I was going to win the match. I wanted to go as low as possible.”

 

Horgan, a 2019 graduate of the Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach County, Fla., is capitalizing on his final opportunity to compete in this event. He defeated Louisquisset Country Club’s Nicholas Petracca, the event’s defending champion, 5&4.

 

“It means a lot to grab one of the semifinal spots,” said Horgan, 18, of Newport, R.I. “I told myself that in my last one of these I was going to give it everything I had. I have done that thus far and have been happy with the results.”

 

Horgan was 1-down to Petracca after hitting his 6-iron approach out of bounds on No. 6 (par 4, 451 yards). But he rebounded nicely with a birdie on No. 7 (par 4, 387 yards).

 

That got him back in the match and then he won five of the last seven holes to cruise to victory.

 

“I don’t feel any pressure,” said Horgan. “I don’t see playing tournament golf to be stressful because there are a lot of other things out there that are more stressful than this. I just enjoy golf and have fun.”

 

Now he gets the top-seeded Fay. Ironically, Fay and Horgan will both be playing sports collegiately at the College of Holy Cross. Fay will run track and Horgan will play golf.

 

Dessel defeated The Aquidneck Club’s Teddy Murphy, 2&1, which continues a strong summer showing for the 16-year-old from Barrington.

 

“Every year I play in the RIGA Junior I try to get this far,” said Dessel. “But this year is the first year I have won a match. Now that I have won two matches I feel like I can win this.

 

The rising sophomore at Moses Brown School qualified for match play in the Rhode Island Amateur at Shelter Harbor in June.

 

“Qualifying for the Amateur was important for me,” said Dessel, who was the No. 13 seed at Shelter Harbor. “Shooting consecutive 75s proved to me that I can hang with anyone and play well anywhere.”

 

Marcoux relied on a steady putter to defeat Agawam Hunt’s Ben Sapovits, 4&3.

 

Marcoux parred every hole on the front nine. Out of the 15 holes he played, he made 13 pars, which is a recipe for success in match play.

 

But it hasn’t been all easy for Marcoux this summer.

 

“I didn’t qualify for match play in the Connecticut Junior Amateur, the Rhode Island Amateur or make the cut in the Connecticut Amateur, so it is nice to have a good run here,” said Marcoux, 17, of Danielson, Conn.

 

“My driver hasn’t been good this week,” said Marcoux, a recent graduate of Killingly High School. “So I have been hitting 5-wood off the tee. I always had a shot into the green. I didn’t give Teddy any holes.”