By Brady Garthee

USGA Boatwright Intern

 

WARWICK – It didn’t take long for the rain to swing by and make its presence known at Valley Country Club, host of the 92nd Rhode Island Open Championship.  

 

A total of two hours and 20 minutes worth of weather delays plagued Tuesday’s round, nearly a third of the time to complete was spent indoors.  

 

With all the doom and gloom that comes with rainy days of golf, there was a beam of sunlight that crept through the clouds.  

 

Will Frodigh, of Denham Country and Polo Club, burst onto the scene with an opening round score of 65 (7-under). He took advantage of the par-5 fifth and 18th holes, making eagle on both as well as adding three birdies to finish his first round bogey-free. 

 

“It was great. Really solid all day tee-to-green. Two eagles help a lot. … Putter felt really good today, so that always helps,” he said. 

 

Although the scorecard shows consistency, Frodigh admitted that it was tough to get back into a groove following each of two rain delays.  

 

“That was definitely a little tough today,” he said. “I was really in a groove and then you kind of get taken out of that groove. Once you get back out there you try to pick up where you left off and continue the same mindset as I’ve had all day.” 

 

Going into Wednesday, Frodigh will have a one-shot lead thanks to Jack Maguire, Max Theodorakis, Tyler Gerbavsits, and Caleb Manuel all posting a first-round score of 66 (6-under).      

 

In the Senior Division, James Becker goes into Wednesday’s second round as the low senior with a score of 2-under (70). In the Amateur Division, Brad Valois, Jonatan Cooper, and Mike Caparco enter Wednesday’s round as the low amateurs. 

 

All the pressure surrounding Frodigh would get to any golfer with a one-shot lead with a championship on the line, but he isn’t focused on it. 

 

“For me, I just try to think about it as another round of golf. Take each shot one step at a time and one hole at a time, try my best on each shot and if I do that, I’ll be pretty happy regardless of the outcome,” he said. 

 

With inclement weather in Wednesday’s forecast, Frodigh will have to battle more than just the players behind him to claim victory at Valley Country Club.