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By Chris Lang
KESWICK — Before Jordan Utley ever made it to Keswick Golf Club on Friday for the opening round of the 4th VSGA Four-Ball Match Play Championship, he had an idea of what kind of nasty conditions awaited.
“It’s a mindset,” Utley said. “We knew earlier this week that the weather wasn’t going to be very good. You start mentally preparing early in the week that it’s going to be cold, and that it’s probably going to rain. You just turn it into a grindfest, and that’s basically what it was.”
Utley (Independence GC) and partner Dustin Groves (Glenmore CC) won their opening match, defeating Jeffrey Klatt (Medal of Honor GC) and Kevin Dillard (Army Navy CC) 4 and 3, with Utley providing a boost early as Groves struggled to adapt to the conditions. The No. 4 seed in the regular division of the championship, Utley and Groves were part of a chalk bracket Friday, as seeds 1-8 advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
The senior division (ages 50 and older) featured two upsets, but chalk held for the top sides. Top-seeded Leon Roday (Kinloch GC) and Scott Reisenweaver (Salisbury CC) were spared Friday’s miserable conditions, as they received a bye to the quarterfinals in the 15-side senior field.
No. 2 seed Bob Bailey (James River CC) and Rich Buckner (Robert Trent Jones GC) won their opener, as did the defending champions, third seeded Dave Pulk (Two Rivers CC) and Skip Zobel (Princess Anne CC).
Moderate rain fell throughout the morning but eased up at times as the regulars finished their matches. The final senior matches finished in a steady, heavy rain on a day on which the temperature didn’t break 50 degrees.
“I guess it could have been worse,” Buckner said. “But it was a little annoying, a little raw.”
For Bailey and Buckner, the biggest issue with the weather was distance control.
“It was pretty tough. I found my distances were way off,” Bailey said. “I had to make a big adjustment. It was kind of spotty overall, but we hammed and egged it and got it done.”
The defending champions in the regular division, Jimmy Delp (Laurel Hill GC) and Justin Young (Ballyhack GC) made quick work of opponents Austin Bingham and Wes Perkins (The Federal Club), jumping to a huge early lead before closing out a 5-and-4 victory.
The No. 2 seed—Buck Brittain (The Virginian GC) and Garland Green (Tazewell County CC)—survived a stiff challenge from the Farmington CC duo of Austin Turner and Brian Bassett. Brittain and Green won 1-up thanks to Green’s two-putt par on No. 18 to seal the match.
Jeff Long (Evergreen CC) and Kyle Bailey (Spring Creek CC) won their first match in a bid to return to the finals, where they lost to Delp and Young last year. The third seed, Long and Bailey were 6 up through seven holes before cruising to a 4-and-3 win over Andrew Milloy (VSGA eclub Virginia Beach) and Austin Romeo (VSGA eClub Alexandria).
Groves and Utley partnered to qualify for the 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship earlier this month at the Country Club of Petersburg, and they continued to play well together on Friday.
“I think the more we can play together before we go to Bandon (Dunes, host of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), the better,” Groves said. “We thought we could get a few rounds here together. So we’ll get after it and see what happens tomorrow.”
Groves and Utley will face Chase Bailey (Hanging Rock GC) and Lee Fisher (Falling River CC) in the quarterfinals. They defeated the Blue Ridge CC duo of Brad Chambers and Dustin Thompson 4 and 3.
Delp and Young will face off against past Four-Ball Match Play champions Brandon LaCroix and Matt Chandler (Hunting Hills CC), who defeated Conor Cafferty and Harold Dill III (South Riding GC) 3 and 2. LaCroix and Chandler won the championship the last time the event was contested in Keswick in 2016.
The winners of the inaugural Four-Ball Match Play in 2015 at Keswick, Jon Hurst (Fredericksburg CC) and Keith Decker (Chatmoss CC) advanced to the quarterfinals, where they’ll face Long and Bailey. Brittain and Green will meet brothers Jay and Steve Serrao in another quarterfinal Saturday.
Three lower-seeded sides won in the senior division. No. 9 seed Neil Davis (Birdwood GC) and Randall Newsome (Dominion Valley GC) rolled past eighth-seeded Daniel Yates and Dean Griffith (Shenandoah Valley GC) 4 and 3 to set up a meeting with Roday and Reisenweaver. Past VSGA Amateur champion David Passerell (Meadowcreek GC) and Tony Good (The Hollows GC) won as the No. 12 seed, slipping past No. 5 Jim Gallagher (Sleepy Hole GC) and Jim Nirich (Stonewall GC) 1 up.
The No. 11 seed, Dan Hosek (Fort Belvoir GC) and Harry Thomas (Kinloch GC) upended Danny Hopkins (Blacksburg CC) and Tim Vigotsky (Robert Trent Jones GC) 3 and 2. They advance to face Pulk and Zobel on Saturday.
Saturday will feature quarterfinal play in the morning followed by semifinals in each division in the afternoon. The two 18-hole championship matches are scheduled for Sunday morning.
Chris Lang is the Editor of Virginia Golfer Magazine and Manager, Digital Media for the VSGA.
4th VSGA Four-Ball Match Play Championship
At Keswick Golf Club, Keswick
Par 72, 6,872 yards
Friday’s Round of 16 results
Regular
#1 Jimmy Delp (Alexandria)/Justin Young (Salem) def. Austin Bingham (Arlington)/Wes Perkins (Glen Allen), 5 and 4
#8 Brandon LaCroix/Matt Chandler (Roanoke) def. #9 Conor Cafferty/Harold Dill III (Ashburn), 3 and 2
#4 Dustin Groves (Charlottesville)/Jordan Utley (Midlothian) def. Jeffrey Klatt (Manassas)/Kevin Dillard (McLean), 4 and 3
#5 Chase Bailey (Roanoke)/Lee Fisher (Lynchburg) def. #12 Brad Chambers/Dustin Thompson (Galax), 4 and 3
#2 Buck Brittain (Tazewell)/Garland Green (Pounding Mill) vs. #15 Austin Turner/Brian Bassett (Charlottesville), 1 up
#7 Jay Serrao (Virginia Beach)/Steve Serrao (Richmond) def. #10 Adam Houck (Richmond)/Brad Ferguson (Gordonsville), 3 and 2
#3 Jeff Long (Ashburn)/Kyle Bailey (Charlottesville) def. #14 Andrew Milloy (Virginia Beach)/Austin Romeo (Washington, D.C.), 4 and 3
#6 Jon Hurst (Fredericksburg)/Keith Decker (Martinsville) def. #11 Taylor Ratliff (Charlottesville)/Zeke Shen (Forest), 4 and 3
Senior
#1 Leon Roday (Henrico)/Scott Reisenweaver (Midlothian), bye
#9 Neil Davis (Charlottesville)/Randall Newsome (Haymarket) def. #8 Daniel Yates (Marshall)/Dean Griffith (Front Royal), 4 and 3
#4 David Jordan (Richmond)/Jim Woodson (Powhatan) vs. #13 Bert Wilson (Richmond)/Jimmy Angel (Midlothian), 4 and 3
#12 David Passerell (Scottsville)/Tony Good (Glen Allen) def. #5 Jim Gallagher (Yorktown)/Jim Nirich (Catlett), 1 up
#2 Bob Bailey (Yorktown)/Rich Buckner (Clifton) def. #15 Mike Ancel (Newport News)/Joe Coates (Midlothian), 3 and 2
#7 John Steele (Boyds)/Jon Zampedro (Centreville) def. #10 Mike Howell (Centreville)/Paul Gural (Chantilly), 3 and 2
#3 Dave Pulk (Williamsburg)/Skip Zobel (Virginia Beach) def. #14 Greg Booker (Powhatan)/Peyton Winfree (Manakin Sabot), 4 and 3
#11 Dan Hosek (Alexandria)/Harry Thomas (McLean) def. #6 Danny Hopkins (Roanoke)/Tim Vigotsky (Centreville), 3 and 2
Saturday’s quarterfinal matches
Regular
#1 Delp/Young vs. #8 LaCroix/Chandler, 8 a.m.
#4 Groves/Utley vs. #5 Bailey/Fisher, 8:10 a.m.
#2 Brittain/Green vs. #7 Serrao/Serrao, 8:20 a.m.
#3 Long/Bailey vs. #6 Hurst/Decker, 8:30 a.m.
Senior
#1 Roday/Reisenweaver vs. #9 Davis/Newsome, 8:40 a.m.
#4 Jordan/Woodson vs. #12 Passerell/Good, 8:50 a.m.
#2 Bailey/Buckner vs. #7 Steele/Zampedro, 9 a.m.
#3 Pulk/Zobel vs. #11 Hosek/Thomas, vs. 9:10 a.m.