By Chris Lang
LYNCHBURG – Fast fact: Every player on the
Virginias side in the 37th Virginias-Carolinas Junior Boys Matches
at Boonsboro Country Club was making his debut in the event.
Experience was certainly on the side of the Carolinas’
roster Sunday. Three players returned from the squad that won last year’s
matches, and the Carolinas’ team features three players set to play college
golf at Atlantic Coast Conference institutions.
None of that seemed to matter Sunday, as the Virginias’ team
got off to a fast start and never let up, winning six of the eight singles
matches to claim a 10½-5½ victory and earn the Vinny Giles Trophy.
The margin of victory was the largest in the series since
the Carolinas won by the same score at Boonsboro in 2013. The Carolinas have
mostly owned this decade when it comes to these matches, winning six times and
tying once. But the decade began with a Virginias win in 2010 and ended with a
Virginias win in 2019.
“It feels great, because that Carolinas team is unbelievable,”
said Charlie Kennedy, one of two players to earn all three points this weekend.
Fellow Richmond resident Ben Cooper was the other. “They have some great
players, and some good up-and-coming players too. So I’m proud of our team.”
Kennedy went out first Sunday and took control of his match
with Matthew Hutto on the back nine before winning 3 and 1. Meanwhile, Jimmy
Taylor—who went out in the third match—throttled Keegan Vaugh 8 and 7 to give
the Virginias an early point.
“It’s good to know your teammate has won 8 and 7 before you
even tee off on 17 with a chance to win your match,” Kennedy said.
Taylor was among the three first-time team members playing
in his last junior event. He’ll begin his career at William and Mary later this
month. Cooper (University of Richmond) and Ross Funderburke (Furman University)
were the others. All three ended their junior careers on a high note with
singles victories Sunday.
Taylor actually lost the first hole of his match with Vaugh.
He tied the match on the third hole and won the next eight holes after that to
record the runaway victory.
“Basically, I was trying to birdie every hole,” Taylor said.
“I was playing solid, hitting good shots.”
The Virginias needed four points on Sunday to secure the
title. Funderburke was the fourth player out, and by the time he made it to 18
in his match with Mason Tucker, three Virginias points were already secure,
thanks to wins from Kennedy, Taylor and David Stanford (4 and 3 over Kenan
Poole).
Funderburke hit his drive into the left fairway bunker but
had a good lie, and he hit his approach to the front of the green, but it spun
back off. Tucker’s approach landed in the right greenside bunker, but he got up
and down for par. Funderburke matched it, cleaning up a nervy downhill 4-footer
to save par and clinch the victory.
“It’s awesome, especially to win my last match,” Funderburke
said. “I lost my first one and won my second, so I wanted to end on a positive.
I went 2-1, so that makes me happy.”
After the result was finalized, Cooper and Bryan Lee claimed
victories in the final two matches. The 10½ points were the most for a
Virginias squad since the current scoring format (one point per match) was
instituted in 2005.
“None of us had played in this before,” Taylor said. “The
Carolinas, they have a lot of good players. It was good for us to get a win.”
Lang is the editor of
Virginia Golfer magazine and the VSGA’s manager, digital media.