NOTE TO MEDIA: Links to scoring, the event preview, photos and previous recaps from this event can be found on the event portal at the link posted above. Please click on the “Media” tab to find those items.
By Chris Lang
GLEN ALLEN — Three sides in the Open Division finished the second round of the 2nd Virginia State Golf Association Multi-Format Team Championship on Wednesday tied for the lead at 14-under-par 130. As the logistics were being worked out for the sudden-death playoff, Ryan Taylor snuck over to the practice green at The Dominion Club.
He made three 6-foot putts, and satisfied with how he was rolling it, picked up and headed with the other five players to the 18th tee. Those putts came in handy. After partner Brandon Ramsuer feathered a tricky eagle putt off a slope to within six feet, Taylor knocked it home for birdie.
Then came the wait. Defending champions Kyle Bailey and Jeff Long were still on the green, and Bailey had about seven feet left for birdie to extend the playoff. When the putt trickled left of the hole, Taylor fell to the ground in a heap of relief and shock. The championship belonged to Taylor and Ramsuer.
“These are the guys you play against who know how to get it done,” Taylor said. “To come out on top, it’s spectacular. Good field. Good players. Somehow, we did it.”
They weren’t the only first-time winners on Wednesday. In the Senior Division, Ashburn’s Jon Zampedro and Manassas’ Jeffrey Klatt overcame a four-stroke deficit to win by one stroke over Richmond’s Cam Young and Hank Klein, clinching the title with a two-putt birdie on 18. Zampedro and Klatt posted a two-day aggregate 125, including Wednesday’s 7-under 65.
“We’re over the moon right now,” Zampedro said.
The Multi-Format Team Championship features one round of two-person scramble on Tuesday and a round of modified alternate shot on Wednesday. Alternate shot is a difficult format in most situations, but it’s made even harder when the partners don’t know each other’s games very well. That didn’t seem to be an issue for either championship side, considering this week was the first time either had paired together in competition.
Taylor, a member at The Federal Club, was supposed to partner with Chase Bailey, but Bailey was unable to play, leaving Taylor to scramble. Taylor and Ramsuer have a common friend in Ted Dougherty. Ramsuer wanted to pair with Dougherty to play, but Dougherty was out of town and unavailable. When Taylor called Dougherty looking for suggestions, Dougherty told Taylor to get in touch with Ramsuer.
In short, the two winners didn’t meet until Monday.
“We probably owe Ted some sort of recruiting fee, or something like that,” Ramsuer said. “He took me out to Federal Club Monday, and we played and got in sync a little bit.”
Zampedro’s usual partner, Jack Allara, was unavailable to play due to work, so he contacted Klatt since both live in northern Virginia and cross paths in VSGA senior events.
“Our games are pretty similar,” Klatt said. “He’s a little longer off the tee, but we’re both pretty accurate into the greens.”
Zampedro and Klatt played the final five holes at 4 under par, with Klatt doing the setting up and Zampedro handling the knocking down. On 14, Zampedro nailed a long birdie putt after a strong approach from Klatt. On 15, a par-4 playing at less than 200 yards, Klatt hit a 4-hybrid to 6 feet, and Zampedro rammed home the eagle putt.
Then on 18, Klatt—again with a 4-hybrid—gave Zampedro a great look at eagle, stuffing his approach to about 18 feet. Though the eagle attempt came up a foot short, Klatt tapped in for birdie, enough to secure the win. They were not aware of where they stood on the leaderboard heading into the final hole.
“I’d rather to play to win than to play not to lose,” Zampedro said. “On that putt, I’m thinking, I probably need to make it for a playoff. But I didn’t want to be too aggressive and not birdie. I tried to make it, but it was a very conservative aggressive putt.”
Said Klatt: “I said after 17, it wasn’t going to help me to know where we’re at. We’re playing good. Let’s just go for it.”
Defending champions Keith Decker and Jon Hurst posted a second-round 71 for a two-day 127, good for third place, two shots out of the lead.
As for how the partners in the Open Division bonded, it was over some early misery.
“Well, that’s what happened on the first hole. We both hit it out of bounds and made double (bogey),” Taylor said. “That’s what you’d expect with new partners.”
They were 3 over after three holes but played the rest of the round at 6 under to finish with a 3-under 69. “All we tried to do was scrape and claw back to even par,” Taylor said.
First-round leaders Bailey and Long posted a 1-under 70 Wednesday, and Williamsburg’s Tim Pemberton and Nathan Dean joined the playoff thanks to a 6-under 66. They made par on the playoff hole but were knocked out when Taylor sank his birdie putt.
“I’m as shocked as anybody that we were able to pull this off,” Taylor said. “Just unbelievable.”
Chris Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.