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By Chris Lang
LYNCHBURG — Sometimes, it isn’t the big birdie or eagle putt that puts a charge into a round, but a crucial par putt that saves it. Such was the case for Buck Brittain and Jon Hurst on Tuesday during the second round of the 39th Virginia State Golf Association Senior Four-Ball Championship at Boonsboro Country Club.
Hurst’s par save on the par-3 13th kept breathing room between the pair and their closest pursuers, and they responded by going on a birdie binge that sealed the championship. Four straight birdies after the key par putt helped them shoot a second straight 63 for a two-day 126 and a five-shot victory over the Springfield G&CC duo of Carlos Aranda and Danny Derisio.
The victory was Brittain’s fourth in a VSGA senior championship, and The Virginian member will look to compete the “Senior Slam” next month at Two Rivers Country Club as he goes for his first VSGA Senior Stroke Play title. (He’s won a Senior Amateur and two Senior Opens of Virginia.) Hurst (Fredericksburg CC) added a second senior title to his resume, having paired with Keith Decker to win the senior division at the VSGA Multi-Format Team Championship in 2019.
“On 13, Buck was in for bogey and I had a four footer for par, and it was still pretty tight then,” Hurst said. “That was big. It would have been a big momentum swing if they make par and we make bogey there. But then we got it going.”
The other key momentum swing on Tuesday came on the par-5 16th hole. Hurst’s second shot settled just short of the green, but he got into long birdie range with a chip and sank the putt for a 4. Aranda’s second shot settled hole-high, giving him an excellent putt for eagle. Derisio had already gotten up and down from the bunker for birdie, giving Aranda the green light to go for it. The putt just missed, and instead of potentially picking up a shot, the Springfield duo went to 17 trailing by three.
“If he makes that, it changes everything going into 17 and 18, and that’s what we were hoping,” Derisio said.
Brittain essentially cemented the victory with a birdie on 17, and Hurst’s two-putt par on 18 finished the job. The big difference this year between the past few that Hurst and Brittain competed together in this event?
“The last few years, I just haven’t been able to putt for Jon,” Brittain said. “But we made the putts we were supposed to make this week.”
Brittain also changed drivers recently, going to a Titleist Tsi2 that spins a little less and rolls out a little better, and Hurst was left to marvel at the results.
“He’s killing it,” Hurst said. “Hitting a nice little tight draw over there, every hole. He hits it really consistent, and farther. I think that made a huge difference for Buck. … And I’ve changed my putting recently. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve gotten closer to the ball, and I putted really well this week.”
The winners opened the day a stroke behind first-round leaders Ron Clatterbuck and Rich Buckner, but the latter side never could get going on Tuesday. They followed their 10-under 62 on Monday with a 2-under 70 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for third at 132 with Steve Serrao and Jay Serrao; Andy Heye and Buddy Patch; and 2020 champions Keith Decker and Roger Newsom.
“We messed up a few easy opportunities, and it was as simple as that,” Buckner said. “You’ve got to take advantage of those things. And then it just went sideways from there.”
Added Clatterbuck: “Just didn’t make the putts today that we did yesterday.”
Both Hurst and Brittain have won the Fox Puss Invitational, held annually at Boonsboro, and the experience of winning that event certainly helped during a stellar two-day run this week. Boonsboro is not a course that’s easily overpowered, and it’s well known as a second-shot course, and that played out this week.
“It’s just an awesome place,” Hurst said. “It’s a great golf course. It’s not overly long, but it lines up for you if you hit it in the right spot. Definitely a lot of local knowledge involved.”
“The new courses, they just make them longer and longer,” Brittain added. “But here, you look at the scores at the Fox Puss, and it’s not like they get lower every year. You’ve just got to manage your game here.”
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.