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By Chris Lang
WINCHESTER — Vienna’s David Stanford burst on to the scene with his first big junior victory in 2019 at Winchester Country Club, outdueling Michael Brennan and Ross Funderburke down the stretch to claim the Virginia State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play title.
His junior career came full circle this week at the same venue. Stanford, who will head to Virginia Tech later this summer, defeated Virginia Beach’s Cullen Campbell 2 and 1 Friday to win the 30th VSGA Junior Match Play title and added his name to the Clyde Luther Trophy. He also added his name to a prestigious list of players who have won both the Junior Match and Stroke Play titles. He’s the eighth player to do so, joining a list of recent doubles that includes Mark Lawrence Jr. and Adam Ball.
“I’m just so confident out here,” Stanford said. “I think there are a lot of holes where playing aggressive benefits you a lot. Personally, I play better when I play aggressive.”
To earn the title, Stanford defeated a solid run of players, rallying to survive a stern first-round test from Matthew Monastero before defeating Samir Davidov, Garrett Kuhla and Campbell in succession.
In the final match, Stanford’s putter got hot at the right time to give him some separation from Campbell, who advanced to the final with a tough 1-up win over Midlothian’s Jack Hoyle in the morning.
The two competitors—who are close friends—traded blows in the early holes of the final match. Stanford made a clutch two-putt birdie on the par-5 6th to take a 1-up lead. After they tied the seventh hole, Stanford bombed home a long birdie putt from just off the green to go 2-up on 8.
“I put it at about five cups outside left,” Stanford said. “I was confident over it. I was more worried about getting it close, after the first two three-putts (earlier in the match). It rolled in dead center, and I was pretty happy about that.”
Though the putt could have been demoralizing, Campbell didn’t see it that way. He had a chance for a long bomb of his own but it came up inches short.
“You’ve got to expect him to make everything,” Campbell said. “He’d be chipping, and I’d expect him to make it. I just know I have to make mine. I gave it a good run.”
Then on No. 9, Stanford snugged his approach to within a few feet for a birdie that pushed the lead to 3 up. Campbell was in scramble mode after that. He made a clutch up and down out of the bunker for birdie on the short par-4 10th to cut the lead to 2 up but could get no closer.
Campbell had a chance to cut the lead to 1 on 16 but missed a par putt that would have won the hole. Then on 17, both tried to drive the green, with Campbell coming up short and right and Stanford coming up short and in the bunker that fronts the green.
Campbell’s pitch came up short, leaving him a long birdie putt. Stanford escaped the bunker and left himself a two-putt for par and won the match when Campbell’s birdie putt came up short.
“This past week, it’s been pretty good,” Campbell said of his putting. “But I just didn’t have it at the right time today.”
Stanford credited another friend—Mehrbaan Singh—with caddying on Friday, and having someone else tote the bag helped alleviate some of the natural fatigue that will occur during a player’s sixth round of golf in four days, especially on a hilly track like Winchester.
Both finalists will have quick turnarounds and compete in next week’s VSGA Amateur at Country Club of Petersburg, part of a key summer of preparation for upcoming college golf careers. Campbell said he has one key area of improvement to tackle before he begins his career at UNC Wilmington.
“I have to fix my driver,” Campbell said. “I was flying it out to the right a little too much. And I need to get a draw shot in there, because I really don’t have a draw shot with my driver right now. If I fix that, it will fix everything else.”
For Stanford, who was a finalist in last year’s Amateur, this week’s run could prove to be a key springboard to success at Petersburg.
“Hopefully I can get another win next week,” Stanford said. “That’s one of my big goals, to win that tournament.”
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.