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By Chris Lang
PETERSBURG — About five holes into the second round of stroke-play qualifying at the 108th Virginia State Golf Association Amateur Championship, Teddy Zinsner started to feel a great round was coming. He had no idea how special it was until his round was over.
Zinsner, a member at Belle Haven Country Club and senior at Yale University, shot a 10-under-par 62 to break the 10-year-old competitive course record at Country Club of Petersburg. Over the two days of qualifying, he shot an aggregate 128, shattering the previous low medalist score in an Amateur of 132, set by both Adam Ball and Mikey Moyers.
He earned the top seed in match play, which begins on Wednesday morning.
“I kind of had a feeling on the front nine that I might have been getting close to the course record,” Zinsner said. “But I had no idea what is was. So coming down the stretch, I wasn’t thinking about it at all. I was just trying to get myself in the clubhouse without making any bogeys, honestly.”
The previous course record of 64 was set by Nick Austin at a U.S. Amateur qualifier in 2011.
Zinsner made eight birdies and added an eagle on the par-5 2nd hole to finish at 62. He ended up seven strokes clear of Mehrbaan Singh and Sam Jung, who each notched two-day 135s. Zinsner’s previous low competitive round was a 65.
While appreciative of Tuesday’s round, he was ready to turn the page to match play, knowing how difficult it is to win five times in three days to win the championship.
“The cut at this tournament keeps getting lower and lover every year, so I know there are so many good players,” Zinsner said. “I feel like I’ve played pretty good golf in this tournament before and I haven’t made it farther than the quarterfinals. So I know I’m going to have to play really well to make it to the end.”
Thirty-two players advanced to match play, with five players tied for 29th at the end of the second round battling in a playoff for four spots. Three advanced on the first playoff hole. Zinsner will open at 7:30 a.m. against No. 32 seed Adam Houck (The Federal Club), who advanced on the third playoff hole.
Jung, the first-round leader, returned a comfortable 70 in his second round. After his opening-round 65, Jung knew his place in the match-play field was secure, barring a disastrous second round.
“Today was like a casual golf day,” said Jung, a fourth-year at UVA. “I had a pretty good round today. I just tried to take it one shot at a time and play solid golf today. Since I played so well yesterday, I just wanted to play well and get ready for tomorrow.”
Leesburg’s Matthew Monastero (Loudoun G&CC) earned the No. 4 seed after the UVA-bound player posted a 6-under 66 on Tuesday to finish with a two-day 136.
Among those tied for fifth were David Stanford (Army Navy CC), who won last week’s VSGA Junior Match Play Championship; Marshall Tinsley (Winton Farm), winner of the 2019 VSGA Mid-Amateur; and Alex Price (Stoneleigh G&CC), who plays at Christopher Newport and reached the semifinals of last year’s Amateur before falling to Stanford.
“I wanted to play better in stroke play,” Price said after posting a 5-under 67 on Tuesday. “I squeaked into match play last year (in a playoff, earning the No. 31 seed). So it’s nice to be able to go back to my buddy’s house and just kick my feet up for the rest of the day and relax.”
Ryan Patrick (Hidden Creek CC) shot 68-70—138 to finish in eighth.
Ten players tied for ninth at 139, including Virginia Golf Hall of Famer Keith Decker (Ballyhack GC); past Amateur champion Scott Shingler (Dominion Valley CC); past State Open of Virginia champion Evan Beck (Princess Anne CC); two-time Amateur finalist Jordan Utley (Hermitage CC); two-time Senior Open of Virginia champion Buck Brittain (The Virginian GC), who learned at lunch Tuesday that he was in the field for the upcoming U.S. Senior Open; and 2019 State Open champion Jack Montague (Hermitage CC).
Montague, who plays at UVA, is coming off a lost summer of 2020 thanks to an injured shoulder he suffered in a weightlifting incident.
“I wish I had a better story, but that’s what happened,” he said. “It’s really fun just being able to compete and play tournament golf again. Last summer wasn’t the most fun. I was in a sling for most of it. So this is awesome.”
Montague had to sweat out his match-play spot two years ago at Keswick but had no such issues on Tuesday.
“The last State Am I played in 2019, I had to wait it out for a few hours and then go play in a playoff,” he said. So being squarely into match play this time, that was definitely my goal coming in.”
Other notables in the match-play field include the oldest player (Decker at 61) and youngest player (Logan Reilly at 14) in the tournament. Also, a pair of brothers—Channing and Benson Blevins of Wytheville, the hub of Southwest Virginia—advanced to match play.
The round of 32 will be contested Wednesday morning, with the round of 16 to follow in the afternoon. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, with the 36-hole championship match set for Friday.
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.