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By Chris Lang
LYNCHBURG — Jackson Bode said he definitely felt the pressure as he stood over his five-foot birdie putt on the 18th green at Boonsboro Country Club on Sunday. The stakes? A tie in his match with Trey Marrion on the final day of the 39th Virginias-Carolinas Junior Boys’ Matches.
A tie would give the Carolinas the clinching half point and the Vinny Giles Trophy. Bode—who earlier this year won the North and South Junior Championship—confidently struck the putt and watched it sink, then pumped his fist, knowing he had secured victory for his team for the first time since 2017.
The Carolinas needed 3½ points to win, and it got exactly that, winning three of eight singles matches and forging the tie in another to win 8½-7½. The Carolinas now lead the overall series 21-16-2.
“I knew three of our guys had already won, and I knew we needed 3½ to win,” Bode said. “And all of our other guys were trailing in their matches, so I knew the situation.”
The Virginias got singles wins Cullen Campbell (Virginia Beach), Mehrbaan Singh (Ashburn), Garrett Kuhla (Richmond) and Matt Moloney (Vienna). Moloney improved to 6-0 in his two Virginias-Carolinas appearances.
Carolinas winners were Braeden Barnett, Jonathan Honeywell, and Andrew Gregory. Gregory defeated Xander Goboy 5 and 4 and was 8-under in his 14 holes.
The Marrion-Bode match was the third one out Sunday morning, and it proved to be the critical one. Marrion led 2 up through 13 holes, but Bode rallied to win three straight holes—all with birdies—and take a 1-up lead to the 17th hole. Marrion hit his tee shot on 17 to within four feet and made the birdie putt to send the match to 18 tied.
Both players hit the fairway with their drives on 18, and Marrion was first to hit. He hit an outstanding approach to within five feet for an excellent birdie look. Bode didn’t flinch. He hit his approach past the hole but spun it back, and it eventually settled five feet below the hole.
“(Marrion) hit it really close,” Bode said. “My shot was 107 into the wind. I was going to hit a 56 (degree wedge) and hit it full, but it probably would have come up short. So I hit a 50 and it landed 15 or 20 feet behind the hole, and it spun back and hit the pin. … It was a great shot.”
Bode still had to finish the job and was first to hit his birdie putt.
“There was a ton of pressure there,” Bode said. “It felt really good to make it. I just try to put myself in that situation as many times as possible, and you’re bound to get better and better at it.”
Moloney and Singh led the Virginias team, as they swept their four-ball and foursome matches Saturday and won singles matches on Sunday. Campbell—who is headed to UNC Wilmington to start his college career later this month—went 2-1 on the weekend.
“I did my part today,” Campbell said. “It was fun being with these guys, kind of like a last rodeo. I’m going to miss them for sure. I’ll see them down the road in college because I’ll be playing against most of them. So I’m excited.”
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.