13th MAPGA/VSGA Junior Four-Ball Championship

Championship website | Scoring | Record book

Dates: Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29

Format: 36 holes of four-ball stroke play in one overall age division. A sudden-death playoff will be utilized if there is a tie after 36 holes.

Host site: Williamsburg National Golf Club (Yorktown)

Day 2: Maclauchlan brothers repeat as champions

Photo gallery

(Noah and Liam Maclauchlan celebrate Liam's chip-in eagle on the 18th hole on Sunday. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)

By Chris Lang

WILLIAMSBURG -- Liam and Noah Maclauchlan each hit monster drives on the par-5 18th hole at Williamsburg National Golf Club's Yorktown Course, allowing them to each nearly hit the green in two. Liam had a simple request of his older brother as the two eyed their third shots into the hole. "Go ahead," Liam said. "Just get it close."

Noah obliged, his chip settling two feet from the hole, opening the door for Liam to make an aggressive play at the cup. His chip from hole-right just right of the green trickled toward the hole before dropping, sending the brothers into euphoric celebration. The chip sealed their victory in the 13th MAPGA/VSGA Four-Ball Championship, their second straight in the event. They freed themselves from a tight leaderboard with a birdie-eagle finish, giving them a two-day total of 129 after shooting 68 in the first round on Saturday and 61 in Sunday's second round, four shots better than runners-up Charles Lange and Jake Lopes.

After grinding all day, the brothers let loose when Liam's chip fell, launching into the air and colliding into one another.

"It was completely random," Noah said. "I'd say the moment took hold of us a little bit. We had done a good job of staying calm, staying one shot at a time. But that shot was when we really let it loose. It was time to celebrate, you know?"

Sunday's weather was much more favorable to scoring then it was on Saturday, when sides teed off in 30-degree temperatures in the morning and battled biting wind. Sunday was considerably warmer and the winds were calmer, allowing players to attack. The Maclauchlans entered the day a shot behind David Kim and Ryan Hooker, but the first-round leaders couldn't get going, settling for a 3-under 68 on Sunday to finish fourth. Four sides shot rounds of 6-under or better. Lange and Lopes posted a 7-under 65 to finish at 11-under 133, but it wasn't enough on a day on which the Maclauchlans finished with nine birdies, an eagle, and no bogeys.

Quotable

• "On the long birdie on 17, I saw Jake and Charles par 16, so I knew that if I birdied 17, it would be a pretty good jump. When I made it, I saw it go dead center of the cup, and I had some excitement. I tried not to let too much of it out because I had one hole left." -- Liam Maclauchlan

• "My partner hit it to 2 feet for birdie, so I was pretty relieved with that. So I had some free will to hit a little chip shot. I hit it with a little spin, it went dead center stick, and as you saw, we had a little celebration and some fun." -- Liam M.

• "I feel like the pins were a little more friendly today. There were definitely some more scoring opportunities on the par 3s. And we were able to take hold of the par 5s a little better today. We made a couple of mistakes yesterday. That combined with the warm weather, you saw the scores were a lot better today than yesterday." -- Noah M.
• "It's definitely special for me, because it's the last time. I don't think we really thought about it before the tournament started, but obviously with this being senior season, everything is the last for me. It's special for both of us to win one more time together." -- Noah M.

Notable

• The win earned the Maclauchlans an exemption into May's VSGA Four-Ball Championship at Chatmoss Country Club in Martinsville. They finished second in last year's event at Williamsburg GC.

• Both brothers prominently displayed their future college gear. Noah will begin his Liberty career next fall, and Liam is verbally committed to the University of Virginia.

• Lopes and Lange were 8-under through 13 holes, buoyed by Lange's eagle on No. 1, along with six additional birdies. But a bogey on the par-3 14th stalled the momentum, and they finished with four straight pars as the Maclauchlans surged.
• Andrew McAfee and Jack Skinner shot 69-66--135 to finish alone in third.
• Brandon Sipe stuck his approach on the par-5 9th to kick-in range for an eagle, and Sipe and partner Landon Hermansky got to 7-under for the day through 11 holes before bogeys on two of the next three holes stalled their momentum.
• The Maclauchlans are this event's second back-to-back champions, joining Trey Marrion and Xander Goboy who won titles in 2021 and 2022.

Day 1: Kim/Hooker take one-stroke lead

WILLIAMSBURG -- Players navigated windy and chilly conditions on Saturday at Williamsburg National Golf Club's Yorktown Course as the Virginia State Golf Association championship season kicked off with the first round of the 13th MAPGA/VSGA Junior Four-Ball Championship. David Kim (Marriotsville, Md.) and Ryan Hooker (Oakton) posted the best round of the day, a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead over three sides, including defending champions Noah and Liam Maclauchlan of Moseley.

Charles Lange (Richmond) and Jake Lopes (Vienna) also shot 4-under 68 to share second with the Maclauchlans, as did Richmond duo AJ Mukherjee and Owen Lingerfelt. Two sides were tied for third at 3-under 69 -- Midlothian's Harrison Beaudoin and Luca Rinaldi, and Andrew McAfee (Roanoke) and Jack Skinner (Blacksburg).

Notable

• Kim and Hooker made seven birdies and two bogeys in shooting their 67, including birdies on two of the final three holes.

• Lange and Lopes were 1 over through four holes but rebounded with six birdies and just one bogey in the final 14 holes.

• The Maclauchlan brothers got to 5 under through 14 holes but a bogey on 16 dropped them from the lead.
• The top of the leaderboard is filled with accomplished players. Liam Maclauchlan is the reigning VSGA Amateur champion. Rinaldi was the low amateur at last year's State Open of Virginia. Lange won the VSGA Junior Match Play Championship last summer. The Maclauchlan brothers also finished in second at last year's VSGA Four-Ball Championship.
• A frost delay pushed all starting times back an hour on Sunday. The final group of Kim/Hooker and Lange/Lopes will tee off at 12:29 p.m.