19th Senior Open of Virginia

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Dates: Monday, September 9 and Tuesday, September 10

Format: Two rounds of stroke play. If there's a tie after 36 holes a sudden-death playoff will be utilized to determine a champion. Open to players ages 50 and older as of 9/9/24. The Senior Open of Virginia is jointly conducted by the VSGA and Middle Atlantic PGA.

Host site: Willow Oaks CC

Day 2: Rick Schuller becomes first three-time Senior Open champ

(Rick Schuller hits his tee shot on No. 7 on Tuesday, where he'd make birdie. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)

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By Chris Lang

RICHMOND -- For the first time, the Senior Open of Virginia has a three-time champion.

Rick Schuller, PGA, posted a 5-under-par round of 67 on Tuesday at Willow Oaks Country Club and finished a shot clear of the field to win the 19th Senior Open of Virginia. It was the second title in three years for Schuller, who teaches at Richmond's Meadowbrook Country Club and his victory maintained the professionals' recent dominance in this event. Schuller and Trump National GC Washington DC professional Brendan McGrath have traded titles for the last four years.

Schuller made a nervy par putt on 18 to close his round and put the pressure on amateur Scott Shingler (Dominion Valley CC) to make a birdie on the final hole to force a playoff. Shingler's double-breaking 20 footer on the closing hole just missed, giving Schuller the victory. Shingler has been runner-up in each of his last three VSGA events, having lost the final match at the VSGA Senior Amateur before finishing solo second at last weekend's VSGA Mid-Amateur at CC of Petersburg.

Schuller's 67 came a day after he posted an even-par 72, giving him a two-day total of 5-under 139. Shingler earned low amateur honors in this event for the first time after posting matching rounds of 70 for a two-day total of 4-under 140. Shingler shared runner-up honors with Jim Estes, PGA, who shot 73-67--140 over the two days.

Sean English, PGA, and Willow Oaks member Steve Serrao tied for fourth at 3-under 141.

NOTABLE

• Professionals have won 10 of the 19 Senior Opens. Prior to this current four-year run of pro victories, amateurs had won four times in a row.

• Schuller posted a truly psycho scorecard on Tuesday. He was even par through six holes with a birdie and a bogey before making a birdie on the par-3 7th. That opened the floodgates as he played holes 7-12 at 7-under-par, a run that included three birdies and two eagles. He hit driver to 2 feet on the par-4 10th for an eagle there. He hit it through the dogleg on 13 and made double bogey there, followed it with two pars and a birdie, then needed an incredible up and down to save bogey on 17.

• On 18, Schuller's approach shot from the middle of the fairway landed well short of the green, forcing him into an up and down to save par.

• Shingler was 4-under for the day after an eagle on No. 12 but played the rest of his round at 2-over, including a costly bogey on the par-3 15th.

• Estes matched Schuller for low round of the day (and the tournament) with a bogey-free 5-under 67. Schuller and Estes were the only players to post sub-70 rounds.

• Amateurs rounded out the rest of the top 10, with Mount Vernon's Pete Barbera finishing sixth, Willow Oaks' Mark Lange and Independence's Scott Bemberis tying for seventh, and Belle Haven's Rob Menefee and Springfield G&CC's Danny Deriso tying for ninth.

• Each of Schuller's victories came at different courses. He won at CC of Virginia's Westhampton Course in 2013, Independence in 2022, and Willow Oaks in 2024.

• 2009 champion Jay Hardwick, the former Virginia Tech men's golf coach, shot his age in Tuesday's second round, posting a 3-over 75.

• This was the third straight year the Senior Open was decided either by a one-stroke margin or in a playoff.

• Shingler will head to Pine Valley for the Crump Cup, which will be held this weekend at the prestigious New Jersey course.

QUOTABLE

• Please see the video below for an interview with Schuller.
• "It was about 20 feet. It was a double breaker that broke a touch left then fell back a touch right. The first half of it going left, it broke about a half a cup more than I thought it would, so it was never able to make it back to the hole on the second half of that putt. The pace was right, but just that little bump early was a little more than I thought was going to happen." -- Shingler on the missed birdie putt on 18.
• "It was just the wrong club. The wind was changing a little back and forth, where it was in and then it was across us. I thought the crosswind was going to take a little off of the iron I had. It was kind of a mediocre swing and a bad shot. I ended up hitting a 5-iron. I should have hit a 6. The wind kind of turned on me a touch, and that's why the club was wrong." -- Shingler on his bogey on 15.
• "Runner up in the Senior Am. Runner up in the Mid-Am. Runner up here. Second. Second. Second. It's getting old fast." -- Shingler joked.

Day 1: Five tied for the lead on packed leaderboard

(Defending champion Brendan McGrath and co-leader Steve Serrao share a laugh on Monday at Willow Oaks CC. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)

Photo gallery

By Chris Lang

RICHMOND -- The first round of the 19th Senior Open of Virginia, held Monday at Willow Oaks Country Club, produced little in the way of separation, setting up an exciting second and final round on Tuesday. Five players shot 2-under-par rounds of 70, three more returned scores of 1-under 71, and three others returned even-par scores of 70.

Among those tied for the lead is Willow Oaks member Steve Serrao, who was a semifinalist in the Virginia State Golf Association Senior Amateur held on his home course last summer. He's joined by three more amateurs -- Scott Shingler (Dominion Valley CC), Scott Bemberis (Independence GC), and Pete Barbera (Mount Vernon CC) -- and Loudoun G&CC professional Glenn McClosey.

Lingering a shot behind at 1-under 71 are amateurs Rob Menefee (Belle Haven CC) and Danny Derisio (Springfield G&CC), along with Sean English, a professional from The Elkridge Club in Maryland.

Tuesday's second and final round begins at 8:30 a.m., with the final two groups going off No. 1 at 10:10 and 10:20. 

NOTABLE

• The final group at 10:20 will feature Shingler, Serrao and Barbera. The 10:10 group includes Bemberis, McCloskey, and English.
• Shingler won the VSGA Senior Amateur at Willow Oaks last summer and is coming off a runner-up finish at last weekend's VSGA Mid-Amateur.
• Of the past champions in the field, Rick Schuller and Keith Decker posted the best scores on Monday, returning even-par rounds of 70. They're both still very much in the mix, just two shots behind the lead group.
• Mark Lange, who received the Willow Oaks club exemption into the event, is making the most of it, posting a 2-over 74 to sit in a tie for 14th with Paras Pandya, Dave Pulk, and Buck Brittain. Pulk and Brittain are two-time Senior Open champions.
• Brendan McGrath, the defending Senior Open champion, posted a 3-over 75 on Monday and is tied for 18th.
• There were two eagles on Monday, both coming on the par-5 12th, which played as the easiest hole with a 4.65 scoring average. Decker and Dave Williams Jr. recorded eagles on the hole.

QUOTABLE

• "I played pretty solid all day. I was first off with perfect greens, and it was a gorgeous morning. It warmed up fast, which was good. It was a lot of fun." -- Scott Bemberis
• "In 20 years, this is the best I've ever seen (Willow Oaks). They've done a lot of little things really well." -- Bemberis
• "The main thing yesterday for the practice round was seeing the green speeds and seeing if they were any different here than they were down at Petersburg. And they are. They're a little quicker, a little firmer. ... For me, it's just the green speeds and how the ball reacts when you're chipping near the greens." -- Scott Shingler on quickly transitioning from playing the VSGA Mid-Am at CC of Petersburg to the Senior Open at Willow Oaks
• "It goes back to the mid to early 90s, when the State Open was here. I always enjoyed playing in that. I just enjoy the golf course itself. It's challenging, but it's fair. It rewards good golf shots. But if you hit some stray ones, you've got some work to do to try and save par." -- Shingler on his success at Willow Oaks
• "I played good. I kept it in front of me all day. I drove it well. I drove it bad on one hole, but I hit a lot of greens. And the greens I missed, I was close to I had easy up and downs. I only missed two or three greens, and my one bogey was a bad tee shot into a fairway bunker. I just hit it solid, mostly, all day." -- McCloskey
• "Two ugly 8 irons. Made a good bogey on 17, made about a 20 footer after I had hit it in the water. Then the 8-iron on 18, I just didn't catch it. Ended up with a tough two putt." -- Steve Serrao on his bogey-bogey finish.
• "I feel good. The course is hard. There's a lot of danger. I was fairly uptight over every shot, I guess because it's my home course. I need to free it up. But my swing felt good and my putter felt good. I got off to a good start and pretty much cruised until those last two holes." -- Serrao
• "I'm not sleeping on a lead, I guess. I need to attack tomorrow and be more free and make sure I give myself more opportunities for birdie. I did a lot of two putting today." -- Serrao
• "My driver was pretty good and I kept it in play. Had one bad hole on 16 where I just hit a poor iron from about 140 yards out and didn't putt it very well. Played solid. Didn't putt it as well as I wanted, but tee to green was pretty solid." -- Barbera
• "There are some excellent players up there -- Schuller, Shingler, a bunch of others. Damn good players up there. It's going to take a good round tomorrow, so I'll come out here and hope for the best." -- Barbera