Scoring [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Photo gallery (Round 1) [icon name="facebook-official" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Photo gallery (Round 2) [icon name="facebook-official" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Championship preview [icon name="file-pdf-o" class="" unprefixed_class=""]
By Chris Lang
ROANOKE — Michael Brennan can no longer be considered a youthful curiosity, not after the show he put on in Friday’s second round of the Delta Dental State Open of Virginia at Ballyhack Golf Club.
Brennan, the 15-year-old who won the Virginia State Golf Association Junior Match Play Championship last month, showed he was ready to compete with the state’s top amateurs when he earned stroke-play medalist honors at the VSGA Amateur in June at Creighton Farms.
As the youngest player in the field at the State Open, he showed little in the way of fear, hitting fairway after fairway and green after green on his way to a bogey-free, 8-under-par 64 that put him two shots ahead of the field heading into Saturday’s third and final round.
“It’s just cool to be playing good golf in a tournament like this, playing with the best guys in the state,” said Brennan, a member at River Creek Club in Leesburg and a rising sophomore at Tuscarora High School. “Just got to get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a new day. Whatever I did today, you know, yesterday doesn’t matter. Just go shoot as low as I can tomorrow.”
Don’t mistake that line of thinking for a just-happy-to-be-here mentality. There was little luck involved in the 64, which tied Steven Delmar for the low round shot in the four years the Open has been contested at Ballyhack. He made eight birdies but didn’t bomb home any particularly long putts. In fact, his best putt may have been a 15-foot par save on 13.
“My distance control with my wedges was really good,” Brennan said. “I utilized the slopes behind the pins today really well.”
Two shots behind Brennan sits Fairfax’s Ji Soo Park, the former University of Virginia standout, who posted a 4-under 68. Logan Yates (Greene Hills Club) returned a 3-under 69 that included a hole-out for eagle on No. 12 and enters Saturday four shots back at 5 under overall.
Park (1757 GC) played his Friday round much like he played Thursday’s. He prioritized hitting fairways and staying out of trouble, even if it meant sacrificing a little distance. Considering the penal nature of Ballyhack’s tall, thick native grasses, it was a smart play.
A three-time finalist in the VSGA Amateur, Park put himself in position to break through and finally claim a championship in one of the commonwealth’s major tournaments.
“Like the last two days, I just want to go out there and try to keep it in play,” Park said. “I don’t think about other people. It’s just my game. You fight the golf course, not the people out there. If I shoot my score, I can’t be mad. Other players can play well, but I can’t control that. I can just control myself. I’m probably going to do that tomorrow as well.”
Yates has recent experience rallying from behind. In June, he overcame a three-stroke deficit going into the final round of the Kenridge Invitational at Farmington Country Club to win by four strokes, an event stocked with top college talent. He also posted a 67 in the third round of last year’s State Open and a 66 in the third round of 2015’s championship.
“When you’re four back, you just have to go out and do your part and not worry about what everybody else is doing,” said Yates, who plays at Virginia Tech. “You just have to get something going early and maybe you’ll put some pressure on the guys. I just go out and play my game. I’m pretty free at that point.”
Also within striking distance are professional Ryan Zylstra and VSGA Amateur champion Mark Lawrence Jr. (Hermitage CC). Zylstra posted a 4-under 68 to get to 4 under overall, and he leads the race for low professional honors by two shots over Geoffrey Montross, PGA, who returned a 70 and sits at 2 under overall. Lawrence shot a second straight 2-under 70.
VSGA Amateur finalist Jordan Utley (Independence GC) shot a 4-under 68 to move to 3 under, six shots off the lead. Justin Young (Ballyhack GC) posted a 1-under 71 and is tied with Utley for sixth.
Lawrence grinded for most of the day. Though he made an eagle on the par-5 2nd and a birdie on the par-4 6th, he was even through 16 holes due to three bogeys. He finished strong, though, making two straight birdies.
“I didn’t really have my best today,” Lawrence said. “I’ve got to go out there and try to make a lot of birdies if I’m going to have a chance. I didn’t put myself in the position I needed to after today.”
Lawrence has plenty of insight on the leaderboard, considering he beat Brennan, Park and Utley in match play on his way to the Amateur title last month at Creighton Farms. Lawrence’s run began with a tough 3-and-1 win over Brennan.
“He’s a really good competitor who has a boatload of talent,” Lawrence said. “He’s got some confidence going right now, so that helps him a lot. Age is a number. It doesn’t matter. If you’ve got the game, you’ve got the game.”
Utley, who before this week hadn’t played since the loss to Lawrence in the Amateur on July 1, shook off a little rust off in Thursday’s first round, when he shot a 1-over 73. He got off to a birdie-eagle start on Friday, added two more birdies and surrendered just one bogey for his 68.
“I left a lot of shots out there on the back nine, so hopefully they’ll be out there for me tomorrow,” Utley said. “I’ve got a lot of ground to make up. The ones that I missed this afternoon, I’m going to have to make to have a chance.
“I don’t know Michael at all. I just know when you medal at the State Am as a 15 year old, and you win the Junior Match Play, you’ve clearly got game. A 64 out on this golf course at any time is a really good score. So hats off to him. But he’s got some good names chasing after him. … There are a lot of good players who want to come after what he’s got, which is the lead.”
Chris Lang is the Editor of Virginia Golfer Magazine and Manager, Digital Media for the VSGA.