Mid-Senior scoring [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Super Senior scoring [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Preview [icon name="file-pdf-o" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Mid-Senior second round starting times [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Super Senior second round starting times [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""]
NEWPORT NEWS — A year after playing through sweltering mid-summer heat, competitors at the VSGA’s Mid-Senior and Super Senior Amateur championships had an opportunity to enjoy cooler weather as the two events opened this year at James River Country Club.
The two championships were played concurrently in mid-July in 2016 but were moved to October in 2017, partly in hopes of finding less stifling playing conditions. The Mid-Senior Amateur is for players ages 60-64. The Super Senior Amateur is divided into three age groups: 65-69, 70-74, and 75 and over.
Leaders after Tuesday’s first round of stroke-play qualifying were Dave Pulk (Mid-Senior), Van McCarter (65-69), John Casstevens (70-74), and O.D. Gardner (75 and over).
After Wednesday’s second round of stroke-play qualifying, the top eight players in each division will advance to match play, save for the 75-and-over division, where only four will advance to match play.
2nd Mid-Senior Amateur Championship
Pulk (Two Rivers CC) already has one VSGA championship to his credit this year, having won the Senior Stroke Play title at Hidden Valley CC in June. Pulk posted a 2-under-par 68 on Tuesday and will take a one-shot lead into Wednesday’s second round over David Partridge (Hermitage CC), who returned 69.
Pulk found success on James River’s outward nine, with a three-birdie streak from holes 4-6 helping him to a 4-under 31 on the front. Pulk had a tough stretch on the back, including back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17. But he closed his round with a birdie on the par-5 18th to finish at 2 under.
Partridge’s struggles came on the front as he turned at 2 over. But started his inward nine the right way with a birdie on 10 and added an eagle on 12 before finishing with six straight pars.
Pulk and Partridge are far clear of the rest of the field heading into Wednesday. Mark Boedicker (Raspberry Falls G&HC) and Leon Roday (Kinloch GC) each shot 74 and are tied for third, and Jeff Fleishman (Two Rivers CC), Steve Williams (Eaglewood GC) and Nelson Cutler (James River CC) posted 75s and are tied for fifth.
Last year’s two finalists — George Kapetanakis (Trump National Washington D.C.) and Jeff Flax (Cavalier Y&GC) — are tied for eighth with Jim Wright (Roanoke CC). Don’t count either finalist out. Flax and Kapetanakis were seeded seventh and eighth, respectively, when they reached the championship in 2016.
23rd VSGA Super Senior Amateur Championship
65-69
McCarter, who entered the tournament at No. 1 in the VSGA Super Senior Player Rankings, posted a 2-over-par 72 and holds a one-shot edge over Dick Blackburn (Belle Haven CC) and Mike McDonald (Two Rivers CC) heading into Wednesday’s second round.
It was a tough day for scoring for the 65-69 set. Bert Wilson (Jefferson Lakeside CC) led the field with two birdies in his round, but four bogeys and a double bogey contributed to a 4-over 74 that left him in fourth place, two shots behind McCarter.
McCarter made his lone birdie on the par-3 17th hole and had bogeys on Nos. 5, 7 and 16. Blackburn and McDonald each finished with four bogeys along with one birdie and posted 73s.
Four players were tied for fifth heading into Wednesday after shooting 75: Bill Nunnenkamp (Blue Hills GC), Don Jeanes (Heritage Hunt G&CC), John Hoffman (Potomac Shores GC) and Douglas Wade (Army Navy CC).
Charles Green III (The Virginian GC), the 2016 VSGA Super Senior Golfer of the Year, has some work to do make the cut for match play. An 80 that included a triple bogey and two double bogeys left him tied for 12th, five shots out of the final match-play spot.
70-74
Casstevens (The Federal Club) fired an even-par 70 to take a one-shot lead into Wednesday. George Owens (Broad Bay CC) posted a 1-over-par 71 and stands in second. Bill Flanders Jr. (Two Rivers CC) is in third after returning a 2-over 72.
Bill Engel (Army Navy CC), a two-time VSGA Super Stroke Play champion, is in fourth after shooting a 6-over 76.
Casstevens finished with three birdies and three bogeys, closing his round with a birdie on the par-5 18th hole. Owens had four birdies but a double bogey on No. 2 ultimately cost him a share of the lead. Flanders made eight pars to start his round before a bogey on No. 9. He made a birdie on No. 14.
Jim Hudson (Salisbury CC), the defending champion in the age group, is tied for fifth with Ray D’Amore (VSGA eClub Alexandria) and Ronald Janicki (VSGA eClub Alexandria). Terry Towler (The Manor GC) occupies the eighth and final match play spot heading into Wednesday, three shots clear of ninth.
75 and over
Gardner (The Woodlands GC) made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5 and 6 and returned a 3-over 73 to lead the 75-and-older set. He enters Wednesday with a four-shot lead over Tom Houston (CC of Culpeper). Bob Moyers (Shenvalee Golf Resort), a finalist in last year’s championship, posted an 8-over 78 and is in third. Hank Berry Jr. (Two Rivers CC) holds the fourth and final match play spot heading into the second round, two shots clear of fifth.