Mid-Senior scoring [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Super Senior scoring [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Mid-Senior bracket [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Super Senior brackets [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Preview [icon name="file-pdf-o" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Day 1 recap
NEWPORT NEWS — The match play fields are set at the 2nd VSGA Mid-Senior Amateur Championship and the 23rd VSGA Super Senior Amateur Championship, held concurrently at James River Country Club in Newport News.
After two days of stroke-play qualifying, the four medalists were: Dave Pulk (Mid-Senior), Dick Blackburn and Mike McDonald (65-69), George Owens (70-74), and O.D. Gardner (75 and over).
Mid-Seniors (players ages 60-64) and those in the 65-69 and 70-74 Super Senior age groups will play quarterfinal and semifinal matches Thursday. Semifinals begin Thursday morning for the four players remaining in the 75-and-over age group.
2nd Mid-Senior Amateur Championship
Pulk, who won the 32nd VSGA Senior Stroke Play Championship in June, shot an even-par 70 Wednesday for a two-day aggregate 138 to finish one shot clear of David Partridge (Hermitage CC) for medalist honors. Pulk’s reward is a matchup with 2016 Mid-Senior Amateur champion George Kapetanakis (Trump National Washington D.C.) in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Kapetanakis advanced out of a two-man playoff with Skip Zobel (Princess Anne CC) for the final match-play spot.
Pulk finished with three birdies and three bogeys in his second round. Partridge had a similar day, finishing with two bogeys and two birdies, including one on No. 18 to close his round.
Jim Wright (Roanoke CC) shot Wednesday’s only under-par round, rebounding from an opening-round 76 by posting a 2-under 68 to finish third at 144. Wright notched five birdies in his second round. Jeff Flax (Cavalier Y&GC), a finalist last year in this event, returned 1-over 71 and finished alone in fourth. He’ll face Leon Roday (Kinloch GC), who entered this week No. 2 in the VSGA Senior Player Rankings.
Steve Williams (Eaglewood GC) and Mark Boedicker (Raspberry Falls G&HC) round out the match-play field.
23rd VSGA Super Senior Amateur Championship
65-69
On another tough scoring day at James River, McDonald (Two Rivers CC) and Blackburn (Belle Haven CC) emerged from the pack to tie for medalist honors, each shooting 73-74 for a two-day aggregate 147, one shot better than Mike Ancel (Newport News GC at Deer Run).
Van McCarter (Blue Hills GC), who entered the week No. 1 in the VSGA Super Senior Player Rankings and was the first-round leader, slumped to a 78 and finished fourth, three shots behind the leaders. He’ll open match play against fellow Blue Hills member Bill Nunnenkamp, who finished fifth at 151.
McDonald finished at 4 over par for the two qualifying rounds. On Wednesday, No. 11 continued to be a struggle for McDonald, whose side won the 2016 VSGA Super Senior Four-Ball Championship. He made a triple bogey on 11 in the second round and played the hole at 4 over during the two days of stroke play. He played the rest of the course at even par.
Ancel shot 71 for the best round of the day, finishing with two birdies and three bogeys. Charles Green III (The Virginian GC) needed to rally to make match play, and he followed an opening round 80 with a 73 to sneak into the field by a stroke. Green made three birdies Wednesday and eliminated the double and triple bogeys that hurt him in the first round.
Bert Wilson (Jefferson Lakeside CC) and John Hoffman (Potomac Shores GC) round out the match-play field.
70-74
Owens (Broad Bay CC) was one of two in the age group to post an even-par 70 on Wednesday, and his two-day aggregate 141 earned him stroke-play medalist honors by five strokes over John Casstevens (The Federal Club).
Owens opened Wednesday a stroke behind Casstevens, but the latter struggled to a 6-over 76 in the second round. Meanwhile, Owens got hot on the back nine, making three straight birdies from Nos. 13-15 to get back to even par. In all, Owens had five birdies to go along with five bogeys. Casstevens was 1 under for his round after a birdie on No. 2, but he played the rest of his round at 7 over to fall back.
Jim Hudson (Salisbury CC), the 2016 champion in the 70-74 age group, also shot an even-par 70 and finished in a tie for third with Bill Engel (Army Navy CC), a two-time VSGA Super Senior Stroke Play champion. Hudson made birdies on Nos. 4 and 5 and fell back to even with a bogey on No. 10. He parred his final eight holes.
Bill Flanders Jr. (Two Rivers CC), Ray D’Amore (VSGA eClub Alexandria), Steve Golis (Laurel Hill GC) and Ronald Janicki (VSGA eClub Alexandria) round out the eight-player match-play field.
75 and over
Gardner (The Woodlands GC) cruised to medalist honors by seven strokes, posting the best score in both days of qualifying. He entered Wednesday four shots ahead of the field after returning 73 in the first round, and he shot an 8-over 78 in the second round for a two-day aggregate 151.
Tom Houston (CC of Culpeper) will be the No. 2 seed after shooting a two-day 158. Ned Baber (Roanoke CC) and Bob Moyers (Shenvalee Golf Resort) round out the match-play field.