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By Chris Lang
SUFFOLK — The 17th hole at Cedar Point Country Club proved fruitful for the sides near the top of the leaderboard at the 53rd Virginia State Golf Association Four-Ball Stroke Play Championship on Saturday. Of the top five sides after one day of play in the 36-hole championship, four made eagle on the par-5 17th, a big reason why they stand near the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday’s second and final round.
Jimmy Delp (Laurel Hill GC) and Ben Keefer (Hermitage CC) enter Sunday tied with Chase Bailey (Blue Hills GC) and Lee Fisher (Poplar Grove GC) after each posted 8-under-par rounds of 64.
They sit two shots clear of three sides, all of which returned 6-under 66s: Dudley Payne III (Fauquier Springs CC) and Francesco Romano (Raspberry Falls G&HC); Buck Brittain (The Virginian GC) and Garland Green (Tazewell County CC); and Jeff Whitmire (Williamsburg GC) and Garrison Fowler (Two Rivers CC).
Of the five, only Whitmire and Fowler failed to make a three on 17. They were also the only side of the five to start their round on No. 10.
Keefer, who was a semifinalist at the 2009 VSGA Amateur held at Cedar Point, recorded his side’s eagle on 17, rolling in a putt from about 25 feet out.
“We had a wager going to see how many birdies each of us would make today,” Keefer said. So who won the bet?
“He eagled 17, so he clipped me,” Delp said with a laugh.
Keefer and Delp, who qualified for last year’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, started their round with four straight birdies and turned at 5 under. A bogey on No. 11 slowed the momentum, but they got going again with back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14.
“After the bogey on 11, it was one of those things where we said, ‘OK, let’s get going again,’” Delp said. “Then (Keefer) chipped in on 13 and made a two-putt birdie on 14, then the eagle on 17. We made par on 18, but it’s probably the hardest hole out here to make par on, so par is a good score.”
Bailey and Fisher, who tied for third in last year’s championship at Willow Oaks, had a similar hot streak, just at the end of the front nine rather than the start. They birdied holes 6 through 9 before settling for five straight pars, then got hot again with birdies at 15 and 16 and the eagle at 17. Fisher had already sunk his birdie putt on 17, so he encouraged his partner to go for broke on the 30-foot putt.
“I was right behind him, chipping for eagle too,” Fisher said. “I made my birdie, and I said, ‘Dude, you’re free. You leave it short, I’m punching you.’ It hit the back of the hole and went in. I said, ‘Attaboy.’”
Fisher and Bailey matched the 64 they shot in the first round at Willow Oaks last year. Again, they’ll be in the final group, which is scheduled to start off No. 1 at 10:31 Sunday morning.
“Last year, it was all (Fisher) on the first day,” Bailey said. “Today, I kind of took some of the pressure off of him so he can save some of his birdies for tomorrow.”
Of the three sides tied at 66, one features a couple of “grass guys,” as they put it.
Whitmire is the superintendent at Williamsburg Golf Club, and Fowler is the first assistant superintendent just down the road at Two Rivers. Fowler joked that this weekend might be the last time he plays for a while, considering the summer months are coming and he’ll be spending more time prepping the course for members than playing it.
They also had the disadvantage of playing Cedar Point’s toughest three-hole stretch first. They were 1 over after their third hole (the 12th), but got back level with a birdie on the par-5 14th. The red numbers came in a flurry after that, including a four-birdie streak between holes 2 and 6. A birdie on No. 8 moved them to 6 under for the day.
“We picked each other up when we needed to,” Fowler said. “We’ve known each other for a while, and I think we just jell together. We just both have this understanding with working out on the golf course. It’s just cool to come out here and play well. After putting all your time in taking care of the golf course, it feels good to play good.”
Said Whitmire: “Short game was good. We both hit the ball good, and we didn’t get in trouble. That was the main thing, staying out of trouble.”
Payne and Romano made two eagles, one on the par-4 8th and another on the par-5 17th, a huge swing after the side made consecutive bogeys on 15 and 16. Brittain and Green got to 7 under before a bogey on 18.
Trey Smith (Windy Hill Sports Complex) and Chase Duffy (Red Wing Lake GC) posted a 5-under 67, as did Brad Ferguson (Spring Creek GC) and Adam Houck (The Federal Club). Four sides were tied at 4 under after returning 68s, including Cedar Point members Cameron Robinett and Bryan Giles.
Chris Lang is the Editor of Virginia Golfer Magazine and Manager, Digital Media for the VSGA.