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By Chris Lang
GLEN ALLEN — Dustin Groves’ competitive golf resume features plenty of accomplishments. He’s a past Virginia State Golf Association Junior Match Play Champion. He was an all-Atlantic Coast Conference performer at Wake Forest in 2009. He spent six years playing professional golf and several years as a PGA Tour caddie.
Somewhere along the way, golf became less fun for Groves. So he put the professional game behind him and regained his amateur status in 2016. He and his wife started a family, and with a six-month-old son at home, golf is more of a release than an obligation. That free-and-easy play was on display Tuesday during the first round of stroke-play qualifying at the 105th VSGA Amateur Championship at The Federal Club.
Groves (Glenmore CC) made seven birdies and one bogey and posted a 6-under-par 66 to take a three-stroke lead heading into Wednesday’s second round.
“I just got really burnt out, and I wasn’t having fun,” said Groves, who is playing in his first VSGA Amateur since 2008. “Then I went and caddied on the PGA Tour and had a blast. I learned a ton. It leveled the game out for me a little bit. You know, it’s just a game, versus it’s my life.
I’ve been playing really well the last couple of months. I haven’t shot great scores, but playing with my dad at home and playing down in North Carolina with a couple of buddies, I know that’s it’s kind of back. I know I’ll never be as good as I once was, but a blind squirrel can find a nut every now and then.”
Groves, who lives in Charlottesville, is one of several veterans occupying spots near the top of the leaderboard. Glen Allen’s Ben Keefer (Hermitage CC) shot the best round of the morning session, a bogey-free 3-under 69, a number Midlothian’s TJ Austin (The Foundry GC) matched in the afternoon.
Past champion Scott Shingler of Haymarket (Dominion Valley CC) was one of three players four shots back after returning a 2-under 70. Shingler is 46, Keefer 39, Groves 32 and Austin 31, giving the top of the leaderboard more of a mid-amateur flavor than in past years.
Also tied for fourth after shooting 70 are Radford University’s Peter Gasperini (Halifax CC) and 16-year-old Michael Brennan of Leesburg (River Creek Club), who was the stroke-play medalist last year at Creighton Farms. Gasperini made the shot of the day on Tuesday on the par-3 17th hole, hitting a pitching wedge from 141 yards out for a hole-in-one, the second ace of his life and his first in competition.
“I had hit a pitching wedge earlier to six inches on a par 4,” Gasperini said. “We couldn’t see it at all. It took one hop and went in, and there were about eight people behind the green and they went crazy. It was an awesome feeling. It’s really special. I’m super excited. I can’t wait to call my parents and tell them about it.”
Keefer nearly matched Gasperini’s feat on 17, hitting his tee shot within six inches for a kick-in birdie. Keefer has played well in four-ball competition of late, having teamed with Jimmy Delp to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2017 and teaming again with Delp to reach a playoff at this year’s VSGA Four-Ball Stroke Play Championship at Cedar Point. That has carried over into his individual play.
He credits a smarter practice routine with his strong play of late.
“It really started a couple of years ago,” he said. “I tried to focus on a couple of areas of my golf game that were really struggling. But having two kids, and with work and family, it’s just about finding the right amount of time to practice on the right things and correct some of the deficiencies I had.”
Eight players were tied for seventh after posting 1-under-par 71s, including defending Amateur champion Mark Lawrence Jr. (Independence GC). Lawrence made the turn at 3-under but scuffled a bit coming in.
“I thought I was playing really good through nine holes, but I really didn’t play the way I wanted to on the back nine,” said Lawrence, who recently completed his junior year at Virginia Tech. “Overall, I’m pretty happy with it, though. I really haven’t played my best the last month or so. Just to get around under par to start, that helps.
I’ve just had a hard time hitting the golf ball on line. My swing’s been a little off, so I’ve been trying to work on that since I’ve got home the other day. I’ve had a couple of days to practice and figure some stuff out. I hit the driver a lot better today, which is great, because I’ve been hitting that pretty poorly.”
Others in the group at 71 include Lawrence’s former Virginia Tech teammate Ian Hildebrand (Stoneleigh G&CC), Erik Dulik (Reston National GC), Jeff Long (Evergreen CC), Delp (Laurel Hill GC), George Perkovich (Blacksburg CC), Ryan Muthiora (Spring Creek GC) and 15-year-old Matthew Monastero (Loudoun G&CC).
After Wednesday’s second round, the field will be cut to the low 32 players for match play, which begins Thursday morning. If necessary, playoffs for the final match-play spots will begin immediately after the conclusion of the second round.
Chris Lang is the Editor of Virginia Golfer Magazine and Manager, Digital Media for the VSGA.