Scoring [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Scoring (9 and under) [icon name="external-link" class="" unprefixed_class=""] | Day 1 recap | Day 2 photos [icon name="facebook-official" class="" unprefixed_class=""]
By Chris Lang
PETERSBURG — In 2015, Portsmouth’s Jonathan McEwen posted a two-round 137 to win the 9-and-under division at the Virginia State Golf Association Youth Championship.
In the four ensuing years, McEwen grew a bit, and the venue changed, but the score and result were the same.
McEwen shot a sizzling 6-under-par 66 on Tuesday at the Country Club of Petersburg for a two-day aggregate 137, good enough for a two-stroke victory over Penn Laird’s Ryan Slonaker in the boys 12-13 division at the 12th VSGA Youth Championship.
McEwen returned a bogey-free round on Tuesday that included an eagle and four birdies, helping him overtake first-round leader Colby Sullivan of Kilmarnock, who shot 1-under 71 on Tuesday and finished three strokes off the lead.
“I know that if I believe in myself, that I can win tournaments,” said the 13-year-old McEwen, a rising eighth grader.
McEwen made the turn at 2 under thanks to the eagle on No. 7, a 430-yard par 5 that he had made par on the previous round.
“When I hit the putt, I was lucky it hit the hole,” McEwen said. “Because it was going way past if it didn’t go in.”
McEwen then got hot on the back nine, making birdies on Nos. 10, 11, 13 and 15.
In the girls’ 12-13 division, Suffolk’s Hope Mia Garcia edged out her twin sister Faith Mya Garcia by one stroke to claim the title. Hope Mia returned a 1-over 73 on Tuesday for a two-day aggregate 149. Faith Mya shot 74-76—150. Hope Mia started with bogeys on two of her first three holes but the played rest of her round at 1 under thanks to three birdies and a bogey.
The boys’ 10-11 division title went to Christiansburg’s Jake Albert, who entered Tuesday tied for the lead at 72. He returned a 2-over 74 on Tuesday for an aggregate 146, two shots better than Bristow’s Alex Bae, the other first-round co-leader. Albert made four birdies in his round and survived a double bogey on the back nine.
Glen Allen’s James Oh shot 73 for the best round of the day in the boys’ 10-11 division and finished in third at 151, five shots off the lead.
In the boys’ 9-and-under division, in which competitors played nine holes each day, Yorktown’s Brandon Sipe returned a second straight 7-under 29 for a two-day 58 and a 16-stroke victory. Sipe finished with five birdies and an eagle on Tuesday.