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By Chris Lang
RADFORD — Bruce Stouffer’s last appearance at the Virginia State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play Championship didn’t go like he had planned. Last year at Belle Haven Country Club, he shot a first-round 83, rallied just to make the 36-hole cut, then finished in a tie for 39th.
That memory made Tuesday’s opening round of the 66th VSGA Junior Stroke Play Championship especially satisfying for Stouffer, a graduate of Charlottesville High School who will head to Bridgewater College to play this upcoming fall.
Stouffer posted the round of the day at Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech, a bogey-free, 6-under-par 66 that left him a shot clear of Abingdon’s Connor Creasy heading into Wednesday’s second round.
“It was kind of a mix of not making mistakes, and my putter,” Stouffer said. “I was making the putts I needed to make. That’s kind of the deal with this golf course. As soon as you try to get too aggressive, it really bites you.”
Creasy, a Glenrochie CC member fresh off an appearance in the round of 16 at last week’s U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, also kept a clean card in posting his 67. Midlothian’s Dylan Fox (Salisbury CC) is in third after shooting a 4-under 68.
Five players were tied for fourth after returning 3-under 69s: Richmond’s Connor Johnson Jr. (CC of Virginia), Virginia Beach’s Cam Barackman (The Signature at West Neck), Fairfax’s Bryan Lee (VSGA Junior Golf Circuit), Chesapeake’s Everett Whiten Jr. (Cahoon Plantation) and Chesapeake’s Patrick Gareiss (VSGA JGC).
After Wednesday’s second round, the field will be cut to the low 45 players and ties for Thursday’s third and final round.
Stouffer, a 6-foot-6 lefty, credited his strong play to his work with Bill Fedder, a PGA professional at Spring Creek Golf Club, his home course in Zion Crossroads.
“I didn’t get very much interest, recruiting wise,” Stouffer said. “It would be nice validation that I’d be up there where I feel I should be, talent-wise.
“Me and my coach, Bill Fedder, have been working pretty hard these last two years. Before that, I hadn’t really had any scores. Last year, I was up and down. I’d shoot 84-66. This year, about mid-summer, I really hit a stride where I’ve played some pretty good golf. I’ve been really working on my swing. I play a fade, so it’s just making sure it will fade, so I don’t have to worry about the right side of the golf course. It’s made it a lot easier. And my putting has really come along. It’s probably the strongest part of my game. So those two things have really helped me.”
Creasy, who has committed to Wake Forest, took a lot of confidence from his showing at Baltusrol last week into this week’s championship. He was runner-up to champion Teddy Zinsner last July at Belle Haven.
“To be completely honest, I left a few out there,” Creasy said. “I’ve started to hit the ball better and better each week as the summer has gone on. I’m just going to try to keep it going the next couple of days.”
Fox had one bogey on his card, but he made up for it by making eagle on the par-5 16th hole. A rising senior at Midlothian High School, Fox qualified for both the VSGA Amateur Championship and the Delta Dental State Open of Virginia, reaching match play at the Amateur at the Federal Club in June.
He understands how much a great showing this week against a strong field can mean to his prospects for playing college golf.
“For me, it’s all on the greens,” Fox said. “If I chip and putt well, I’ll have a good week. That’s how it goes. … This one and the (Junior) Match Play were the big ones for me going into this summer.”
The group at 3 under features significant experience. Johnson (Virginia Tech), Barackman (VCU) and Whiten (Hampton University) will all start their college careers next month. Gareiss is a rising senior at Hickory High School in Virginia Beach. The exception is Lee, who won the 12-13 boys age division at last year’s VSGA Youth Championship and will soon start his freshman year at Fairfax High School.
“I’ve always been a longish hitter, and my irons have never failed me,” Lee said. “But for the last couple of years, I couldn’t make a putt. Now I’ve been working hard on it, and it’s paying off. I couldn’t make a five-foot putt last year. Now, I’m more consistent.”
Six players are tied for ninth after shooting 2-under 70s, including Chesterfield’s Drew Brockwell, who will start at Virginia Tech next month, and the last two champions of the Richmond Golf Association Amateur Championship (Jack Montague and Benjamin Cooper). Virginia Beach’s Caleb Choe (Bayville GC) and Leonard Park (VSGA JGC), and Alexandria’s Jimmy Taylor (Belle Haven CC) also returned 70.