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By Chris Lang
HAYMARKET — Brandon Cigna had a number in mind when he and partner
Matt Sughrue started their round Saturday at Dominion Valley Country Club. They
entered the second and final round of the 54th Virginia State Golf
Association Four-Ball Championship two strokes behind the five sides tied for
the 18-hole lead, and considering how the course played on Friday, they knew
they’d have to go low.
“It’s kind of funny,” Cigna
said. “We put 10 under in our heads, because that was probably what we were
going to have to shoot to be in the mix. We got off to a good start. We birdied
1, and after that, every hole, we were like, ‘We’ve got nine more.’”
Turns out they had one to spare.
The Arlington duo indeed posted a 10-under-par 62 Saturday to finish two
strokes clear of the field, coming from behind to claim the title, the first in
a VSGA championship for either player.
But don’t let that fool you.
Both players are plenty accomplished on the national level. Cigna is three
years removed from a berth in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship title match.
The 59-year-old Sughrue was a finalist in the 2016 U.S. Senior Amateur
Championship.
Both players were exempt into
the VSGA Four-Ball Championship, provided they found a partner who was also
exempt.
“We’ve known each other for
several years now,” Cigna said. “We looked at this as an opportunity to do
something fun together. I shot him a text earlier in the year, and I was like, ‘hey,
this could be a fun one to do.’
“He accepted, and here we are.”
Cigna and Sughrue finished with
a two-day aggregate 128, the lowest winning score in the event since Brandon
LaCroix and Matt Chandler won by shooting 127 at The Virginian in 2014.
Cigna and Sughrue navigated a
tough field and shot 6 under on the back nine to secure the victory. When they
signed their scorecard after a par on 18, 10 groups remained on the course,
several within two strokes with key par 5s to play.
Jeff Long (Ashburn) and John
Rosenstock (Richmond) tied for second with 2016 champions Kyle Bailey
(Charlottesville) and Harold Dill (Ashburn), two strokes behind the winners.
Long and Rosenstock were well aware of the number they had to reach as they
played Dominion Valley’s final four holes. But neither player could convert
birdie chances on the par-5 16th hole, which proved to be a backbreaker
to their title hopes.
“It was a little deflating after
16 … we needed that one,” Long said. “We didn’t make many mistakes.”
“But we left a few out there,”
Rosenstock added.
“There were just a few holes
where we didn’t make the putts,” Long continued. “That’s what it really came
down to. In four ball, you’ve got to make it rain. You’ve got to make putts. And
I’m sure (Cigna and Sughrue) made a whole bunch today.”
Dill and Bailey both made birdie
on 16 to get to 14 under but came in with pars on 17 and 18.
“I felt we would play off, at
worst,” Sughrue said. “Frankly, I’m a little surprised. But I think the online
scoring might have helped us. We didn’t pay attention to any of that all day. I
would imagine those that were behind us—seeing the 16 (under) posted—maybe that
was a little added pressure.”
Four sides tied for fourth at
13-under 131: Lee Fisher (Lynchburg) and Chase Bailey (Roanoke); Brian Agee
(Leesburg) and Brian Hill (Winchester); Adam Houck (Richmond) and Tyler Gulliksen
(Dunn Loring); and Dellon Baker (Carrolton) and Matt Grandy (Suffolk).
Jordan Utley (Richmond) and
Dustin Groves (Charlottesville) tied for eighth at 12-under 132 with Jimmy Delp
(Alexandria) and Ben Keefer (Glen Allen). Utley provided one of the highlights
of the day, holing out for eagle from 154 yards away on the par-4 12th
hole.
Cigna will travel to Oregon for
the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship last week, along with nine other VSGA
members—Utley, Groves, Scott Shingler, Justin Young, Long, Michael Brennan,
Gulliksen, Sam Beach and Sam Sikes. For Sughrue, the next challenge will come
at Wintergreen Resort when he goes for the VSGA Four-Ball double at the VSGA
Senior Four-Ball Championship in 11 days.
His partner is 28-time VSGA
champion and Virginia Golf Hall of Famer Keith Decker.
“I’d like to do it,” Sughrue
said. “I’ve got a great partner there too.”
Chris Lang is the Editor of Virginia Golfer Magazine and Manager,
Digital Media for the VSGA.