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By Chris Lang
VIRGINIA BEACH — David Jordan’s strong spring started, in
all places, Scotland, where the Glen Allen resident figured out why his golf
swing was just a little off.
“I went over to
Scotland and found a swing key, and for me, it’s swinging with tempo … tempo
and rhythm,” Jordan said. “And it’s kind of stuck. So taking that bucket list
trip to Scotland, it gave me some good tips.”
Jordan, a member at
Willow Oaks Country Club, won the Richmond Golf Association’s senior
championship last month, and he continued his run of success Wednesday in the
34th Virginia State Golf Association Senior Stroke Play
Championship, held at Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club. Jordan followed his
bogey-free opening 65 with a 3-over-par 72 for a two-day aggregate 137, leaving
him clear of three second-place finishers: Martinsville’s Keith Decker and
Cavalier members Bill Williard and Jeff Flax.
The win was Jordan’s
first in a VSGA championship, and it earned him an exemption into the 106th
VSGA Amateur Championship in two weeks at Keswick Golf Club. Jordan missed out
on qualifying for that event on Monday at The Dominion Club.
“So that’s a little
bonus right there,” he said.
For the first time,
the Senior Stroke Play Championship (for players ages 50 and older) featured a
shotgun start. With everyone on the course at the same time, Jordan—who opened
with a four-shot lead—didn’t quite know how others around him were faring.
“The mindset was to
play like I was two strokes behind,” he said. “All day, I just kept telling
myself, play aggressive golf, play smart golf. It started off pretty good, then
it got a little squirrelly and a little dumb—I took a penalty stroke (for
improperly lifting his ball in the fairway on No. 4)—and I had a few
three-putts, which made it interesting.
“You’ve got to play
your game. It doesn’t really matter what anybody else is doing. You can’t play
defense in golf.”
Jordan made the
turn Wednesday at even par for his round, but he leaked a little oil coming in.
He made bogeys on 12, 15 and 18 to drop three shots. But it was a clutch par
save on the par-4 17th that helped him maintain control.
He said his
backswing on 17 tee was twice interrupted by cars passing by on the road behind
him. When the road cleared, he rushed his swing and nearly drove his tee shot
out of bounds to the left. Instead, it was found under a tree, and he recovered
with a low shot off a sandy lie to reach the green in regulation. His birdie
putt came up about six feet short, leaving him a nervy putt for par, which he
sank.
“I told myself if I
had any chance of winning, I had to make that putt,” he said. “It was good to
see that one go in the middle.”
Ahead of Jordan,
Williard and Flax—close friends and workout partners who play Cavalier on a
regular basis—were trying to make a run. Williard was 2 under for the day
through 12 holes but took a bogey on No. 14 and never could get it going again.
He made four straight pars before ending his round with a bogey on No. 1. Both
players shot even-par 69s after opening with 71s for two-day 140s.
“We both wanted to
win, but our goal going into the tournament—more importantly—was to play well
and have a good showing on our own course,” Williard said. “For the most part,
we did. Everyone can go back and say woulda-coulda-shoulda. But I figured it
would take 65 today to win. I’ve been playing well, and Jeff’s been playing
well, but it just didn’t happen.”
Stafford’s Chris
Robb (Augustine GC) opened the day four shots back of Jordan, but his round got
off to a tough start when he hit it out of bounds on No. 4 and took a
triple-bogey 8. He responded with back-to-back birdies, but played the rest of
his round at 2 over and returned a 72 for a two-day 141, good for fifth place.
Williamsburg’s Dave
Pulk (Two Rivers CC) shot a second straight 71 to finish tied for sixth at 142
with Haymarket’s Randy Newsome (Dominion Valley CC). Newsome rebounded from an
opening-round 74 and was the only player on Wednesday to shoot under par,
posting a 1-under 68.
Jordan spent the
last few days with his mother, who lives in the area, and she was out on course
Wednesday to cheer him on, along with Jordan’s stepfather. Her presence gave
him a special boost, he said.
“It was an awesome, home-cooked meal (Tuesday night), so a lot of credit goes to that,” Jordan said. “Her health isn’t that great. I thought she’d try to come out for a couple of holes, but they walked about 14 holes. It was just a blessing having them out there. You can see, she’s the proudest mom in the world, and I’m the proudest son. So that was really cool.”
Lang is the editor of Virginia Golfer magazine and the VSGA’s manager,
digital media.