NOTE TO MEDIA: Links to scoring, the event preview, photos and
previous recaps from this event can be found on the event portal at the link
posted above. Please click on the “Media” tab to find those items.
By Chris Lang
KESWICK – Players approach the stroke-play qualifying portion of the Virginia
State Golf Association Amateur Championship in different ways. Some play conservative
and try just to make the 32-player match-play field. Connor Messick is not one
of those players.
Feeling comfortable on a Keswick Golf Club
Full Cry course that he’s played numerous times, Messick was in attack mode all
day Tuesday, and the result was a 7-under-par 65 that included a hole in one
and netted him medalist honors in the 106th playing of the event.
Messick posted a two-day 136 to finish two strokes clear of the field.
“I kind of had my aspirations on medaling,”
said Messick, who played college golf at both Virginia and George Mason and is
a member at International Country Club. “I played aggressively both days. My
game plan probably won’t change much for match play.
“Once you get into match play, it’s a
completely different game, and I know that. But I’ll keep sticking to my game
plan and keep hitting the ball where I want to and I’ll try to make some putts
like I did today.”
But let’s start with the hole where Messick
didn’t have to make a putt: the par-3 11th. He started off No. 10
and opened his round with a bogey, but he quickly corrected the situation by
acing the 11th with a 6 iron from 191 yards away.
“I was basically still loosening up,” Messick
said. “I hit a little cut there and I hit it perfect, and it went about two
feet past the hole and spun back in.”
Messick wasn’t the only player to post a 65
on Tuesday. Ben Cooper (CC of Virginia) continued his strong summer Tuesday,
shooting a bogey-free 7-under to finish tied for second with first-round
co-leader Cameron Moore of Glen Allen at 136. Earlier this month, Cooper was
the medalist at U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier at Lake Chesdin Golf Club.
“I didn’t have a five on the card, so that
helps,” said Cooper, who finished with seven birdies. “On 5, I got in trouble
off the tee, and I kind of got in one of those thick, flyer lies, but I was
able to use that hill on the side there to muscle it down there to pretty much
a tap-in. That was probably the highlight of the day.”
Lynchburg’s Connor Burgess, a semifinalist
in last year’s Amateur, shook off an opening-round 74 to shoot a tidy 6-under
66 to finish in a tie for fourth at 140 with Fairfax’s George Duangmanee (71-69).
Burgess, a rising junior at Virginia Tech, finished with seven birdies and a
bogey.
“My goal is obviously to win,” Burgess
said. “Match play is a completely different story than stroke play. Basically,
you’ve got to survive and beat the person in front of you. So it should be fun.”
THE RULES
HELP: Monday’s other co-leader, Richmond’s Clifford Foster, survived a rocky
back nine Tuesday to advance to match play. He has a smart Rules interpretation
to thank for it. Foster shot 68-77 for a two-day 145 that left him tied for 21st.
On No. 9, his final hole, his drive went right and landed in the tall rough
right of the cart path. With the ball buried, he had two options: Either try to
knock it out back to the fairway, or declare the ball unplayable.
He chose the latter option, which meant—under
the penalty of one stroke--he was able to either hit the ball from the previous
spot (the teeing ground), or take back-of-the-line relief in line with the hole
(Rule 19.2b). He found a spot in bounds several yards back of where the ball
originally landed, where he had a one club-length relief area from the point he
chose, and he managed to get up and down to save bogey.
“Probably the best decision I’ve made in my
life,” Foster said afterward. “Last year, I would have tried to hit that ball.”
FIRST TIMERS: Richmond’s Adam
Houck (The Federal Club) estimates he is playing in his seventh VSGA Amateur.
And heading into this week, he had never made the match-play cut. So he made
some changes to his pre-tournament preparation, most notably playing in the
Richmond Golf Association Amateur Championship, which is played the week prior
to the VSGA Amateur.
“I was always trying to peak for this,” he
said. “I was always trying to ease my way in. But that didn’t work. So this
year, I played the Richmond City Am, and played (seven straight days). I don’t
think I’ve played that much golf since high school.”
Houck arrived in a groove and avoided the
big number this week, posting a 71-73—144 to secure his spot in match play.
“It’s so hard to come out here and play
well for two days,” Houck said. “You know you have to score well to advance. I
mean, it’s the top however-many people in the state, and only 32 advance, and
you know that if you make one big mistake, you’re in trouble. You don’t have 72
holes to make it up. It’s a sprint.”
Another mid-amateur who reached match play
for the first time was Roanoke’s Chase Bailey (Hanging Rock GC). Bailey, making
his fourth appearance in the event, followed an opening round 74 with a
second-round 67 to tie for sixth at 141 with Alexandria’s Jimmy Taylor.
SNEAKING IN: Among the five
players who survived an eight-for-five playoffs for the final match-play spots
was 2000 VSGA Amateur champion David Passerell, who is playing in the Amateur
for the first time in several years. Passerell defeated Faber Jamerson at
Hermitage CC for his title 19 years ago.
Others who advanced out of the playoff were
Ashburn’s Jeff Long, Massanutten’s Jacob Laughlin, Manakin-Sabot’s Jack
Montague, and Bluefield’s Ben Ramsey.
QUITE A
TURNAROUND: Virginia Beach’s Mason McCoy participated in last week’s VSGA Junior
Match Play Championship but failed to make the cut for match play. After
opening with a 74 on Monday at Keswick, he shot a wild 3-under 69 on Tuesday to
secure his spot in the field of 32. His round included eight birdies (including
two runs of three birdies in a row) and five bogeys.
Cooper and Taylor were the only two players
to make match play in both the Junior Match Play and the Amateur.
EARLY EXITS: Two past VSGA Amateur
champions had their tournaments end prematurely due to back injuries. Trey
Smith, who won last year’s title at The Federal Club, withdrew early in his
round on Tuesday. Two-time champion Keith Decker was battling back soreness and
withdrew before his afternoon starting time.
Lang is the editor of Virginia Golfer magazine and the VSGA’s manager,
digital media.