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By Arthur Utley
Glen Allen – Two months ago Steve Serrao shot an 80 in
the first round of the Richmond Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship at
The Dominion Club and became a non-factor in the tournament.
Serrao (Midlothian,
Willow Oaks Country Club) got another shot at The Dominion Club on Friday in
the first round of the 43rd Virginia State Golf Association Mid-Amateur
Championship, posted a 5-under-par 67 and stands atop the leaderboard in the
54-hole tournament that concludes Sunday.
After the RGA
Mid-Amateur, Serrao sought and received putting advice from Mike Hott at
Salisbury Country Club. Since then, Serrao won the VSGA Senior Amateur title
and earned medalist honors in local qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur
Championship.
“I had zero
expectations (Friday) because I don’t seem to play this course well, but I’m
playing so much better than I was then,” Serrao said. “I got off to a good
start, hit some good shots and I got comfortable.”
Serrao was the only
player in the largest Mid-Am field (108 players) since 2013 to break 70.
Fifteen players shot under par or even.
The leader is three
strokes clear of a quintet of players, all of whom shot 70: Marshall Tinsley
(Forest, Winton CC); Harry Nodwell (Newport News, Cedar Point GC); reigning
Senior Open of Virginia champion Dave Pulk (Williamsburg, Two Rivers CC);
two-time VSGA Mid-Amateur champion Jon Hurst (Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg
CC); and reigning RGA Men’s Amateur champion John Rosenstock (Richmond,
Stonehenge G&CC).
Six players shot
1-under 71 and trail by four shots. They are defending champion Buck Brittain
(Tazewell, The Virginian); Ben Beach (Richmond, Hermitage CC); Kyle Martin
(Newport News, Cedar Point GC); Parker Wingfield (Newport News, James River
CC); Jimmy Delp (Alexandria, Laurel Hill); and Jordan Utley (Midlothian,
Hermitage CC).
The par-shooters
were Kevin Reynolds (Fredericksburg, The Piedmont Club); 2007 Mid-Amateur
winner Dan Hosek (Alexandria, Fort Belvoir GC) and Dustin Groves
(Charlottesville, Glenmore CC).
The other past
champion in the field, Justin Young (Salem, Ballyhack), was at 1-over 73.
Serrao’s round
consisted of five birdies, an eagle and two bogeys. All five birdies came in
the first 12 holes. He three-putted for bogey at the par-14 but came back to
drive the par-4 15th green and sink a 2-foot putt for eagle. He bogeyed the
par-5 18th when an aggressive second shot put him in a difficult position over
the green and he couldn’t get up and down.
The eagle at the
water-guarded 15th came when he hit what he called a “perfect” tee shot that
hit 4-feet short of the cup and ended up 2-feet behind the hole.
“It was probably
close to going in but I can’t see that far,” Serrao said. “While I was out
there, I knew I was playing well and I knew I was getting some birdies and the
whole time I was just trying to not worry about my score, just keep going for
it because it may be totally different tomorrow.”
For the second
round, “I’m just trying to do the same every swing, same keys and try not to
worry about anything else, which is hard. That’s one of my weaknesses, but Mike
also helped me with that. He said take a deep breath and remember your keys.”
Hurst, who won
back-to-back in 2013-14, has been absent from the VSGA Mid-Amateur field for a
couple years and he hadn’t played The Dominion Club in what he estimated to be
30 years.
“I didn’t remember
anything about it, but the greens were good. I had a little trouble with the
speed because I hadn’t played out here, but I thought it was good overall,”
said Hurst who got it 4-under at one point but finished with two bogeys in the
last four holes. “It’s good to be back. I’m kind of migrating to the seniors.”
Serrao defeated
Pulk on the 19th hole to win the VSGA Senior Amateur title. Pulk then won the
Senior State Open earlier this month.
Pulk missed only
two greens (including No. 18) in Friday’s round but made bogey on both to go
along with four birdies. He’s hoping that he and Serrao will stay in contention
and go at it again.
Rosenstock, who was
a local qualifier for the U.S. Mid-Amateur along with Serrao, Young and Tyler
Gulliksen (73 on Friday), has seen The Dominion Club for the Delta Dental State
Open qualifier and the RGA Mid already this year.
“Just the fact I’ve
already had a few competitive rounds out here, I felt comfortable on the golf
course. I didn’t do anything special, but played solid and smart and I’m
looking forward to the next couple of days,” he said.”
Nodwell is new to
the VSGA Mid-Amateur field. He survived a double bogey and two bogeys by making
six birdies. Tinsley was 4-under through 10 holes even with two bogeys, but he
bogeyed the 16th and 17th and had to sink a 60-foot par putt on 18 for his 70.
Arthur Utley is a
retired Richmond Times-Dispatch staff writer and frequent contributor to VSGA
championship coverage.