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By Arthur Utley
GLEN ALLEN – Marshall Tinsley turned his first Virginia
State Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship appearance into his first VSGA
title.
Tinsley, a
30-year-old from Forest who plays out of Winton Country Club, two-putted the
par-5 finishing hole at The Dominion Club for a birdie and a one-stroke victory
over Kyle Martin (Newport News, Cedar Point CC) on a hot Sunday afternoon.
Tinsley, who shared
the 36-hole lead with first-round leader Steve Serrao (Midlothian, Willow Oaks
CC) at 8-under, finished the 43rd renewal of the tournament with a
54-hole total of 9-under-par 207 after shooting 1-under 71 in the final round.
Martin posted 70 for
a three-day aggregate of 8-under 208.
Jordan Utley
(Midlothian, Hermitage CC) was third, returning 1-under 71 for 7-under 209.
Another stroke back
at 6-under 210 were Harold Dill (Ashburn, South Riding Golf Club) and Jon Hurst
(Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg CC), who won back-to-back VSGA Mid-Amateur
titles in 2013-14. Dill, who tied for runner-up with Martin in this event last
year, shot 70 on Sunday, and Hurst had 71.
Serrao, the reigning
VSGA Senior Amateur champion, had 75-211. He had the lead early in the round
but faded from the picture with consecutive bogeys at the Nos. 11 and 12.
Defending champion
Buck Brittain (Tazewell, The Virginian) and 2017 champion Justin Young (Salem,
Ballyhack), each shot 69 in the final round and finished tied for seventh at
212.
Tinsley was feeling
good after the victory.
“That was exciting
today. I really wasn’t nervous over any shot today until that one-footer on 18.
So that was pretty cool,” he said.
Tinsley had a birdie
and double-bogey (ball out of bounds at No. 8) on the front nine and turned at
7-under.
“Kyle got off to a
really hot start, and I just kind of dinked and dunked around,” Tinsley said.
“I said, ‘all right I know what we have to do on the back.’ I made three
birdies and one bogey and hit a really, really good hybrid on 18 for the second
shot.”
Said Martin, “He
just hit an awesome shot on that hole. He stepped up from 240 and hit it right
at the flag. He did what he needed to do, and I didn’t.”
Tinsley couldn’t
wait to call his parents, who were at the beach, with the news.
“This was more for
them than it was for me honestly. I started playing golf because my dad and brother
did,” Tinsley said. “I’d go out there when they were playing tournaments at
Winton. I’d hit range balls; wait for them to finish.”
Tinsley and his
father talked Sunday morning, and his dad told him how much he wished he could
be there.
“He’s my coach.
Anytime I’ve got a problem, I call him and say we’re going to the range and
figure this out. He fixed my swing on Tuesday when we were playing, and I was
having a little trouble with my driver,” Tinsley added.
The hybrid to 18 on
Sunday might have been Tinsley’s best shot of the tournament, but he’ll also
remember the 60-foot putt he made for par on the 18th hole on Friday
when he could have finished the first round with three consecutive bogeys. That
saved stroke turned out to be the winning margin.
“Looking back at it
now, it was huge,” he said.
Martin birdied five
of the first 12 holes and had the lead at 10-under after a birdie at No. 12.
But he bogeyed the 13th and 16th coming in to fall back
into a tie with Tinsley at the 18th tee.
“I started fast and
was playing well, putting well, then I just had a little trouble with the speed
in the middle of the round and stopped making putts,” Martin said. “I played
solid and had a couple shots on those guys, and I just didn’t close it out.
Martin has played in
two VSGA Mid-Amateurs and finished runner-up both times.
“I’m obviously
enjoying the event. It’s nice to play against the best guys and see what you
can do,” he said.
Utley also had a shot at victory. Consecutive
birdies at Nos. 12 (par-5) and 13 (35-foot putt) put him 8-under for the
tournament and in the chase. He lipped out for a third consecutive birdie at
No. 14. A three-putt bogey at No. 17 and another three-putt for par at No. 18
proved costly.
At 17, “You’re
thinking let’s go win a tournament. How quickly things change. It definitely
puts a damper on the afternoon. Three putts on the last two holes, you’re just
not going to win tournaments that way,” he said. “You strive to be in
contention, you’re there and how do you handle it and I didn’t handle it very
well today.”Arthur
Utley is a retired Richmond Times-Dispatch staff writer and frequent
contributor to VSGA championship coverage.