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By Chris Lang
ZION CROSSROADS – Players weren’t quite sure what to expect
Friday at Spring Creek Golf Club as they embarked on the first day of a new
two-day Virginia State Golf Association Championship.
But as players
start to post scores during Friday’s two-man scramble shotgun round, one thing
became evident: You were going to have to go low to contend.
Formerly the
Four-Ball Match Play Championship, the VSGA’s season-ending event is now the
Multi-Format Team Championship. Following Friday’s two-man scramble round, the
competition closes on Saturday with modified foursomes (alternate shot), where
each player hits a tee shot, the side chooses which ball it wants to play, and
finishes the hole in alternate shot fashion.
In the open
division, longtime four-ball partners Matt Chandler and Brandon LaCroix posted
the best score on Friday, a 12-under-par 60 that left them a shot clear of Kyle
Bailey/Jeff Long and Nathan Dean/Tim Pemberton.
The scores were
even lower in the senior division, with the sides of Leon Roday/Scott
Reisenweaver and Danny Hopkins/Tim Vigotsky each posting 13-under-par 59s. They
enter Saturday a shot ahead of Harry Thomas and Ron Clatterbuck, who returned a
12-under 60.
“It’s neat,
something different,” Chandler said of the format. “I’m cool with it. At the
end of the day, it’s who gets the ball in the hole first. So let’s do it.”
Neither Chandler
nor LaCroix have played much competitive golf this year. Chandler’s lone
appearance in a VSGA event before Friday was at a qualifier for the VSGA
Four-Ball Championship in the spring. So he was pleased with how he and LaCroix
again seemed to click.
“We try to
strategize a little bit and play to each other’s strengths,” Chandler said. “We
know where I’m better, and where he’s better, and things like that. We have to.
There’s no way we could compete with these young boys if we don’t.”
Starting on No. 10,
Chandler and LaCroix made par to open their round before catching fire, making
nine straight birdies. The only blip on the scorecard was a bogey on No. 3
where their best approach was just behind the hole in thick rough, and they
were unable to get up and down for par.
Bailey and Long,
who won the open division at last year’s Four-Ball Match Play, made 11 birdies
and posted a bogey-free round. Pemberton and Dean made nine birdies and added
an eagle on the par-5 9th hole.
The top of the
senior leaderboard features two VSGA Super Senior champions from this season.
Vigotsky won the 65-69 division at the Super Senior Amateur, and Roday won both
the Super Senior Stroke Play and Super Senior Four-Ball titles. Roday and Reisenweaver
complemented each other’s games well Friday. Reisenweaver’s iron play gave them
plenty of easy looks at birdie, and when they were a little farther out, Roday’s
putter kept the birdie train rolling. Starting on No. 4, they birdied their
first 10 holes.
“I usually have one
good putting day a year,” Roday joked. “And it happened to be today.”
Vigotsky and
Hopkins started on No. 5 and opened with two straight pars before ripping off
nine straight birdies. They ended their round on a three-birdie run to grab a
share of the lead.
“We did everything
we were hoping to do today,” Hopkins said. “We hit the ball well, we made a few
putts, and we put ourselves in position for tomorrow.”
Three sides shot 61
in the senior division to tie for fourth, two shots back of the lead – Keith Decker
and Jon Hurst; Steve DeMasters and Charles Crenshaw; and Dave Pulk and Skip
Zobel, who won the senior division at last year’s Four-Ball Match Play.
Saturday’s modified
foursome play begins with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Reisenweaver said he didn’t
expect scores to be as low as they were Friday, but added that it’ll probably
take a round of 6 or 7 under to stay in the hunt. Chandler, who rarely plays this
format, has no idea what to expect Saturday.
“Tomorrow’s going
to be interesting,” Chandler said. “I don’t know what a good score will be, to
be honest with you. Most times, stroke play, you have something in your mind on
what’s a good number. But I have no clue.”
Chris Lang is the
editor of Virginia Golfer magazine and the VSGA’s manager, digital media.