Story by Chris Lang
Video by Matt Pochily
RICHMOND — The Virginia State Golf Association honored its award winners and 2019 Golfers of the Year during the VSGA Annual Meeting on Saturday at The Country Club of Virginia (Westhampton).
The VSGA presented four awards
on Saturday: The President’s Award, the Service to Golf Award, the Volunteer of
the Year Award, and the Grow The Game Award. The VSGA also presented 2019
Golfer of the Year Awards to six individuals, and the VSGA membership voted on eight
Board of Directors members for the Class of 2022. In addition, the VSGA’s Board
of Directors elected three officers for 2020.
2019 VSGA AWARD WINNERS
» Fred Tattersall was the recipient of the President’s Award in
recognition of his contributions and service to the game. Tattersall led the
charge 20 years ago to establish a chapter of The First Tee in Richmond. Fred
and his wife, Roddy, rallied community financial support to establish the
Richmond chapter, enlisting help from the Goodwin and Ukrop families to become
the lead founding benefactors of the facility. The First Tee of Greater
Richmond has grown exponentially since then, featuring facilities in both the
city of Richmond and in Chesterfield County.
» Dick Fisher was the recipient of the VSGA Service to Golf Award,
which is presented to an individual who has selflessly contributed to bettering
golf in the Commonwealth as an administrator, volunteer, VSGA staff member, PGA
professional, or otherwise. Fisher is the superintendent at Lake Chesdin Golf
Club and has enjoyed a distinguished career in Virginia. He was on the initial
steering committee for the development of the Virginia GCSA’s Environmental
Best Management Practices program.
» Sara Cole earned the VSGA Volunteer of the Year Award, which
recognizes service to the game as a volunteer, including efforts to assist the
VSGA in the areas of tournament administration, junior golf, rules, course
rating and governance. Since 2014, Cole has been the captain of the VSGA’s
entries into the annual Virginia-Maryland Junior Girls’ Matches and
Mid-Atlantic Junior Girls’ Challenge Matches.
» Michelle Holmes, LPGA, is the third recipient of the VSGA Grow The
Game Award, which recognizes the positive impact and efforts made to grow the
game of golf in Virginia. Holmes runs the Michelle Holmes School of Golf in the
Tidewater area and has been consistently recognized as one of the nation’s top
youth instructors. Holmes is one of four regional coordinators for the VSGA
Junior Golf Circuit.
GOLFER OF THE YEAR AWARDS
» Men’s Golfer of the Year and Junior Boys’ Golfer of the Year: Michael
Brennan (River Creek Club): For the first time in VSGA history, a player
has earned Men’s and Junior Boys’ Golfer of the Year honors in the same year.
At 17, Brennan became the youngest winner of the VSGA Amateur since Brinson
Paolini in 2008, defeating fellow teenager Christopher Zhang 1 up in a
thrilling championship match at Keswick Golf Club. Brennan became the first
player in history to win three straight Middle Atlantic Golf Association
Amateur Championships. Those two victories—along with appearances in the U.S.
Amateur Four-Ball Championship, U.S. Amateur and British Amateur
Championship—helped him finish No. 2 in the VSGA Men’s Player Rankings. On the
junior side, Brennan finished second in the VSGA Junior Stroke Play
Championship and advanced to the round of 32 at the U.S. Junior Amateur
Championship. Brennan signed with Wake Forest University and earned the program’s
prestigious Arnold Palmer Scholarship. He’ll begin his Demon Deacon career next
fall.
» Women’s Golfer of the Year: Lauren Greenlief (International CC): Greenlief
captured Women’s Golfer of the Year honors for the third straight year and for
the fifth time overall. Greenlief again made waves on the national scene in
2019, advancing to the semifinals of U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, a
tournament she won in 2015. Greenlief also participated in the U.S. Women’s
Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball championships. In Virginia, she won
the VSGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship for a record fourth time and was part
of the winning side at the VSGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship for the third
time. Greenlief finished second in the inaugural Donna Andrews Invitational at
Boonsboro Country Club and advanced to the quarterfinals at the Women’s
Southern Amateur Championship. Greenlief was one of 12 players invited to the
practice session for the 2020 U.S. Curtis Cup team in December. Final team
selection will be determined in April.
» Junior Girls’ Golfer of the Year: Becca DiNunzio (VSGA Junior Golf
Circuit): DiNunzio capped a strong summer by winning the 50th
VSGA Junior Girls’ Championship at Broad Bay Country Club in July. She was the
stroke-play medalist at the VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship earlier that
month and reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Rory
Weinfurther. DiNunzio was the runner-up and low junior at the VSGA Women’s
Stroke Play Championship. She won the AJGA’s Imperial Headwear Junior Classic
and Junior Girls’ PureSilk Championship and fell just short of Monday
qualifying for the LPGA’s Pure Silk Championship. DiNunzio also competed in the
U.S. Junior Girls’ and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championships. She is
currently a freshman on Virginia Tech’s women’s golf team.
» Senior Men’s Golfer of the Year: Dave Pulk (Two Rivers CC): Pulk
was named VSGA Senior Golfer of the Year for the second time, having previously
won the award in 2015. A month after reaching the final at the VSGA Senior
Amateur Championship, Pulk won the Senior Open of Virginia for the second time.
In October, he added the VSGA Mid-Senior Amateur trophy to his mantle,
defeating David Partridge in the final match. Pulk tied for third in the Middle
Atlantic Senior Amateur and finished No. 2 in the VSGA Senior Men’s Player
Rankings.
» Senior Women’s Golfer of the Year: Amy Ellertson (Farmington CC): Ellertson
was strong at home and abroad in 2019. She partnered with Natalie Easterly in
June to win the Senior Division at the VSGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship,
marking the fourth straight year the duo had earned the trophy. Ellertson
qualified for and made the cut at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open in June and
advanced to match play at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. She
finished second by one shot each in the Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur and the
Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and placed fifth at the British Senior Amateur.
» Super Senior Golfer of the Year: Tim Vigotsky (Robert Trent Jones GC):
Vigotsky broke through for his first VSGA individual title in 2019, winning the
65-69 age group at the VSGA Super Senior Amateur Championship in his first year
of eligibility for the event. Vigotsky became the first player to ever hold
titles from the VSGA, Middle Atlantic Golf Association and the Washington
Metropolitan Golf Association in the same year. He won the WMGA’s Senior
Amateur and the MAGA’s Super Senior Amateur. Vigotsky finished No. 1 in the
VSGA Super Senior Player Rankings and won titles at the Fox Puss Invitational,
Golden Horseshoe Four-Ball and Cascades Invitational.
BOARD ELECTION
» The VSGA Board of Directors
has met, and in accordance with Article VII of the Bylaws of the Virginia State
Golf Association, has elected the following officers for 2020:
» The VSGA Nominating Committee
met—and in accordance with Article VII of the Bylaws of the Virginia State Golf
Association—selected the following candidates for election to the VSGA Board of
Directors, Class of 2022:
The candidates were voted on and
elected by the membership at the annual meeting.