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By Chris Lang
NEWPORT NEWS – Vijay Powell played the round of his life on Tuesday at James River Country Club, posting a 7-under-par 63 to take the early lead in the 68th Virginia State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play Championship. Powell’s stock is clearly rising on the Virginia junior scene, and there’s one player who wasn’t at all surprised to see the 16-year-old Powell atop the leaderboard.
“Vijay’s a great player,” said Charlie Kennedy, who lost to Powell by a stroke in last week’s Richmond Golf Association Junior Championship. “He hits it dead straight almost every single time. It’s great to see. If he’s hitting the ball well and he’s putting well, he can go real low.”
Powell put checkmarks in both columns. He took advantage of an early-morning tee time, avoiding much of Tuesday’s sweltering heat. By late afternoon, the temperature was 99 degrees and the heat index made it felt like a crisp 105. A rising sophomore at St. Christopher’s in Richmond, Powell shot 30 on the front to turn at 5 under, then added another birdie at 10 before a brief stumble, back-to-back bogeys on 11 and 12.
But he birdied 14, 15 and 17 to post his career-best round and grab a one-stroke lead over Ashburn’s Mehrbaan Singh.
“I knew I was playing well, and I knew I was putting well, so I knew if I could just hit a couple of good shots, I could make some birdies and finish strong,” said Powell, who lives in Midlothian. “I’m putting really well. Just today, I felt walking up to my putts, I would just see a line, right toward the hole. I just couldn’t miss.”
Singh, a member of the VHSL Group 3A championship team at Independence High School in Brambleton, made seven birdies against one bogey to shoot a 6-under 64. He was even through four holes before making birdie on three of his next four holes.
“I hit it to two or three feet on (Nos. 5 and 6) and just tapped in,” Singh said. “The ball striking was pretty good today. … I just made those 5- and 10-foot putts that I left myself and just capitalized on the opportunities that I had.”
Four players were tied at 5-under 65, two shots back of Powell, including Kennedy, Wytheville’s Daniel Goode, and two Great Falls residents who play for Langley High School’s powerhouse program – Chase Nevins and Kelly Chinn.
Chinn reached the semifinals of last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, a run that earned him a spot in next month’s U.S. Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes in Oregon. Chinn made six birdies and a bogey.
“I definitely thought I could have gone lower,” Chinn said. “I had a few iron shots where I thought I had the right club in my hand but didn’t hit it as close as I wanted to. There were a few putts, too, where I really didn’t give it a chance. But overall, I felt really good. I just need to touch up on a few little things.”
Nevins posted a bogey-free round with five birdies, all coming in the first 11 holes. Goode finished with six birdies and a bogey, rebounding from that lone misstep on 17 with a birdie on the closing par-5 18th.
Kennedy, who attends Richmond’s Mills Godwin High School and is bound for VCU once he graduates, holed out for birdie from the bunker on the par-3 13th, giving him a boost for the rest of his round. He finished with two more birdies to return his 65.
“I was hitting the ball pretty well,” Kennedy said. “I made one bad swing the entire day, and that cost me a bogey. But after that, I knew I could get it back to 4 or 5 (under) if I played really well. That’s what I did.”
Among those at 4-under 66 are Richmond’s Luke Bitsko and Virginia Beach’s Cullen Campbell. Bitsko had a wild round featuring two eagles, four birdies and four bogeys.
“On No. 5, I had about 90 yards, and I hit a little draw lob wedge. It hit about 15 feet past the hole and just spun down and trickled into the hole,” said Bitsko, who plays at Richmond’s Douglas Freeman High School. “(On 10), I had about 205 in, and I hit it to about 15 or 20 feet and then I just made the putt, it kind of lipped in.”
The defending tournament champion, Vienna’s David Stanford, is tied for ninth with Hardy’s Slade Aliff at 3-under-par 67.
Blacksburg’s Sean Ruan hit the shot of the day, making a hole in one on the par-3 7th hole, using a knockdown hybrid. The ace was the first of the 15-year-old Blacksburg resident’s career.
After Wednesday’s second round, the field will be cut to the low 45 players and ties for Thursday’s third and final round.
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.