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By Chris Lang
NEWPORT NEWS – The leader and the player a mere stroke behind him at the 68th Virginia State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play Championship know plenty about each other. They’re teammates on northern Virginia powerhouse Langley High School’s varsity squad, and the competition just to make the starting roster is fierce day in and day out.
“We always have six guys who shoot low scores,” said Chase Nevins, who is a shot behind leader Kelly Chinn after 36 holes of the 54-hole championship. “You really have to prove to the coach that you’re worthy. We’re all just really competitive. It keeps you trying to shoot lower scores, and never to settle for where we’re at. Everyone is always pushing us.”
The third and final round is scheduled for Thursday at James River Country Club, and Chinn, Nevins and Ashburn’s Mehrbaan Singh comprise the final grouping, which will tee off at 10 a.m. Chinn posted a 6-under-par 64 in Wednesday’s second round and shot a two-day aggregate 129 to take the lead. Nevins returned a second straight 65 and sits at 130, two shots ahead of Singh (64-68—132).
Just behind that trio are Richmond’s Charlie Kennedy (65-69—134) and Virginia Beach’s Mason McCoy (68-66—134).
But forgive Chinn and Nevins if Thursday’s final round will have a bit of a feel of a Langley intra-squad match. The Saxons have won four straight Virginia High School League team titles, and that doesn’t happen without a deep roster. Nevins was a major contributor during his freshman year and is showing why he’ll be a huge part of the roster once play begins anew next spring.
“He strikes it really well,” said Chinn, whose round was free of bogeys and mostly free of stress. “He’s got a great swing. He really doesn’t make many mistakes. He putts pretty well as well, so it should be a really good battle tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.”
Chinn and Nevins aren’t counting the rest of the field out, however. Singh played in Wednesday’s final grouping with Chinn and first-round leader Vijay Powell, who struggled to a second-round 79 and fell out of contention. (He still had a heck of a highlight, though, acing the par-3 7th with a 5-iron, the second straight day someone made a hole in one there.)
“He’s a grinder,” Chinn said of Singh. “The back nine, he wasn’t striking the ball as well as he would have liked to. But he was getting up and down. It was really impressive to see.”
Kennedy closed his round with three straight birdies to sneak back within five shots of the lead. His ability to string together hot stretches make him dangerous in the penultimate group lurking behind the leaders. Likewise, McCoy displayed some brilliance, making eagle on the par-4 5th and par-5 18th to stay in contention.
Virginia Beach’s Cullen Campbell and Wytheville’s Daniel Goode are six shots back at 135, tied for sixth. Forty-six players shot 145 or better to make the cut and advance to Thursday’s final round.
Nevins is coming off an eight-stroke win in his most recent tournament, an AJGA event last week in Florida. Chinn’s resume includes a win in last year’s AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions and a trip to the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur semifinals. It all sets up for a fantastic finish Thursday at James River.
“You’ve just got to stick with your own gameplan,” Chinn said. “I’ve been playing well. The worst thing I can do to myself is to try to get too caught up in what everyone else is doing. I’m just going to try to focus on every single shot, and hopefully I can get it done tomorrow.”
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.