NOTE TO MEDIA: Links to scoring, the event preview, photos and previous recaps from this event can be found on the event portal at the link posted above. Please click on the “Media” tab to find those items.
By Matty Madden
WILLIAMSBURG — The Hokies took the spotlight once again Thursday at Kingsmill Resort’s River Course, as Virginia Tech’s Becca DiNunzio defeated teammate Emily Mahar in a thrilling two-hole playoff to claim the title at the 43rd VSGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship.
The final round was reduced to nine holes after separate weather delays of four and two hours cut the tournament short and at the end of the day, DiNunzio and Mahar found themselves tied for the overall lead. After DiNunzio missed a birdie putt on No. 1, Mahar hit the rough on No. 2, which allowed DiNunzio to cash in and sink a short putt for the victory.
DiNunzio struggled on the first day, posting a 3-over-par 74 and finding herself in fifth place, saying that she had a lot of trouble getting out of the rough which cost her a few strokes. She said her approach shots were key to her victory and that as she got further in the tournament, she found herself getting more and more focused and was able to hit the fairway easier, which helped her climb from fifth to first in just 27 holes.
“I was penalized a lot by the rough early on in my first round. Once I knew how tough the rough was, I made it a priority to just hit the middle of the fairway and the middle of the green and not be too aggressive when I didn’t need to be,” said DiNunzio. “I just stayed patient through those holes and that helped.”
With her teammate Jessica Spicer also nearing the top of the leaderboard, DiNunzio was thrilled to compete against her fellow Tech golfers, saying, “It was amazing. There’s nothing like competing alongside your teammates. I think we definitely push each other and enjoy the competition.”
DiNunzio will return to Virginia Tech for her sophomore year. While they won’t be playing golf in the fall, DiNunzio said her team will still be practicing together and looking for tournaments to compete alongside one another.
Also in the mix for the championship was defending champion Lauren Greenlief, who was tied with DiNunzio and Mahar after seven holes, but fell out of contention after posting back-to-back bogeys on No. 8 and 9.
22nd VSGA Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship
Shawn McCullough walked away with the victory after a grueling second round in the 23rd VSGA Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship that saw the final hole delayed to Friday morning due to nearly six hours of weather delays during Thursday’s scheduled final round.
The top flight of Shawn McCullough, Joanne Kitusky, and Linda DiVall all had a path to the victory going into the final hole, and it ended with McCullough and Divall—both of whom are members at Mount Vernon Country Club—tied and heading back to No. 1 for a playoff. With the championship on the line, McCullough made par to beat DiVall on the first hole and become the 22nd Senior Women’s Stroke Play Champion.
The weather delays threw off a lot of golfers, but McCullough said she focused on staying patient, saying, “patience and the ability to just take things slow was key for me. I just had to ignore what I couldn’t control and focus on what I could control, which is my golf.”
McCullough, like most other golfers in this tournament, said that hitting the fairways was absolutely vital on Kingsmill’s River Course and if you don’t hit the fairway, you just have to chip it out and take the bogey.
This is McCullough’s first stroke play title and her first major championship win and the fact that it came on such a difficult course and against such a strong field of players pleased McCullough.
“I've been waiting for many years to win a state title. There are just so many good golfers in the state, and it's always been something I've dreamed of,” McCullough said. “I’ve been on cloud nine all morning.”
3rd VSGA Super Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship
Dot Bolling’s momentum from her stellar first round was nearly slowed due a four-hour weather delay, but even that couldn’t stop her from rolling to victory and claiming the 3rd VSGA Super Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship.
Bolling posted a 15-over-par 86 to coast to victory. She went 3-over on the front 9 and said that her putter slowed down quite a bit after the weather delay as she went 12-over on the back 9.
“I hit the ball and did everything better on the front, but after the delay I just got stiff,” said Bolling. “You’ve got to hit the fairway on this course. If you hit the fairway, you can score, but if you don’t, you’re definitely not going to.”
Bolling’s dominant seven stroke lead from the first day held up under the pressure, as she finished five strokes over the runner-up Becky Davis, who posted a 9-over 80 in today’s round. Bolling said she’ll return to this tournament next year to possibly add a third Super Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship to her collection.
Matty Madden is a P.J. Boatwright intern for the VSGA.