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By Chris Lang
POWHATAN — The Federal Club, located in Glen Allen, posted a 9-under-par 135 on Monday to win the 79th Virginia State Golf Association Club Championship by two strokes over fellow Richmond-area club Hermitage Country Club.
The Federal Club won its third title in the event, all coming in the last 10 years. Its victory marked a continues run of dominance of Richmond-area clubs in the event. The last time a club from outside the Richmond area won was in 2015 in Army Navy Country Club (northern Virginia) and Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club (Virginia Beach) shared the title.
Three clubs tied for third at 6-under-par 138: Country Club of Petersburg, Midlothian’s Independence Golf Club, and event host The Foundry Golf Club.
The Club Championship features two four-ball sides per team, with the combined scores of the two sides determining the club’s total score. Tom Vlahakis and Neil Biller led The Federal Club with a 6-under 66, with Ryan Rettberg and Chris Kapsak chipping in with a 3-under 69.
THE STORY
Vlahakis hit his tee shot on the downhill par-3 7th hole to within inches of the cup, just missing an ace. He quickly messaged a photo to Rettberg and Kapsak, who were playing in the group behind. Kapsak has never hit a hole-in-one, but he’s had some success holing out of the fairway. He had a feeling on the tee box that something interesting was going to happen.
Left with a 9-iron from 152 yards, Kapsak jarred his approach for an eagle 2, a huge jumpstart for The Federal Club team.
“I was telling the group, I never had a real hole-in-one, but I hole out from 151 to 170 all the time,” Kapsak said. “Sure enough, it happened again.”
Added Rettberg: “He hit it a little thin, but hey, it went in.”
The leaderboard was tight throughout the day, but The Federal Club began to find separation at the end of their round. Vlahakis and Biller started on No. 4 in the afternoon shotgun. They were 4 under for their round until each partner found trouble on the par-4 15th. They settled for bogey there but immediately got it back on No. 16 when Vlahakis made birdie. He then made birdie on 18 and 2 before the duo closed their round with a par on 3.
“I kept looking at the leaderboard, and I told Neil, we need one more (birdie), we need one more,” Vlahakis said. “So that’s kind of what we did.”
For Rettberg and Kapsak, the eagle was the highlight of the day. They managed to hold it together throughout the rest of their round, adding a Rettberg birdie on No. 3 while keeping the scorecard free of bogeys.
All four members of The Federal Club team were amateurs, and the team was determined by a qualifier held at the club two weekends ago.
“It’s good to put the Fed on the map,” Kapsak said.
Ben Beach and Kevin Miller led Hermitage with a 4-under 68, while Jordan Utley and Ryan Bishop contributed a 3-under 69.
NOTABLE
- Willow Oaks Country Club’s Joey Jordan and Ben Boyer shared low individual four-ball score honors with Stoneleigh Golf & Country Club’s Alex Price and Ian Hildebrand. Each side posted 7-under-par rounds of 65.
- Three four-ball sides finished in a tie for third at 6-under 66: CC of Petersburg’s Kenny Clark and Brian Kelley; Vlahakis and Biller; and Independence Golf Club’s Scott Bemberis and Elliott Wilson.
- Willow Oaks, the 2021 champion, finished tied for eighth at 4-under 140.
- The Federal Club last won the title in 2016, when it coincidentally shared the win with Hermitage.
- The event featured 50 teams and 200 total players.
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.