Pictured: Blake Carter celebrates a birdie on 7.
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By Chris Lang
CAPE CHARLES — Four sides share the 18-hole lead at the 57th Virginia State Golf Association Four-Ball Championship, which began Monday at Bay Creek Resort and will conclude Tuesday with the second and final round.
Adam Houck and Blake Carter, Greg Pappas and Chris Ferrell, Drew Brockwell and Joey Jordan, and Justin Young and Scott Shingler all posted rounds of 7-under par 65 on Monday and head into the second round with a one-shot lead over brothers Jay and Steve Serrao.
Eleven sides finished Monday within three shots of the lead group, meaning Tuesday could be a volatile day on the leaderboard.
THE STORY
Brockwell and Jordan were teammates at Virginia Tech after Jordan was elevated from the Hokies’ club team to the varsity roster. Within the team, there’s a big-brother/little-brother system of mentorship, and Brockwell fell under Jordan’s wing during Jordan’s final year with the team.
The two Richmond-area players have one thing in common—they both hit it a mile off the tee. The question was whether the short game would match, and that proved to be the case on Monday. Starting on No. 10, they navigated the Palmer front nine at Bay Creek at 5 under before cooling off on the Nicklaus front nine, shooting 2 under to come in at 65.
Jordan made a key eagle on No. 15 (Palmer 6), and the side kept a bogey-free scorecard to earn their spot in the lead.
“I hit one really solid in the fairway and just had a nice solid number with a wedge,” Jordan said. “(Brockwell) gave me a good read, a good 10 footer, and it just went right in.”
As for the short game, Jordan credited Brockwell’s iron play with keeping the side in play for much of the day. They also understand the need to go low in Tuesday’s second round. The last three winning scores of this championship were 127, 128 and 128.
“We’re going to have to go a little lower tomorrow,” Brockwell said. “The wind today was a little stronger, so it should play a little easier. But I’m sure the pins will be tougher.”
Shingler (Haymarket) and Young (Roanoke) have played in U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championships together and have two runner-up finishes to their credit in VSGA Four-Ball Championships. Young said he was thrilled with Monday’s 7-under showing, considering that one of the two partners struggled on a given hole, leaving the other to save a key par or make a birdie. They worked around two bogeys and finished their round with five straight birdies for their 65. Afterward, they quickly retreated to the range, where Shingler tried to help Young rectify some flaws in his swing.
“Sometimes he’ll see something, like if I’m a little bit off with my tempo, or something else, he’ll mention it to me,” Shingler said. “Same with him. If I see something off in one aspect of his swing, we’re comfortable talking to each other about it.”
Houck (Richmond) and Carter (Martinsville) rode Houck’s hot putter to a strong round on Monday.
“Literally one of the best rounds of putting I’ve ever seen,” Carter said. “I usually don’t start asking people where to start aiming putts. But after that third 20-footer went in, I looked at him and said, ‘so where should I aim this one?’”
Houck is a huge fan of Bay Creek’s layout, and the peacefulness of playing on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. He channeled that calm into a carefree, drama-free day, one on which they worked around one bogey and finished with eight birdies. A mid-round rain delay didn’t deter the side. In fact, it galvanized Carter, who was trying to find his groove after months away from tournament golf. Shortly after resumption of play, he drained a birdie putt on No. 7 and threw his arms in the air in celebration.
“Driving back out to get into position (after the delay), he said, ‘I found it on the range,’” Houck said.
While three of the lead sides were exempt into the championship, Pappas and Ferrell—members at Fauquier Springs Country Club—had to go through qualifying. Their 70 at Potomac Shores was the low qualifying score at that site, and they continued their momentum with strong play on Monday.
“This is the first time we’ve played in one of these, so we really didn’t know what was going on,” Ferrell said. “We just wanted to go out and do our best.”
“The number we had in mind today was 5 (under),” Pappas added. “Anything better than that, and we thought we’d be somewhere around the lead.”
NOTES AND QUOTES
- Among the sides two shots back at 5-under are the father-and-son combo of Ray and Talon Dingeldine; and John Rosenstock and Trey Wren, who won the open division at the VSGA Multi-Format Championship in April.
- Andrew Kennedy and Nick Taliaferro, who won this event in 2020 and were runners-up last year, are in the group three shots back at 4 under.
- Clark Taylor and Andrew Crowley, the defending tournament champions, are five shots back after shooting a 2-under 70.
- The lead groups will go off at two times off No. 1 (Nicklaus front nine) on Tuesday: Houck/Carter and Pappas/Ferrell at 10:18 a.m.; and Jordan/Brockwell and Shingler/Young at 10:30.
- Four of the last six VSGA Four-Ball Championships have ended with a playoff.
- Play was suspended due to dangerous weather conditions at 1:56 p.m. and resumed at 3:25 p.m.
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.