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By Chris Lang
MARTINSVILLE — Richmond’s Steve Serrao, a past VSGA Senior Amateur and Senior Four-Ball champion, posted a 7-under-par 65 on a sweltering Monday at Chatmoss Country Club, giving him a four-stroke advantage at the 36th Virginia State Golf Association Senior Stroke Play Championship.
Serrao was one of only two players to break par on Monday. Buck Brittain—who has also won the VSGA’s Senior Amateur and Senior Four-Ball championships in the past—was the other, posting a 3-under-par 69. The second and final round is scheduled for Tuesday, with all players going off in a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
Defending champion Jon Hurst is part of a seven-way tie for third after shooting an even-par 72 on Monday.
THE STORY
By every metric, Chatmoss played extremely difficult on Monday. Sixty-seven of the 76 players in the field posted above-par rounds, and 35 players shot 80 or worse. The scoring average for the field was 79.76, more than seven shots over par.
“The greens were really tough,” said Hurst, who finished with three birdies and three bogeys. “They’re not as tough as they can be, but they have a ton of slope in them, and if you hit it in the wrong spot, it’s impossible. But it’s fair. The pins were in good spots. It’s just tough to putt.”
Serrao and Brittain seemed to be playing a different golf course. Playing in the second group to go off No. 1 on Monday, Serrao shrugged off a slow start (four straight pars) and shot 7 under on his final 14 holes. After three-putting for bogey on No. 8, Serrao went on two separate runs of three straight birdies (holes 9-11 and 14-16) before finishing with two straight pars for his 65.
“I was under control,” Serrao said. “I putted well. I didn’t make many mistakes. I hit so many wedges to like two feet. I hit the ball pretty well.”
Brittain played in Serrao’s group and tried his best to keep pace. He was even through 11 holes but made birdies on 12, 15 and 17 to stay within sight of the sizzling Serrao.
Playing with Brittain helped keep Serrao focused and hungry, he said.
“It was the same for him on the back nine,” Serrao said. “He started to see me run away a little bit and he started making some birdies. It definitely helps having somebody in your group that’s playing pretty well.”
This championship has notoriously been a tight one in recent years. Only once since 2015 has anyone won the championship by more than a stroke. Coincidentally, that occurrence came in 2019, when David Jordan won by three shots the only other time this event was played with a shotgun start.
Brittain and Serrao will be paired together again in the first group off No. 1 on Tuesday, and Brittain saw how quickly fortunes can change during the round. He’s not conceding anything, despite facing a sizeable deficit.
“He picked up four shots on me on 9 and 10, so it happened in two holes,” Brittain said. “It can be done. But if he plays like he did today, it’s not happening. He’ll have to make a couple of mistakes. … If I can get off to a good start, make a couple of birdies, gain some ground on him and at least make him think about it, you never know.”
At seven strokes behind, Hurst may be too far back to win, at least not without a lot of help from Serrao. Being so far behind will allow Hurst—and the others in the even-par pack—to play free and aggressive golf.
“If he goes out and does his business, it probably is” too big of a margin to overcome, Hurst said. “But it can flip-flop tomorrow. You never know. If you can get a little pressure on him on the back side, especially out here, you can put up a big number. But Steve’s a good player. If he goes out and shoots even par or under, it’s going to be tough.”
NOTES
- Serrao on what makes Chatmoss a tough test: “The slopes on the greens. And a lot of us aren’t used to the slopes everywhere else, on the fairways. Lots of going up and down hills. It’s just a lot. If you’re not on with your game, if you don’t feel comfortable, you’re going to hit it in some bad spots.”
- Brittain on the greens: “My goal was to keep it below the hole. But I think I had 17 downhill putts, so I didn’t do very well with that.”
- How the past champions in the field fared on Monday: Hurst (E, T3); Dave Pulk (E, T3); Keith Decker (+2, T12); Jordan (+2, T12); and Mike Krulich (+7, T35).
- Eight Chatmoss members are playing in the championship, with Jerry Wood leading the way after carding an even-par 72. He’s part of the seven-way tie for third.
- Two players made eagles on Monday: Pierre Picardat on No. 12 and Randy Newsome on No. 9.
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.