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By Ben Walls
RICHMOND—As a competitor who had not made the match play rounds in Junior Match Play Championship participation previously, Fredericksburg’s Grayson Wood became the 31st VSGA Junior Match Play champion at Willow Oaks Country Club Friday.
Wood defeated 10th seed Logan Reilly 6 and 5 in the semifinal match before handing a 2-and-1 loss to fifth seed Jake Albert in the final match.
Willow Oaks played in Wood’s favor Friday; he had made par on all but one hole in semifinal and final match play against Logan and Albert. In the semifinals and finals, Wood quickly jumped to a 2-up lead against both opponents through two holes, allowing motivation and confidence to take the lead.
“I know I left some shots out there, but, knowing that once I made the semifinals, I just knew I just had the chance to win,” Wood said. “I just kind of stuck to the same mindset all the time—I wasn’t thinking about what anyone else was doing…Holes one and two made the matches so much easier.
“Once I had a good start in both of the rounds, it really just drove me to having a chance of winning.”
Throughout the day, Wood eagled on No. 8—a par 5—in the semifinals and took advantage of the 80 and 120-yard wedge shots which mattered the most, according to him. Despite a strong start in the final match, Wood’s lead was cut to 2-up through ten holes, and Albert showed signs of life by winning holes 13 and 14.
“I really felt like if I played normal—I was playing almost scared, just trying to make par—I would just be better off than just trying to play it safe all the time,” Wood said, when asked how he felt about his cooler start in the back nine.
Wood also mentioned No. 12 had been memorable in his final match, where he had made a 15-foot putt to go 4-up. Switching from a 9 iron to a 7 iron, Wood says the different clubs in his bag may have made the difference.
“(12) was really the point where I felt like I was dominating the match,” Wood said. “I really had a good opportunity after that tee shot…once I hit the shot, I knew it was going to hit the green.
“Knowing where (Albert) left his putt, I knew I had to make the hole because he still had a birdie chance, and, knowing I have to make a putt to win a hole, it motivated me to win the hole.”
Throughout the week, Wood shot a two-day aggregate 5-under 139 between Tuesday and Wednesday to advance to the round of 16 before beating Willow Oaks member Garrett Kuhla in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
“…my expectations were lower than they should have been. Going into the quarterfinals, with (Kuhla’s) past, I wasn’t expecting to do any better than beating him in extra holes.”
A James Madison University golf commit in the class of 2022, Kuhla was a semifinalist in the 30th VSGA Match Play Championship at Winchester Country Club before losing to eventual championship winner David Stanford 4 and 3.
Walls is a P.J. Boatwright intern for the VSGA.