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By Chris Lang
VIRGINIA BEACH — Independence Golf Club’s Scott Bemberis rallied from a double-bogey start to shoot a 3-under-par 66 to take the 18-hole lead in stroke-play qualifying at the 75th Virginia State Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship, held at Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club.
Bemberis finished the day a shot clear of 2017 Senior Amateur champion Rich Buckner (Robert Trent Jones GC) and Cavalier member Jay Serrao, both of whom returned 2-under rounds of 67.
After Tuesday’s second round of qualifying the field will be cut to the low 32 players for match play, which begins Wednesday with the rounds of 32 and 16. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, with the 18-hole championship match scheduled for Friday morning.
Bemberis’ day did not start as planned, as he made a double-bogey six on the par-4 opening hole. Unshaken by the tough start, Bemberis made birdies at 3, 4, 6 and 9 to make the turn at 2-under. He got as low at 4-under after a birdie on the par-4 14th, but back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17 pushed him back to 2-under. He ended his round with a birdie on the par-3 18th.
Buckner finished with six birdies and four bogeys for his 2-under round. Serrao made four birdies—including one to close his round on 18—and two bogeys.
Three players shot 1-under-par 68s to tie for fourth, including Cavalier member Jeffrey Flax, who was 1-over through five holes but played the rest of his round bogey free, adding birdies on 13 and 18. Steve Serrao (Willow Oaks CC) is also in that group. Serrao was the 2019 Senior Amateur champion, reached the final of last year’s event and won this year’s VSGA Senior Stroke Play Championship. David Partridge (Hermitage CC), who won the Senior Amateur the last time it was played at Cavalier in 2015, also shot 1-under.
David Jordan (Willow Oaks CC), who won the 2019 VSGA Senior Stroke Play title at Cavalier, steadied himself after a tough start to remain in the mix. He was 2-over through six holes but played the rest of his round bogey free, adding birdies on 13 and 17 to finish at even-par 69. He stands in seventh.
Two-time defending Senior Amateur champion Buck Brittain (The Virginian GC) didn’t make a birdie until the 17th hole, but he closed his round with another birdie on 18 to finish at 1-over 70 to stay in the match-play mix. Just behind him at 2-over is 2018 Senior Amateur winner Cam Young (Independence GC) and past VSGA Amateur champion David Passerell (Birdwood Golf at Boar’s Head Resort), among others.
Fredericksburg CC’s Jon Hurst, who entered this event with a commanding lead in the VSGA Senior Player Rankings, will need a solid round on Tuesday to secure his match-play spot after posting a 4-over 73 on Monday. He’s among six players tied for 28th.
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.