NOTE TO MEDIA: Links to scoring, photos, previous recaps and the event preview can be found on the event portal at the link posted above. Please click on the “Media” tab to find those items. Photos are available for download and can be used in print. Please credit Chris Lang/VSGA.
By Chris Lang
VIRGINIA BEACH — Jon Hurst and David Jordan won their semifinal matches by identical 3-and-2 scores at the 75th Virginia State Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship on Thursday at Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club, setting up a championship-match showdown on Friday morning.
Hurst (Fredericksburg CC) ended two-time Senior Amateur champion Buck Brittain’s 13-match event winning streak in the first semifinal, and Jordan (Willow Oaks CC) eliminated Jon Zampedro in the second semifinal match.
Both players are seeking their first Senior Amateur title. Jordan defeated Hurst in the quarterfinals of last year’s event at Birdwood Golf at Boar’s Head Resort before falling to Brittain in the semifinals.
THE STORY
The elite senior golf circle in Virginia is a tight one, so it’s no surprise that the finalists know each other well. Hurst and Jordan paired together to win the VSGA Senior Multi-Format Team Championship in April, so some good-natured ribbing was in the cards once they realized that they would be facing each other in Friday’s final.
“You know you’ve never beaten me,” Jordan told Hurst, who replied, “I owe you one. For that, and for carrying you earlier this year.”
All jokes aside, the final match features two players in excellent form who had to beat an impressive string of opponents to get there.
In the opening semifinal, Hurst—who defeated David Williams Jr. in the quarterfinals—and Brittain squared off in a match many hoped to see materialize once the brackets were finalized after stroke-play qualifying. Brittain (The Virginian GC) ousted medalist Scott Bemberis 3 and 2 in the morning to set up the showdown.
After the first five holes were tied, Hurst made eagle on the par-5 6th to take the first lead of the match. Brittain never caught up. Hurst rolled in a 4-footer for birdie on 11 to go 2-up, made his only bogey of the day on 12 to bring Brittain back within one, then won the next two holes to go 3-up with four to play. Brittain didn’t go away quietly, sinking a 30-foot birdie putt on 15 to cut the lead back to 2. But Hurst rolled in a long birdie putt of his own on 16 and pumped his fist as he clinched the match.
“I didn’t make a lot of putts today, but I hit a lot of greens,” Hurst said. “I was consistent. I didn’t really give many openings, which is what you have to do in this format. You just can’t give holes away against these good players.”
Hurst and Brittain have been near the top of the VSGA Senior Player Rankings for several years now, both because of their individual play and their success as partners. They’ve teamed to win the last two VSGA Senior Four-Ball championships, so each has an intimate knowledge of the other’s game.
“I was hoping it was going to be in the final,” Brittain said of the Hurst matchup. “Jon’s a great partner, a great guy to play with. You want to beat him, and in the middle of it, you’re grinding against him. But at the end, if someone is going to beat me, I’d just as soon as it be Jon as anybody else.”
Hurst has won the VSGA Mid-Amateur twice and the VSGA Senior Stroke Play once, but this event was the one he’s had circled on his calendar since turning 50.
“I’d love to get it done, it would mean a whole lot,” Hurst said. “It would put me up there with the guys like (Keith) Decker, Buck, Vinny (Giles), guys who have won the Senior Am. I never got to win the regular am, so I might as well win the senior am. It’s my goal.”
While Hurst reached the final without ever playing the 17th or 18th holes, Jordan had a much more difficult path to the championship match. In Wednesday morning’s win over Kevin Williamson and Thursday morning’s quarterfinal victory over Cavalier member Jeffrey Flax, Jordan never held the lead until he won in extra holes.
That all changed against Zampedro (Pleasant Valley GC), who three-putted the first hole for bogey, then fell behind by three by the fourth hole and could never get closer than 2-down after that.
“In the afternoon matches (both days), I hit it a little better and got off to a lead, so that was a different feeling,” Jordan said. “I hope that continues tomorrow for that little showdown with Hurst I’ve got.”
Jordan clinched his victory with an impressive lag putt to a foot from 45 feet out on 16 for a tap-in par, continuing his run of success at Cavalier, where he won the VSGA Senior Stroke Play title in 2019.
“The goal was to make match play, which I felt I should have,” Jordan said. “Then, it looked like I was going to go home early—twice—so it’s huge. This is all bonus. And I’m really looking forward to playing Jon. We’re going to have a good time. I got him last year, and I don’t think he’s forgotten that. Not that I’ve let him forget it. But he’s a great dude, and we’re going to have a good time.”
Zampedro—who won the Falling River Invitational and the Middle Atlantic Senior Amateur this summer—made his deepest run in this event and defeated both Serrao brothers (Jay and Steve) on his way to the semifinals. Despite the result, he was pleased with how the week turned out.
“It’s the highlight of this year, and it really sets me up for the fall and for next year,” Zampedro said. “It just proves to me that all of the hard work I’ve put in over these years has paid off. There were many a times where I thought I might just quit and not put myself through the grind. But you do something like this, and it just proves that if you stick to it, it can pay off. I’m very proud.”
NOTES
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.