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Pictured: Mark Boedicker celebrates a key par save on 18.
By Chris Lang
LYNCHBURG — The first day of the 10th Virginia State Golf Association Super Senior Four-Ball Championship was completed on Monday at Boonsboro Country Club. Sides competed in one of three age divisions, based on the age of the younger player in the side: 65+, 70+, and 75+.
In the 65+ age division, Mark Boedicker and Dave Prokop kept a bogey-free scorecard in posting a 7-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead over three sides that each returned 6-under rounds of 66.
In the 70+ age division, Boonsboro members Rick Bendall and Paul Staley carded a 6-under 66 and hold a two-shot edge over Bob Rotella and Don Robertson.
In the 75+ age division, defending champions George Owens and John Casstevens posted a 4-under 68 and hold a two-shot lead over Jim East and Rich Fischer.
The second and final round of the 36-hole championship begins Tuesday morning, with the 75+ players going out first, followed by the 70+ and 65+.
THE STORY
65+: Boedicker nailed a 12-foot uphill putt for par on the par-4 18th to preserve a square-free scorecard for his side. As the putt dropped, he gave a huge fist pump, knowing that the par could be a key component of a championship puzzle.
The three sides chasing Boedicker and Prokop are all accomplished. Boonsboro members Bert Allen and John Bruce are in the thick of the hunt after they too notched a bogey-free round. Jimmy Angel and Jim Woodson, who won the title two years ago at Chantilly National G&CC, made seven birdies and worked around a bogey on the par-3 2nd. Also in at 6-under was Tim Vigotsky and Dave Pulk. Vigotsky is a two-time VSGA Super Senior Golfer of the Year, and Pulk is a two-time Senior Open of Virginia champion.
“I made about a 15 footer on 1 for birdie, and that kind of got us going,” said Boedicker, whose side posted a 5-under 31 on the front nine. “On 3, I hit it tight, but he was on the front of the green and made a two-putt for birdie, so we’re 2 under. Then I made about a 35 or 40 footer for birdie on 4, and that really jumpstarted the round.
“We just played really good golf today. It doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does, it’s a lot of fun.”
Boedicker, who reached the final of the 2018 VSGA Senior Amateur, says he doesn’t play a ton of competitive golf anymore, but he can’t resist playing in events at Boonsboro. Prokop too has fond feelings for the place, considering he won the Super Senior title at this year’s Fox Puss Invitational.
“I’ve been playing for quite some time in the Fox Puss,” Prokop said. “I just retired, so I’ve been playing a lot of golf. Maybe I’m improving.”
Phil Goldberg and Richard Lion are two shots back after posting a 5-under 67, as are two-time event runners-up David Partridge and Harry Thomas. Last year’s champions, Bill Apple and John Steele, are three shots back after returning a 4-under 68. Apple and Steele started last year’s second round two shots off the lead before winning by a stroke.
70+: Bendall and Staley played with defending division champions Jim Hudson and Pat Gregory on Monday. Neither Hudson nor Gregory had played Boonsboro before Sunday’s practice round, and both noted afterward that local knowledge goes a long way on the nearly 100-year-old course. They posted a 3-over 75 and are nine shots out of the lead.
Bendall and Staley undoubtedly benefited from playing their home course. They worked around a bogey and a double bogey thanks to seven birdies and an eagle.
“The greens in particular,” Bendall said of where local knowledge comes into play. “And the lies. We have the Fox Puss here, and a lot of guys will come from the beach, and they don’t have those lies there. It’s hard to hit irons into these small greens off sidehill lies.”
Bendall and Staley were one of three sides in the division to finish under par on Monday. Rotella and Robertson played their final five holes at 3-under to surge into contention. Larry Heishman and Ronald Cornelison shot a 3-under 69 and are alone in third.
75+: Last year, Owens and Casstevens opened a five-stroke lead after the first day and cruised to an eight-shot win at Princess Anne Country Club, Owens’ home course. Their margin is slimmer this year thanks to bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7, but they’ll still have an advantage over East and Fischer heading into the final round.
Playing in the group ahead of Owens and Casstevens, East and Fischer bogeyed the same two holes but made two fewer birdies than the leaders. Those two sides will be paired together in Tuesday’s final round.
“We’ve known each other a long time, and we know each other’s games well,” Owens said. “And when you’ve got an age group of 75+, you’re confined to a small pool of people who actually like to go places and play.”
Lang is the VSGA’s manager of media and communications.