76th VSGA Senior Amateur Championship
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Dates: Monday, August 14-Friday, August 18
Format: Two rounds of stroke play qualifying, with the top 32 players advancing to match play. A playoff will be used Tuesday to determine the final match play spots, if necessary. Rounds of 32 and 16 on Wednesday. Quarterfinals and semifinals on Thursday. 18-hole championship match scheduled for Friday morning.
Host site: Willow Oaks Country Club
Final day: Shingler outlasts Sughrue to win 76th VSGA Senior Amateur
(Pictured: Matt Sughrue congratulates Scott Shingler after the match. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
RICHMOND -- Scott Shingler said Friday that he probably spends 50 percent of his practice time grinding away at his short game, a dedication that served him well once the final match of the 76th Virginia State Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship reached its dramatic final holes.
Shingler got up and down for par to tie the final two holes and hold on for a 1-up victory over Matt Sughrue on Friday at Willow Oaks Country Club. With the win, Shingler joins a select group of players to have won both the VSGA Amateur and VSGA Senior Amateur Championships. The others are Keith Decker, David Partridge, Vinny Giles, and Richard Payne.
Shingler, 52, was participating in the VSGA Senior Amateur for the first time. Both finalists have participated in multiple USGA championships, so Friday's title match was expected to be close and played at a very high level. It didn't disappoint.
Sughrue, 63, made a birdie on the first hole to take a 1-up lead and pushed the edge to 2-up with a superb eagle on the par-5 5th, where he hit his approach from well over 200 yards away to five feet and sank the putt. Shingler struck back with a birdie on the par-3 7th and tied the match a hole later with a conceded birdie on the par-5 8th. Sughrue's second shot was lost in a penalty area, and when he was unable to hole out for par from off the green, he conceded to Shingler, who had about a 10-foot birdie putt.
Shingler hit it close on the par-3 11th and sank the birdie putt to take the lead for the first time. He got up and down for par on the dogleg right par-4 13th, winning the hole to go 2 up as Sughrue struggled to navigate the trees lining the fairway and made bogey.
Sughrue (Trump National Washington DC), a past U.S. Senior Amateur finalist, didn't go away quietly. He dropped a 20-foot birdie putt on 15 to cut the lead to one, but he couldn't make the critical birdie in the final three holes to tie the match. Shingler (Dominion Valley CC), meanwhile, continued to excel with his short game. Though he hit his chip on 17 long, he recovered and sank about a 15-foot par putt to tie the hole, allowing him to go to 18 still 1 up.
On 18, Sughrue reached the green in regulation while Shingler was short and right of the hole. Shingler hit his chip to about five feet, and Sughrue just missed his birdie putt. Shingler converted the par putt to secure the win.
This marked the third time in the last five years that the Senior Amateur championship match went to at least the 18th hole. (Steve Serrao won in 19 holes in 2020). Shingler, who lives in Haymarket, is the first winner from Northern Virginia since Rich Buckner (Clifton) won in 2017. Prior to that, the last NoVa winner was Great Falls' Bob Morris in 2007.
Please see the Instagram post below for comments from both finalists.
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Day 4: Sughrue, Shingler advance to championship match
(Pictured: Matt Sughrue, left, and Scott Shingler. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
RICHMOND -- Northern Virginians Scott Shingler and Matt Sughrue each posted a pair of victories on Thursday at Willow Oaks Country Club to advance to Friday's 18-hole championship match of the 76th Virginia State Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship.
Shingler, who lives in Haymarket and is a member at Dominion Valley Country Club, rallied from a three-hole deficit with three holes to play outlast Willow Oaks member Steve Serrao in 20 holes in one semifinal. In the other, Sughrue, who lives in Arlington and is a member at Trump National GC Washington DC, held off two-time past champion Buck Brittain 3 and 1.
Friday's championship match will begin at 8 a.m. Admission is free, and spectators are welcome.
Serrao, who was seeking his second Senior Amateur title, jumped to a 3-up lead through six holes thanks to sublime ball striking and solid putting. He extended that lead to 4 up after 13 holes, but Shingler wasn't ready to go away. He hit a tight approach and made birdie on 14. Serrao was dormie after the players tied 15 with a par. Then Shingler made three straight birdies as Serrao made pars to erase the deficit and send the match to extra holes.
They tied the first hole, sending the match to the par-3 2nd. Earlier in the match, Shingler was a club short, and though he made the green, he was a good 40 feet short and three-putted for bogey. Given a second chance, he didn't leave it short. He hit his approach to 2 feet, putting all of the pressure on Serrao, whose tee shot came up about 20 feet short, and he left his putt for birdie short. After he made his par, Shingler sank his birdie to close the match.
Sughrue, a past U.S. Senior Amateur finalist, got off to a hot start against Brittain, a birdie-birdie-par start giving him a 3-up lead after 3. Brittain birdied 4 but Sughrue answered with another birdie on 5. A birdie on 7 gave him a 4-up lead. But Brittain wasn't going to go away easily. He made a long putt on 9 for birdie and a 20-footer on 10 for eagle to chop the lead in half, then got within one by sinking a birdie putt on 13.
The match turned on 14, when Brittain hit his approach to 6 feet and Sughrue was deep in a left greenside bunker. Sughrue got out to within tap-in range, and Brittain was unable to sink his birdie putt. Sughrue nailed a 25-footer for birdie on 15 to go 2-up again, and he closed Brittain out on 17 to win.
Notable:
- Shingler defeated Jeffrey Klatt 3 and 1 in the quarterfinals. Serrao advanced by ousting top-seed and defending champion Jon Hurst 3 and 1 in the morning. Brittain earned his spot with a 6-and-4 win over Dave Williams Jr., and Sughrue topped Willow Oaks' David Jordan 3 and 2 in the final quarterfinal.
- Shingler is looking to become just the fifth player to win both the VSGA Amateur and VSGA Senior Amateur. Three pf those who have done so are in the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame: Keith Decker, David Partridge, and Vinny Giles. Richard Payne also won both championships.
- Sughrue is looking to join Decker, Partridge, and Brittain as players who have won both the VSGA Senior Amateur and Senior Open of Virginia.
- The last three championship matches have gone at least to the 17th hole.
- Swipe to the end of the Instagram post below for comments from Shingler.
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Day 3: Meeting of past champs highlights quarterfinals
(Pictured: Steve Serrao. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
RICHMOND -- The quarterfinals of the 76th Virginia State Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship are set, and a matchup of past champions will lead things off on Thursday morning at Willow Oaks Country Club.
Top seed Jon Hurst, the defending champion, rolled through two matches and will face 2019 winner Steve Serrao, a Willow Oaks member, in the first quarterfinal at 8 a.m. The second quarterfinal features Jeffrey Klatt, runner-up at this year's VSGA Senior Stroke Play Championship, squaring off against past VSGA Amateur champion Scott Shingler.
On the other half of the bracket, two-time winner Buck Brittain advanced and will meet Dave Williams Jr. in one quarterfinal, and past Senior Open of Virginia champ Matt Sughrue will square off against Willow Oaks member and 2022 finalist David Jordan in the other.
The winners will advance to the tournament semifinals, scheduled to begin after lunch on Thursday.
Notable:
- Hurst rolled through his two matches, beating Steve Firkins 6 and 5 in Wednesday's opening match, which lasted less than two hours, before topping Allen Barber 6 and 4 in the round of 16.
- Serrao defeated Greg Henderson 6 and 5 in the round of 32 before knocking off Ron Totton 3 and 2 in the afternoon. Serrao was a quarterfinalist last year and reached the championship match in 2021, where he lost to Brittain.
- Klatt defeated past champion Rich Buckner in the morning before securing a 2-and-1 victory over Robert Bradshaw in the afternoon. Klatt lost in 20 holes to Jeff Flax in the first round of last year's event.
- Shingler is making his Senior Amateur debut. He bested Darrell Craft in the morning before rolling to a 4-and-3 win over Kevin South in the afternoon. Shingler was 7-under through 11 holes in the second match.
- Brittain's lone loss in the VSGA Senior Amateur since 2020 came in last year's semifinals against Hurst. He defeated Rob Menefee 5 and 4 in the morning before ousting past Senior Am champion David Partridge 4 and 3 in the afternoon. At 68, Partridge was the oldest player in the field to advance to match play.
- Williams reached the quarterfinals for the second straight year. He lost to Hurst in the quarterfinals last year at Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club. After beating Carlos Aranda in the morning, he defeated Tony Good 3 and 2 in the afternoon. Good advanced in the morning whe his opponent, Keith Decker, conceded the match after 12 holes due to a back injury.
- Sughrue, a past U.S. Senior Amateur finalists, won 4 and 2 in the morning against Alec Sorrel before surviving a tough matchup with past VSGA Senior Stroke Play champion Pete DeTemple. Sughrue won 18 with a par after DeTemple's birdie attempt came up just short.
- Jordan knocked off Philip Mahone 1 up in the morning before rolling to a 5-and-4 victory over Michael Hays in the afternoon.
- Swipe to the end of the below Instagram post for comments from Jon Hurst, Steve Serrao, Scott Shingler, and David Jordan.
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Day 2: Hurst, Brittain share medalist honors
(Pictured: Jon Hurst. Credit: Abby All/VSGA)
RICHMOND -- Buck Brittain and Jon Hurst have dominated the Virginia State Golf Association senior golf scene in recent years. It's only fitting that they'd share medalist honors after two rounds of stroke-play qualifying at the 76th VSGA Senior Amateur Championship at Willow Oaks Country Club.
Each player posted two-day aggregate totals of 6-under-par 138, with the defending tournament champion Hurst notching the week's best round with a 6-under 66 on Tuesday. Brittain posted matching totals of 69 to earn his spot among the top two seeds.
Brittain is a two-time Senior Amateur champion and the winner of this year's VSGA Senior Stroke Play Championship. Hurst is also a past Senior Stroke Play champion, and the two players have partnered to win the last three VSGA Senior Four-Ball titles. Hurst beat Brittain in last year's semifinals on his way to the title. The players are on opposite sides of the 32-player match-play bracket and can only meet in Friday's championship match, should they get there.
Matt Sughrue, a past Senior Open of Virginia winner and past U.S. Senior Amateur finalist, finished third, shooting 68-71 for a two-day, 5-under 139. He's the No. 3 seed and will play on Brittain's side of the bracket. Bayville Golf Club's Robert Bradshaw finished fourth at 3-under 141 (71-70). Kevin South (70-72--142) was fifth, and Willow Oaks member and 2022 Senior Amateur finalist David Jordan rounded out the players in red figures by posting a 1-under 143 (70-73) to finish in sixth.
Rob Menefee and Steve Firkins earned the final two match-play spots, with Firkins outlasting Dean Griffith on the eighth playoff hole to claim the No. 32 seed and the right to face Hurst in round 1, which begins at 7:30 on Wednesday morning. Menefee will meet Brittain in another first-round match.
Notable:
- Only five players posted under-par rounds on a sweltering Tuesday at Willow Oaks: Hurst, Brittain, Sughrue, Bradshaw, and Michael Hays (71). Last week, Hays qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur.
- Sughrue will meet Alec Sorrel in the first round. Sorrel rallied after a first-round 78 to shoot 72 and earn his spot in match play.
- Past champions to advance to match play include Hurst, Brittain, Steve Serrao (T8, 145), Rich Buckner (T11, 146), David Partridge (T14, 147), and Keith Decker (T20, 149).
- Steve Serrao will face Greg Henderson in the first round. Buckner opens match play against Jeffrey Klatt, who was runner-up at this year's Senior Stroke Play. Partridge will face Jay Serrao. Decker opens against Tony Good.
- Hurst opened his round with consecutive bogeys on Tuesday before ripping off five birdies in his next six holes. He played the last 16 holes at 8-under.
- Brittain began his round on No. 10 and started a four-birdie run by making two on the par-3 11th. In his final 13 holes, he had 12 pars and a bogey.
- Carlos Aranda, who also qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur, rallied to earn a spot in match-play and will open against Dave Williams Jr.
- The most notable players to miss match play were 2022 semifinalist Jon Zampedro, 2021 quarterfinalist Scott Blankenship, and past Senior Amateur champion Cam Young.
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Day 1: Sughrue snags early lead
(Pictured: Matt Sughrue. Credit: Abby All/VSGA)
RICHMOND -- Matt Sughrue, a past U.S. Senior Amateur finalist and the last amateur to win the Senior Open of Virginia, opened stroke-play qualifying at the 76th Virginia State Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship on Monday by firing a 4-under-par 68 at Willow Oaks Country Club, good for a one-stroke lead over two-time Senior Amateur winner Buck Brittain, who returned a 3-under 69.
Four players were tied for third at 2-under 70 after the first of two stroke-play qualifying days: past Senior Open winner and Senior Amateur finalist Dave Pulk, Willow Oaks member and 2022 Senior Amateur finalist David Jordan, past VSGA Amateur champion Scott Shingler, and past VSGA Junior Stroke Play winner Kevin South.
After Tuesday's second round of str0ke-play qualifying, the field will be cut to the low 32 players for match play, which begins Wednesday morning.
Defending champion Jon Hurst carded an even-par 72 on Monday and is tied for 11th. Steve Serrao, a Willow Oaks member and 2019 VSGA Senior Amateur champion, shot a 1-under 73 and sits in a seven-way tie for 15th.
Notable:
- Sughrue, who won the 2020 Senior Open of Virginia, had only one blemish on his scorecard, a bogey on the par-4 4th hole. He followed that with birdies at Nos. 5 and 6 and added another birdie at 9 to make the turn at 3-under. He made eight pars and a birdie on the back.
- Brittain was 1-over through four holes but played the rest of his round at 4-under. He made birdies at 5, 8, 9 and 12 before finishing with six straight pars.
- Jordan made six birdies on his home course but had to navigate around a triple bogey on the par-4 6th and another bogey on the par-3 15th.
- Six of the eight quarterfinalists from last year's Senior Am at Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club are in the field. Brittain, Hurst, Jordan, Serrao, Dave Williams Jr., and Jon Zampedro. All are currently inside the top 32. Williams shot a 1-under 71 and is tied for seventh with Robert Bradshaw and Thomas Garner. Zampedro returned a 2-over 74 and is tied for 22nd.
- Thirty-four players shot 3-over or better on Monday and are in position to at least reach a playoff for the final match-play spots. Notable players on the outside include three-time champion Keith Decker (+4, T36), Philip Mahone (+5, T44), Danny Derisio (+5, T44), Carlos Aranda (+6, T52) and. past champion Cam Young (+8, T63).
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