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Dates: Tuesday, October 1 - Wednesday, October 2
Format: Tuesday, October 1st – 12 p.m. shotgun start -- Two-Person Scramble: Both players play from the teeing area, one of the tee shots is selected and both players play their second shots from that spot. One of the second shots is then selected, and both players play their third shots from that spot, and so on until the ball is holed.
Wednesday, October 2nd – 9 a.m. shotgun start -- Modified Foursomes (modified alternate shot): Both players play from the teeing area, one of the tee shots is selected and players alternate shots from there until the ball is holed. Example: Player A’s tee shot is selected, player B plays next, then A and so on until the ball is holed.
Host site: Lakeside Park Club
Day 2: Serrao brothers repeat in senior division; Allara and Woodson win super senior title
(Steve and Jay Serrao successfully defended their title in the VSGA Senior Multi-Format Team Championship. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
RICHMOND -- The brother tandem of Steve and Jay Serrao successfully defended their title on Wednesday at the 6th Virginia State Golf Association Multi-Format Team Championship, posting a two-day total of 13-under 129 to claim a three-stroke victory over the side of Scott Bemberis and Paras Pandya.
In the 2nd VSGA Super Senior Multi-Format Team Championship, Jim Woodson and Jack Allara were the only side to navigate Wednesday's alternate shot round under par, helping them to a two-day 7-under 135 (65-70) and a two-stroke victory over David Partridge and Allan Strange.
6th VSGA Senior Multi-Format Team Championship
It's rare for a side to separate itself from the pack in the two-man captain's choice round, but that's exactly what the Serrao brothers achieved in Tuesday's first round, posting a 13-under 58 to grab a four-shot lead heading into Wednesday's modified alternate shot round. They were unable to replicate last year's sizzling foursomes round of 64, but the four-shot cushion came in handy when the Serraos made three straight bogeys on Lakeside's difficult opening stretch.
"I putted it off the green on 3, then I had to make a downhill 4-footer for bogey," Steve said. "Our biggest mistake was No. 5. I had a wedge in and hit it over the green, and (Jay) had a terrible lie. So we made three straight bogeys."
Having dropped to 10-under overall, the chasing pack caught up to the Serraos. But Jay stuck an excellent approach on the par-3 6th, and Steve followed by sinking the birdie putt to stop the bleeding. They made another birdie on 8 and got back even with a birdie on 14 and cruised to the victory from there.
"We had a little bit of breathing room, but still, the format is tough," Jay said. "You just don't want to put (your partner) in a bad position."
The Serraos aren't done playing partner golf yet. They'll likely form a pairing in two weeks at Bayville at the 79th Captain's Putter Matches, featuring the best players from the VSGA and West Virginia Golf Association against the top players from the Carolinas Golf Association.
"I've been trying to get on that team for 30 years," Jay said.
Added Steve: "I told Jay it's the most fun you're going to have playing golf. That's how we're looking at it. Just attack and be aggressive and enjoy it."
Bemberis and Pandya were the only side to post an under-par round in the senior, following up their opening round 63 with a 2-under 69 in alternate shot. Keith Decker and Jon Hurst finished alone in third at 8-under 134 (62-72), one shot better than Cam Young and Buck Brittain (62-73--135).
2nd VSGA Super Senior Multi-Format Team Championship
Woodson is no stranger to success in VSGA partner events, having claimed titles in both the VSGA Senior and Super Senior Four-Ball. The combination of Allara's length and Woodson's hot putter was fruitful on Wednesday. Opening the round a shot behind 18-hole co-leaders Partridge and Strange and Paul Gural and Mike Howell, the Woodson/Allara side finished with three birdies and two bogeys for a 1-under 70.
"I'll say this, I was hitting it 20 yards past him, but he wanted me to hit the second shot so he could putt the ball, because he was making them today," Allara said. "It's a hard format, you're always one shot away from a bad score. But he just made the putts today."
Allara, who had his run of three straight titles in the VSGA Super Senior Amateur end last week at Danville Golf Club, was happy just to be out competing, considering a year ago at this time he was set to undergo quadruple bypass heart surgery.
"It's always good to get back into the winner's circle," Allara said. "I've had a few challenges in the last few months. A year ago, they told me I couldn't play golf for a while. ... I wanted to have my wife take a picture of me when I was intubated to prove that I could keep quiet for a minute, but she wouldn't do it. I thought it would be hysterical."
Partridge and Strange had opportunities to catch the leaders, but a 3-over front nine (they started on No. 10) was too much to overcome. Woodson and Allara navigated LPC's brutal four-hole opening stretch at 1-over par, a big reason they were winners in the end.
"He drove the ball a long way so we always had something play," Woodson said. "We just had to knock it on the green. We were fortunate to make some putts today."
Skip Zobel and Dave Pulk posted a two-day total of 4-under 138 to finish alone in third. There was a three-way tie for fourth: Mike Ancel/Jim Wood; Harry Thomas/Tim Vigotsky; and Gural/Howell.
Day 1: Serrao brothers surge to 18-hole lead
RICHMOND -- Brothers Steve and Jay Serrao, seeking to repeat as champions of the Virginia State Golf Association Senior Multi-Format Team Championship, posted a bogey-free round of 13-under-par 58 at Lakeside Park Club on a wet Tuesday afternoon to grab a four-stroke lead heading into Wednesday's modified alternate shot round.
The Serraos made nine birdies and two eagles in Tuesday's two-man captain's choice round to grab a commanding advantage over three sides tied for second. Cam Young and Buck Brittain, Richard Wintsch and Conrad Rickers, and Keith Decker and Jon Hurst all posted 9-under rounds of 62 but are four shots behind heading into Wednesday's second and final round, which begins with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
The Super Senior division provides a much tighter leaderboard heading into Wednesday, with five sides opening the modified alternate shot round within two strokes of the lead. Paul Gural and Mike Howell -- who in the spring won the VSGA Super Senior Four-Ball 65+ title at Fawn Lake CC -- posted a 7-under 64 and are tied with David Partridge and Allan Strange. Jim Woodson and Jack Allara are a stroke back at 6-under 65, while the sides of Mike Ancel/Jim Wood and Harry Thomas/Tim Vigotsky both posted 5-under rounds of 66.
Defending Super Senior champions Tim Kelley and Rusty Breeden, who are members at Lakeside Park Club, opened with a round of 3-under 68 and are four shots off the pace.