Championship website | Scoring | Sponsors | Preview | Record book
Dates: Friday, July 18 - Sunday, July 20
Format: 54 holes of stroke play. The full field of 144 will go off in morning and afternoon waves on Friday and Saturday. The field will be cut to the low 60 and ties for Sunday's third and final round. If necessary, a sudden-death playoff will be utilized to determine a champion. The event is conducted jointly by the VSGA and Middle Atlantic PGA.
Streaming coverage: The VSGA and MAPGA are proud to partner with College Golf Network (CGN) to provide four hours of streaming coverage on both Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday stream will begin at approximately 2:10 p.m., with the Sunday stream starting at approximately 10 a.m. See the links below to access the coverage. Kendall Lewis will provide play by play, with Mike Morrone, PGA, of The Foundry Golf Club providing color commentary. The live stream is presented by Richmond Region Tourism.
Second round streaming | Third round streaming
LIVE FROM: State Open of Virginia
Join hosts Matt Pochily of Active Season and Mike Morrone, PGA of Emergency Nine Podcast as they talk with pros and amateurs on the eve of the 2025 State Open of Virginia.
WATCH
Host site: Independence Golf Club
Day 1: Gross sets blistering pace, holds early lead
(Larkin Gross, PGA, tees off on No. 4 during Friday morning's first round of the State Open of Virginia. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
Photo gallery
State Open social media feed (Click to view Instagram videos, stories, posts)
By Chris Lang
MIDLOTHIAN -- Larkin Gross' game was trending in the right direction heading into the start of the State Open of Virginia. Earlier this week, he finished alone in second at the Maryland Open, and earlier this year, he qualified for and played in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
Would that translate into a hot start at Independence Golf Club on Friday? After rolling in a 37-foot putt for birdie on the day's first hole, he had a pretty good feeling about the round. Gross, an assistant professional at Westwood Country Club in Vienna, rolled to a bogey-free 7-under 63 on Thursday and holds a one-stroke lead over amateur Robb Kinder, a former Christopher Newport standout, who also avoided the bogey bug on his way to a 6-under 64.
Six players ended the day tied for third at 3-under 67 -- amateurs Steve Serrao, Scott Shingler, Drew Brockwell, Adam Hooker, and Luca Rinaldi, and professional Joey Lane. Shingler and Lane are past Virginia State Golf Association Amateur champions.
Nearly all of the low scores came from the morning wave, with Rinaldi being the lone player in the afternoon wave to post a score of 3-under or better.
Play was suspended due to lightning at 5:30 p.m. and did not resume. Forty-two players were still on the course and will need to complete their rounds Saturday morning before round two begins.
Scroll to the top of this post for a link to live streaming coverage from College Golf Network (CGN) of Saturday's second round. Coverage is slated to begin at 2:10 p.m.
NOTABLE
- Gross followed his opening birdie with another one on No. 2. He added birdies on 5, 6, 11, 12, and 18.
- After making a birdie to get to 2 under through four holes, Kinder made nine straight pars before ripping off four birdies in a row. He nearly made it five in a row to end his round, but his birdie attempt on 18 came up just short.
- Serrao and Shingler are both past winners of the VSGA Senior Amateur, and at 57, Serrao is one of the oldest players in the field.
- Lane started on No. 10 and was even through 12 holes. He finally found his footing in the middle of the front nine, making birdies on 4 and 5 and closing his round with a birdie on No. 9.
- Connor Burgess won the State Open at Independence in 2023 and posted the low round of any past champion on Friday, a 1-under 69 that featured five birdies and four bogeys. Mark Lawrence Jr., the 2020 winner, struggled to a 2-over 72 on Friday, as did 2022 winner Nick Taliaferro.
- Four-time State Open winner Jay Woodson staged a remarkable rally last year to get into a playoff on the final day, posting a Sunday 62. He'll need to tap into that magic early if he wants a chance to make it to Sunday this year. He returned a 4-over 74 on Friday.
- Two holes at Independence play as par 5s for everyday play but have been converted to long par 4s for this event: No. 8 and No. 13. Not surprisingly, they were the two toughest holes on Friday. When play was suspended, only five players managed to make birdie on No. 8 , while only seven players made birdie on No. 13.
QUOTABLE
- "The course played great. I drove it awesome. The putter was hot. I put myself in good spots. The only time I was out of position was on 14. I hit one really flush and it went over the green and I got up and down. I made it feel really easy, even though golf is not an easy game. But it was awesome. It was a great round." -- Larkin Gross
- "My game has been in a great spot for almost a month now. I've been working really hard on my swing. I got a new putter in the bag that has just passed with flying colors so far. It's been awesome." -- Gross
- "The first two holes of the day, I made a 37 footer then a 24 footer. The rest of them weren't crazy long. But the 37 footer with good speed going in on the first hole, that was great. It's always nice to settle the nerves and put you in a great frame of mind for the rest of the round." -- Gross
- "I was getting kind of frustrated but I just tried to stay patient. I hit a lot of greens, gave myself a lot of chances, and the putter was hot." -- Robb Kinder on his back-nine birdie blitz.
- "It's good for long hitters, and the greens are perfect. They always have the course in perfect condition. I like places I can hit it far and make putts." -- Kinder
- "It plays a lot different. It makes the bunker on the left carry-able, which makes the tee shot easier. You can't get blocked out on the right as easy. But it plays great. It's a great hole." -- Kinder on No. 8 playing as a long par 4 rather than a short par 5.
- "Most importantly, you have to get it in the fairway. If you're not in the fairway, you are fighting in the rough. It is thick. You lose control of your ball, you can't spin it into the greens. Sometimes you can't get it to the green, it's so tough. Once you're in the fairway, today for me, I hit some decent iron shots. Had some good looks most of the day and buried a few of them. I'm happy with the way I played." -- Scott Shingler
- "I would guess today is the easiest it's going to play. They might start tucking pins, moving tee boxes back. Same game plan for me. You've got to get it in the fairway. If you're not in the fairway, it's a fight for the entire hole." -- Shingler
- "One of the best ball-striking days I've had in a while. And I made two great up and downs. I made a great up and down on No. 2 from long and right, and I made up and down on No. 7 from long and left. I've been working on that a lot lately, so that was a big change for me." -- Steve Serrao
- "This was about the top end (of my expectations). I hit it well enough and far enough, and this course isn't so long. I'm a decent putter. I know that (the younger players) can go a little lower than me. I can't reach the par 5s (in two). My only expectation was to have fun. I told my wife before I left, nobody has expectations of me. It might be my last State Open. Who knows? I just enjoyed it, and I had a great day." -- Serrao