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Dates: Monday, September 8 and Tuesday, September 9
Format: Two rounds of stroke play. If there is a tie after 36 holes, a sudden death playoff will be utilized to determine a champion.
Note: The Senior Open of Virginia is conducted jointly by the Middle Atlantic PGA and the Virginia State Golf Association.
Host site: Independence Golf Club
(Rick Schuller, middle, tips his cap to the gallery after winning the Senior Open of Virginia on Tuesday. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
MIDLOTHIAN -- After Monday's first round of the 20th Senior Open of Virginia, Rick Schuller talked about motivation and how to find it when you've seemingly accomplished all that you've wanted over the course of a career. Senior Open and State Open of Virginia titles. PGA Championship appearances. A spot in the MAPGA Hall of Fame. Schuller had ticked all of those boxes. But, as he noted on a dazzling Tuesday afternoon at Independence Golf Club, winning never gets old.
Schuller posted an even-par 72 for a two-day aggregate total of 3-under 141, one better than fellow PGA professional Jimmy Flippen, to win his fourth Senior Open of Virginia title and his second in a row. He won by one stroke last year across the Richmond metro at Willow Oaks Country Club, and he won previous titles at Independence and The Country Club of Virginia's Westhampton Course. To put it in raw numbers, Schuller has won exactly one fifth of the Senior Opens contested since its inception in 2006.
"It's the thrill of competition, I think," said Schuller, who played through a thumb injury that forced him to change the grips on his clubs. "In this sport, we're able to do that, we're able to compete long past our prime, so to speak. There's a quality field here, and you know you have to play well to finish it. I don't care where you're playing, to win, you still have to do something well. I managed to do enough today to get it done."
Nabbing that fourth title wasn't easy. A tricky wind made for challenging conditions for the field, and Schuller was not exempt. He hit his opening drive into a penalty area and then misjudged the wind on No. 2, leading to a bogey-bogey start. He settled in after that, birdies on 5 and 9 getting him back to level par at the turn. Though Flippen was in the mix all day, amateur Jon Hurst -- the VSGA Senior Stroke Play champion -- was Schuller's biggest threat. The players were tied at 3-under at one point, but bogeys on 12 and 17 curtailed Hurst's chances.
Still, Hurst earned low amateur honors by two strokes over Scott Shingler, capping a strong year in VSGA championships that included a quarterfinal appearance in the VSGA Senior Amateur and a trip to the U.S. Senior Amateur, where he advanced to match play.
"It's been a successful year," Hurst said. "I've won a couple of good tournaments, all in all, a success."
The key sequence for Schuller was in the middle of the inward nine. He made a bogey on the par-3 14th but immediately rebounded with a birdie on the par-4 15th. He nearly added another on No. 16.
"My game could have gone either way today," Schuller said. "I guess it's that persistence and determination that I was born with. I refused to give up, even though I wasn't executing great."
Schuller, who teaches at Meadowbrook Country Club in south Richmond, went to 18 tee with a two-stroke lead. His drive strayed left and his approach came up just short of the greenside bunker. In preparation for his next shot, he asked a simple question: "Did Jimmy make par here?"
With the fact that Flippen had indeed made par confirmed, and knowing he'd need only to make bogey to win, he played it safe and gave himself about a 6-foot look for par after a nifty flop over the bunker. Schuller two-putted to seal the win.
"It was challenging out there today, but drawing on past experiences is what I did," Schuller said. "I feel like it's a rebirth now with these grips, trying to figure out a game again that I've done a certain way for 35 years. That's the challenge that keeps me going, to have some bragging rights as I age. Winning doesn't get old, I can say that."
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(Rick Schuller tees off on No. 5 at Independence on Monday. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
MIDLOTHIAN -- Defending champion Rick Schuller, PGA, and Jim Estes, PGA, each posted rounds of 3-under 69 on a cool, breezy day at Independence Golf Club to share the 18-hole lead at the Senior Open of Virginia.
Schuller, a professional at Richmond's Meadowbrook Country Club, said he was "ecstatic" with Monday's round, considering he's dealt with a ligament injury in his left thumb that has forced him to withdraw from several recent events, including the State Open of Virginia, held here in July. Estes, a professional at Virginia Golf Center, said he putted better than he has all year long, a big reason why he was able to post a low number.
Four players were tied for third at 1-under 71, two shots back of the leaders: Professionals John O'Leary, PGA, and Jimmy Flippen, PGA; and amateurs Jon Hurst and David Partridge. Three more amateurs were tied for seventh at even-par 72: Donnie Toney, Paras Pandya, and Thomas Garner.
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