33rd VSGA Junior Match Play Championship

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Dates: Tuesday, July 30 - Friday, August 2

Format: Two rounds of stroke-play qualifying, with the field cut to the low 60 players and ties after Tuesday's first round and to the low 16 players for match play after Wednesday's second round. Round of 16 and quarterfinals on Thursday, with the semifinals and 18-hole championship match set for Friday.

Host site: Olde Mill Golf Resort

Day 4: Libbey outlasts rain, O'Rourke, to claim title

(Luke Libbey and Patrick O'Rourke shake hands after Libbey's 2-and-1 victory. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)

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By Chris Lang

LAUREL FORK -- Luke Libbey made his final junior championship a memorable one. The Liberty University-bound Lynchburg resident jumped to an early lead in the final match of the 33rd Virginia State Golf Association Junior Match Play Championship on Friday at Olde Mill, battled rain and a resilient opponent in Patrick O'Rourke, and eventually held one for a 2-and-1 victory.

Libbey's victory ensures him a spot on the Virginias team for the upcoming Virginias-Carolinas Junior Boys' Matches, along with an exemption into next year's VSGA Amateur Championship, which will be held at Birdwood Golf at Boar's Head Resort.

Libbey was one of only three 2024 grads to make the 16-player match-play field, and his experience was crucial to his four-match run to the title. Earlier on Friday, he defeated top seed Noah Maclauchlan 2 and 1 to advance to the final match. O'Rourke cruised in all three of his matches leading to the final, including Friday's 5-and-3 win over Radford's Hunter Crist in the semifinals.

The match began on No. 10, and Libbey got off to a solid start thanks to a chip-in for birdie on the par-3 14th to give him a 2-up edge. O'Rourke won 15 with a birdie, and Libbey won 16 with a par, and Libbey maintained at least a 2-up edge throughout the rest of the match. That doesn't mean it was easy coming down the stretch. A rain squall forced an hour-long delay with Libbey 3-up heading to No. 3. Out of the delay, Libbey won that hole with a par to go 4-up, but O'Rourke (a rising senior at Chantilly High School) battled to stay in the match, eventually getting back within 2-down. But when both players made par on No. 7, that left Libbey 2-up with two to play. O'Rourke nearly jarred a chip on 8 to extend the match, but both players made par, clinching Libbey's victory.

QUOTABLE

• See below for a short video interview with Libbey.
• "It's really special. I didn't think it was going to happen. Really satisfying that it was the last one. It's a good sendoff for college." -- Libbey

• "That was a big momentum booster. I felt good all week. My dad let us come out on Sunday and we played two practice rounds that day. It helped my form a lot." -- Libbey on the chip-in on 14
• "The wind here is similar to Boonsboro, and so is the elevation. It's just being able to know what clubs to hit here so you don't hit it too far or too short." -- Libbey
• "The glove started getting a little wet and the nerves started to kick in. But I was able to hit a couple of good shots and I was able to finish it off." -- Libbey
• "Patrick gave me a really good run, and he made me pretty nervous." -- Libbey
• "First off, I just want to say I had a blast. A lot of fun. It was a really good tournament. I didn't really play that well during stroke play, but I'm pretty happy with my performance to make it to the finals for match play. It's not how I wanted the final match to go, but I still had a lot of fun. Luke played great, and I thought I played pretty well. Hats off to him." -- O'Rourke
• "That's one of the things I take pride in myself. I never give up, no matter what happens. I just tried to stay in it, hit the best shots I could and see what happened." -- O'Rourke

Day 3: Top seed Maclauchlan survives, semifinals set

(Noah Maclauchlan, right, with younger brother and caddie Liam. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)

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By Chris Lang

LAUREL FORK -- Entering this week, Moseley's Noah Maclauchlan said "something felt different." The rising high school junior wasn't pleased with his performance at this summer's Virginia State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play Championship, where he missed the cut. So he spent time grinding away at his game in the subsequent weeks, hoping the practice would pay off when he got another opportunity to tee it up in a VSGA championship.

Grind was the appropriate word on Thursday at Olde Mill Resort, where Maclauchlan steadily chipped away at a deficit in his quarterfinal match against Blacksburg's Cameron Sharp, the 16-year-old son of Virginia Tech men's golf coach Brian Sharp. Maclauchlan was 3-down at the turn, caught Sharp on the 18th hole, and took his only lead of the match on the 21st hole, an up and down for bogey securing his berth in Friday's semifinals.

Sharp will face Lynchburg's Luke Libbey, who is headed to play at Liberty University, in one semifinal. Rising Chantilly High School senior Patrick O'Rourke will meet Radford 16-year-old Hunter Crist in the other semifinal. 

The semifinals are set to begin at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, with the 18-hole championship match scheduled for approximately noon.

NOTABLE

• Maclauchlan was the only single-digit seed to advance to the semifinals. He was also the only seeding "favorite" to win his round-of-16 match, as seeds 2-8 all lost in the first round.
• Maclauchlan cruised to a 5-and-4 win over 16 seed Braden Hermansky in the morning but found a much more formidable opponent in Sharp in the afternoon. Sharp took a 3-up lead by sinking a long birdie putt on the par-3 8th and held that edge until Maclauchlan won No. 12 with a par. Prior to that, the match took a major turn on No. 10, where Sharp was poised to go 4-up. He hit his approach to 10 feet, and Maclauchlan smoked a wedge through the green. Maclauchlan got up and down from a tough spot behind the green, and Sharp two-putted, keeping the lead at 3-up.
• Maclauchlan pulled within 1-down with a birdie on 17, then tied the match on 18 when Sharp yanked his drive right, forcing him to put a provisional ball in play. Maclauchlan hit his approach just short of the green and put his chip close enough that Sharp conceded it, sending it to extra holes.
• On the 21st hole, both Maclauchlan and Sharp hit irons into a fairway bunker on the drivable par-4 hole. Then both hit out of the bunker into the water, meaning they were each hitting their fourth shot into the green. Sharp left his short, and Maclauchlan put his to about 12 feet. Once sharp missed his chip for bogey, Maclauchlan sank his putt to clinch the match.
• Libbey and Galax's Carson Iroler were tied through 10 holes before Libbey won three of the next four holes (three with pars) to clinch the match 4 and 3. Earlier, Iroler beat fellow Galax High School player Grayden Laird in the round of 16. After his elimination, Laird caddied for Sharp in his quarterfinal match against Maclauchlan.
• O'Rourke faced little resistance in his matches, topping Shrey Sharma 6 and 5, and Joshua Cummins 6 and 4.
• Crist made birdie on 16 to take the lead for good in his 1-up win over No. 2 seed Pierce Campbell in the first round. He endured another full round in the quarterfinals against Patrick Pritsios. Crist, a rising sophomore at Radford High School, took a 1-up lead in the quarterfinal with a par on No. 3 and never trailed in his match. He led 2-up heading to 17, but Pritsios rolled in about a 20-foot birdie putt on that par-3 hole to send the match to 18. Both players made par on 18, giving Crist the win. 

QUOTABLE

• "The 8 footer I made for par (on 10) after I nuked the wedge, that was a big confidence booster, and that kind of started everything off." -- Maclauchlan on his up-and-down on 10 against Sharp.
• "This week feels different. I feel like I want to stay here a little bit longer. I feel like my game is in a good spot all-around. It is a grind, and it wasn't looking too pretty after nine holes there. But I stayed in it, and I want to still be here. I want to go all the way." -- Maclauchlan
• "I would say I got a few lucky breaks. But I played really well. I took out driver on No. 3 -- the short par-4 -- and hit the green, so I'd say that was a pretty big momentum builder. I wasn't making a lot of putts earlier in the week, but the last couple of rounds, I've been draining putts and giving myself opportunities." -- O'Rourke
• "I've played in the Bobby Bowers the last four years, so I'd say I've built a lot of confidence in match play having played in that, and I felt pretty good coming into this week." -- O'Rourke
• "I felt good. I didn't have any huge expectations. I've played a lot of golf lately, so I was feeling a little tired coming into this week. But I'm feeling good. My game is where I want it to be. So I was kind of expecting something similar to this." -- O'Rourke
• "I'm excited. I'm probably going to go back to my hotel room, get some rest, and eat a lot of food. But yeah, I'm excited for tomorrow." -- O'Rourke

Day 2: Noah Maclauchlan earns medalist honors

(Stroke-play qualifying medalist Noah Maclauchlan. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)

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By Chris Lang

LAUREL FORK -- After missing the cut at the Virginia State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play Championship several weeks ago, Moseley's Noah Maclauchlan went back to the lab to shore up parts of his game. His hard worked showed during the two days of stroke-play qualifying at the 33rd VSGA Junior Match Play Championship at Olde Mill Resort.

Maclauchlan, a homeschooled rising junior, posted a two-day aggregate total of 4-under 140 (67-73) to finish four strokes clear of the field and earn the top seed in the 16-player match play bracket. Maclauchlan will open play Thursday at 7:30 a.m. against the No. 16 seed, Braden Hermansky.

Pierce Campbell, a rising senior at Blacksburg High School, shot an even-par 144 over the two days (70-74) to earn the No. 2 seed. Maclauchlan and Campbell were the only players to shoot even par or better. Williamsburg's Jackson Obie and Galax's Grayden Laird each finished at 2-over 146 to tie for third.

NOTABLE

• Though he missed the cut at the Junior Stroke Play, Maclauchlan stuck around for the final day to caddie for his younger brother Liam, who was the odd man out in the 4-for-3 playoff for the final three match play spots on Wednesday. Braden Hermansky, Joshua Cummins, and Hunter Crist each made par on the second playoff hole to advance. Maclauchlan had to take an unplayable on that hole and didn't match that score.
• Noah Maclauchlan made 10 birdies during stroke play and only got into serious trouble once, making double bogey on the par-4 16th in Wednesday's round.
• Two players made seven-stroke improvements from Tuesday to surge into match-play contention. Virginia Beach's Blake Heselius shot 77-70 and finished alone in fifth at 147. Roanoke's Uzair Mirza shot 78-71--149 and finished alone in eighth. 
• Only three recent high school graduates advanced to the 16: Mirza, Luke Libbey, and Patrick Pritsios.
• As a whole, the course played more than 7-over-par in relation to the field, a testament to how difficult of a test Olde Mill proved to be.

QUOTABLE

• "Yesterday, just through the first nine holes, I made everything that I looked at. Right off the bat, I made three birdies in a row. Today was a little bit more of a struggle. I was able to take advantage when I was in the fairway and just kind of survive through the rest of the round." -- Noah Maclauchlan
• "The course being wet actually helped off the tee, because it didn't roll much so I was able to keep it in the fairway. Everything else wasn't too tricky. The greens aren't super fast, so I didn't really have a hard time reading them. It's definitely not too scoreable here. You've got to hit it pretty good and hit a lot of putts to make birdies here." -- Maclauchlan
• "On 6, I was on the top left near the tee box, and I ended up getting up and down. I had a couple other crazy ones that helped me keep my mind in check and keep my confidence up." -- Maclauchlan on scrambling for pars on Wednesday.
• "I'm just going to stick to my game. I may hit a few range balls here and just continue to grind through it. Anything can happen in match play. It doesn't matter what seed you are. You just have to keep playing your own game, and that's all you can do." -- Maclauchlan
• "If you miss the fairway, you're going to get penalized here. Then you have to hit good shots into the green and not three-putt, otherwise, it can get ugly quick." -- Pierce Campbell
• "(My game) definitely wasn't trending in the right direction. So it feels good to get a couple of good rounds under my belt here." -- Campbell
• "He's a baller. He strikes the ball pretty well and he had some pretty crazy up and downs that I haven't seen before. I'm excited to see what he can do." -- Campbell on Maclauchlan (the two were in the same group on Wednesday).

Day 1: Maclauchlan's 67 sets pace

LAUREL FORK -- Moseley's Noah Maclauchlan returned a 5-under-par 67 on Tuesday at Olde Mill Resort to set the early pace in the first round of stroke-play qualifying at the 33rd Virginia State Golf Association Junior Match Play Championship. Maclauchlan was one of only three player to post a red number on Tuesday, joined by Blacksburg's Pierce Campbell, who shot a 2-under-70, and Midlothian's Luca Rinaldi, who carded at 1-under 71.

Maclauchlan opened his round with three straight birdies, then made four straight pars. After a bogey on the par-3 8th, he rattled off another three birdies before closing with seven straight pars for his 67.

Sixty players who posted rounds of 85 or better advanced to Tuesday's second round. The top 16 players after Tuesday's round will advance to match play, which begins on Thursday. The current cut line for match play stands at 3-over 75, as six players are tied for 13th.