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Dates: Monday, July 15 and Tuesday, July 16
Format: Two rounds of stroke play in three age divisions (65+, 70+, 75+), 18 holes each day. If there is a tie after 36 holes, a sudden-death playoff will be utilized to determine a champion.
Host site: Loudoun Golf & Country Club
Day 2: Partridge wins 15th VSGA title; Slater and Towler earn age-division victories
By Chris Lang
PURCELLVILLE -- Winners were crowned in three age divisions at the 39th Virginia State Golf Association Super Senior Stroke Play Championship, which concluded on Tuesday at Loudoun Golf & Country Club. In the 65+ division, David Partridge rallied from a six-stroke deficit to open the round to win by one stroke over Tim Vigotsky and Bill Apple. In the 70+ division, Dayton Slater rallied for a two-stroke victory over Jeff Hudgins and John Hoffman. Terry Towler ran away with the 75+ division, finishing 16 strokes clear of George Owens.
Partridge's victory was his 15th in his illustrious VSGA career, moving him into a tie for second all-time on the VSGA wins list with legendary amateur Vinny Giles. Both are members of the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame.
65+ division
Partridge has had numerous close calls in super senior events in recent years and has been stuck on 14 VSGA victories since winning the 2021 Super Senior Stroke Play 65+ division at Hidden Creek, just down the road in Reston. He certainly wasn't the favorite to nab No. 15 on Tuesday after shooting a first-round 75, six shots behind 18-hole leader Dave Pulk.
But as others around him struggled, Partridge held steady with an all-pars front nine to remain in the mix. He slipped with a bogey on 10 but made his move with birdies on 12 and 14. Playing in the third-to-last group, Partridge's par on 18 gave him the clubhouse lead at 2-over 75-71--144. It held. Pulk's bogey on 17 dropped him to 4-over and effectively ended his chances. Apple just missed a long birdie putt on 18 that would have allowed him to join Partridge at 2-over. Then Vigotsky missed a similar putt on the final hole, sealing Partridge's 15th win.
"In this case, it's not even really fair to Vinny to put me in the same sentence with him. I've had far more opportunities because there are far more tournaments now," Partridge said. "But he's the icon for all of us. He's on the pedestal. We all ascribe to be as good as him. Not like we can ever play as well as him. But it's just being the type of person that he is, and what he's meant to golf. He's the icon for us."
To wit, one of Partridge's victories came in the Mid-Senior Amateur (for players 60 and older) at Loudoun in 2018, an event that didn't exist in Giles' playing career. Partridge has a particular affinity for Loudoun's classic design.
"You get excited about coming to play here," Partridge said. "Even though it's not terribly long, you've really got to control your ball and miss the shots the right areas. The golf course has so much character. I call it an old-school kind of golf course. You can get yourself in some spots where it's very difficult to make a par. In that sense, I'm a little bit of a grinder, so perhaps the golf courses matches up well with my game."
70+ division
Dayton Slater seems to have an affinity for Loudoun, which is no surprise considering he was a member here for about 20 years before moving south. Now a member at The Hollows Golf Club, Slater earned his second VSGA title at Loudoun by posting a two-day aggregate total of 6-over-par 150. He previously won the VSGA Super Senior Amateur 65+ title here in 2018.
"A lot has changed since then," Slater said. "But it's still good to come back here and see some of the boys."
Slater started the round a shot behind 18-hole leader Mike Ancel but gained separation as Ancel struggled to a 10-over 82 on Tuesday. Slater posted his second straight 3-over 75 and closed out his victory when he made a simple par on the par-3 18th hole. He stepped to the 18th tee with a one-shot lead over Hudgins and hit the middle of the green, leaving him a 12-foot birdie putt. Meanwhile, Hudgins missed the green and failed to get up and down, giving Slater the win.
"I knew we were pretty close because I made a couple of bogeys coming in," Slater said. "But I don't ever know for sure. I don't want to know. I just like to think about trying to make a shot. I did make about three bad shots today, so I was lucky."
Hoffman had the shot of the day, making an ace on the par-3 5th hole, using a 9-iron. Hoffman said it was his first hole-in-one in a competitive round and his seventh overall.
75+ division
Terry Towler, a member at The Manor GC in Farmville, took nothing for granted Tuesday morning. He opened the second round with a five-stroke lead over George Owens (Princess Anne CC) but treated the situation as if he and Owens were tied on the first tee.
"I said to myself that George is the comeback kid," Towler said. "He's a fighter."
No such comeback materialized. Towler was the only player in the entire field (all age divisions) to post two under-par rounds, following his 2-under 70 on Monday with a 1-under 71 on Tuesday for a 3-under total of 141 for his second title in this event. Towler was the 70+ winner at Danville Golf Club in 2020. Owens finished a distant second at 13-over 156.
"He just didn't have his game today," Towler said. "It was the greens. The greens fooled a lot of people. They don't look that fast, but they're rolling really good. They're kind of close to the speed of the club I play at home, The Manor. So it just fits. It's just one of these fortunate things.
"Any time you can shoot under par both days, you feel real good. Any golfer will tell you, it's good to have a good round. But when you can follow it up with another good round, it gives you an extra special feeling. It really does."
Day 1: Pulk posts 3-under round amid scorching heat
PURCELLVILLE -- Dave Pulk (65+), Mike Ancel (70+), and Terry Towler (75+) rose to the top of their respective leaderboards on Monday at the 39th Virginia State Golf Association Super Senior Stroke Play Championship at Loudoun Golf & Country Club. Temperatures settled in the high 90s by early afternoon Monday with heat indices well north of 100 degrees.
Pulk (Two Rivers CC) posted the best round of the day, a 3-under-par 69 that featured three birdies, an eagle, and a bogey. He'll enter the second round with a three-stroke lead over a trio who posted even-par rounds of 72: Harry Thomas (Washington G&CC), Mikeal Johnston (Evergreen CC), and John Steele (Westwood CC). Tim Vigotsky (Robert Trent Jones GC) is alone in fifth after posting a 1-over 73.
Mike Howell (International CC), the defending 65+ champion, struggled to an 8-over 80. The final 65+ group of Pulk, Steele, and Steele will tee off at 10:56 a.m. on Tuesday.
Ancel posted a 2-over 74 and holds a one-stroke edge over Dayton Slater (The Hollows GC) and Jeff Hudgins (CC of Virginia) in the 70+ division. That final grouping will go off at 8:55 a.m. Defending age-division champion Van McCarter (Blue Hills GC) posted a 7-over 79 and is five shots off the lead.
Towler (The Manor GC) was the only other player to post an under-par round, returning a 2-under 70 that included four birdies (including three in a row on the front nine) and two bogeys. He owns a five-shot lead over George Owens (Princess Anne CC). That pairing will go off at 8:11 a.m. on Tuesday.