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Dates: Monday, July 21 and Tuesday, July 22
Format: 36 holes of stroke play in three age divisions: 65+, 70+, and 75+. If there is a tie atop the leaderboard at the end of the second round in any age division, a sudden-death tiebreaker will determine a champion.
Starting times: Starting at 8:30 a.m. off holes No. 1 and 10 both days.
Defending champions: Allen Barber (65+), Jeff Flax (70+), Tom Grady (75+)
Host site: Lake Chesdin Golf Club
(Mike Brown shakes hands with Lou Carducci after sealing his title at the 41st VSGA Super Senior Stroke Play Championship. Credit: Hayden Hundley/VSGA)
Day 2: Johnston, Woodson, Brown earn 41st VSGA Super Senior titles
By: Hayden Hundley
CHESTERFIELD -- Mikeal Johnston (65+) and Jim Woodson (70+) emerged as champions by just one stroke and Mike Brown (75+) in a playoff during a highly competitive final round of the 41st VSGA Super Senior Stroke Play at Lake Chesdin Golf Club.
All players fought through two roughly one hourlong weather delays, the first at 11:06 and another at 12:33
65+ division
Mikeal Johnston had to fight back from Keith Morgan's tournament best 4-under 68 during the first round to win with a two-round score of 1-over 145. After recording bogeys on the 3rd and 4th holes, respectively, Johnston birdied the 7th hole, the 12th hole, and bounced back from a bogey on 17 and birdied the 18th hole to avoid a playoff with Morgan.
"I hit driver off the 18th hole, cut it, and got it down there about 107 yards away," Johnston said. "I hit a choked down 48 (degree wedge) and knocked it in about 10 feet and made the putt."
Johnston was a group ahead of Morgan, so he patiently waited in the clubhouse and didn't expect to hear his name called for a playoff or as a winner. Luckily for him, Morgan recorded a double bogey and Johnston walked away with his first VSGA title.
"It's pretty cool," Johnston said. "I've been doing VSGA tournaments for about eight years now ... I'm mostly a tennis player and I've been focusing on golf the last eight years since I retired so It's pretty cool to win."
The rain delays seemed to have added a nice boost for Johnston, who said the few beers he had during the two delays "loosened him up." Johnston had never played at Lake Chesdin Golf Club before this year's VSGA Senior Stroke Play Championship, but he and his wife had a third-place finish at a husband-and-wife competition at Evergreen Country Club, which he said helped provide him some momentum.
"To [celebrate] I'm probably going to go back inside the bar, if it's still open, and then I'll head to Wendy's and get a double cheeseburger," Johnston said with a chuckle.
70+ division
Jim Woodson also walked away with his first VSGA individual title on Tuesday, posting a second-round score of 1-under 71 to beat out David Pleasants and Jeffrey Flax who had two-round score of 5-over 149.
Woodson's time waiting in the clubhouse for the final group's score was noticeably more stressful than Johnston's. He and Flax were tied for roughly the entire back nine but finished one shot ahead of Flax when he finished on the 9th hole. Flax had an opportunity to tie the score on his final hole with a 12-foot putt for birdie but just missed.
Meanwhile, Woodson was putting on the practice green to prepare for a playoff that never happened.
"Everybody's coming up to me saying 'congratulations' and I said, 'guys they haven't turned their scores in yet!'" Woodson said. "So, I put my clubs back on the cart and came out and putted. I just wanted to be ready. I didn't need to hit any balls, that's for sure. I'm on a limited pitch count as old as I am.
I keep trying to outlive all the rest of the guys and get away from all those good golfers like Keith Decker and all of those guys," Woodson joked. "So, I keep aging and each year there's another chance for a win."
75+ division
Mike Brown successfully came back from a three-shot deficit to edge out Terry Towler and Lou Carducci in a two-hole playoff during Tuesday's final round.
After missing the green on the first playoff hole, on 10, Brown saved par to stay level with Carducci and Towler who both had opportunities for a birdie. All three players then moved to the par-3 11th hole, and Brown stuck his first shot within four feet of the pin and let out a shameless "woohoo."
"I thought, 'it's hot, I'm playing well, I'm swinging well, just go ahead and blast the 9 iron,'" Brown said. "What a great feeling! I was so happy, I just hit it on the button. Absolutely crushed it right at the hole. I thought it would be six inches when I got to putt."
Both Towler and Carducci were more than 18 feet away from the hole and Carducci had to putt from the edge of the green. Neither were able to make a heroic putt to stay alive, and Brown sunk his four-footer to win his fifth VSGA Senior Stroke Play Championship.
Brown joked during his interview that he now has "one for the thumb."
(Keith Morgan hits his approach shot on the 10th hole during the first round of the 41st VSGA Super Senior Stroke Play. Credit: Hayden Hundley/VSGA)
Day 1: Morgan holds steady lead after first round
By: Hayden Hundley
CHESTERFIELD -- Keith Morgan leads the defending 65+ champion Allen Barber by three strokes after the first day of the 41st VSGA Super Senior Stroke Play at Lake Chesdin Golf Club.
Morgan shot 4-under 68, recording just one bogey on Monday to maintain a steady lead throughout the day. Barber also had a consistent outing, only recording a bogey on the 9th hole. The defending champion in the 70+ division, Jeffrey Flax, leads the 70+ division lead over Craig Lund who has a score of 2-over 74.
Terry Towler, who has won the 70+ and the 75+ division before, is in position to make another championship run in the 75+ division. He leads with a 1-under 71. There are four players within four shots of the lead in the 70+ over division and three players within four shots of the 75+ division leader.
NOTABLE
- Terry Towler made a 30-foot putt on the 17th hole to make birdie, his fifth of the day.
- After recording a double bogey on the 18th hole, Towler rebounded with consecutive birdies to improve his score to 2-under par.
- Jeffrey Flax recorded one of the steadiest rounds of the day as he only bogeyed the 1st, 15th and 16th holes. He birdied the 1st and 18th holes to level his score out.
- Keith Morgan had a strong start to his round, recording birdies on the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 8th holes before finishing his round with a bogey on the 16th hole.
- The 12th hole was the most difficult hole during Monday's first round. The par 4 forced 12 bogeys, two double bogeys and two 6's.
QUOTABLE
- "I love the left and rights you have in there. You've got to be tactical on some of your shots, and if you're not, then you'll get yourself in trouble. Some of the pins were in some tough locations, and if you were to throw it long, or to the right of left of the pin you can get in trouble." -- Keith Morgan
- "The greens were a little slow in some cases, but there's a lot of shots where you can throw it at the pin, so that's great." -- Keith Morgan
- "I just try to play steady golf and avoid double bogeys and make a couple birdies. If you hang around par, and if you hang around, and hang around then you're in contention." -- Jeffrey Flax
- "The greens are slow and I had a few good looks coming in and I missed them from 10 or 12 feet. I could've been under par with a hot putter but I'm happy with a 73." -- Jeffrey Flax
- "My really bad hole was number 18. I hit it in the pond, but it skipped over the bank. So, I actually took a shoe off and went in and chopped it out, but I didn't get it far enough, and the pin was back over the hill." -- Terry Towler
- "I birdied one and two when I came back and that felt good. So, it was a very, very steady round and I hit a lot of greens and was fortunate enough to make some putts along the way." -- Terry Towler