44th VSGA Senior Four-Ball Championship

Championship website | Scoring | Preview | Record book

Dates: Monday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 5

Format: 36 holes of stroke play. If there is a tie after 36 holes, a sudden-death playoff will be utilized to determine a champion.

Starting times: Starting at 8 a.m. off holes Nos. 1 and 10 both days.

Defending champion: Steve Serrao and Jay Serrao

Host site: Elizabeth Manor G&CC

Day 2: Newsom and Williams claim one-stroke victory

(Roger Newsom and Dave Williams Jr. celebrate their victory on the 18th green at Elizabeth Manor. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)

Photo gallery

By Chris Lang

PORTSMOUTH -- Roger Newsom has forgotten more than most people know about Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club, and at some point, all of that local knowledge was going to come into play in a critical moment at the 44th VSGA Senior Four-Ball Championship.

Tied with Michael Trueworthy and Mark McCoy heading to the 18th hole in Tuesday's second and final round, Newsom's approach found the left greenside bunker, which might have left some in despair. But Newsom, a two-time State Open of Virginia champion and one-time U.S. Senior Amateur finalist, had played that shot thousands of times. With partner Dave Williams Jr. out of the hole after his approach on the par-5 finishing hole found the water, Newsom played the bunker shot to six feet and calmly sank the birdie putt to clinch a one-shot victory for his side. Newsom and Williams posted a second straight 7-under 63 for a two-day total of 14-under 126 to best Trueworthy and McCoy, who had eagled the 18th to force the final-hole drama.

"It's always has to be dramatic," Newsom said. "I mean, how many times have I been in that bunker? Eight million times. It was probably not as as problematic for me as it would be for most guys that aren't members here."

When first approached after the round, Newsom was quick to start the debrief by praising Williams, who made critical putts in the middle of the round to keep the side near the top of the leaderboard. Williams made a key up-and-down for par on the windblown 8th hole when Newsom had hit his drive into the water. He then added birdies on 9 and 10 to shift the momentum of the side's round.

"It was great," Williams said. "I'm a little disappointed in 17 and 18, but again, I knew that he was going to handle it." 

McCoy and Trueworthy rallied after Monday's 65 for an 8-under 62 on Tuesday to get into the mix, finishing at 13-under 127. Jay Serrao and Steve Serrao, the 2025 champions, finished at 12-under 128 after shooting back-to-back 64s. First-round leaders Tom Follain and Mike Howell followed their opening 62 with a 2-under 68 to finish in fourthat 10-under 130. Three sides tied for fifth at 9-under 131: Jason Pool and Francesco Romano; Keith Decker and Scott Shingler; and Buck Brittain and Jon Hurst.

NOTABLE

• Newsom, an ophthalmologist, hasn't played in the Senior Four-Ball since he paired with Keith Decker in 2021 at Boonsboro CC. It's his second title in the event.

• Williams, a member at Sleepy Hole GC, won his first VSGA title. According to exhaustive research, he's also the first person with the last name Williams to win a VSGA title.

• The side is exempt into the 61st VSGA Four-Ball Championship at Chatmoss Country Club later this month.
• Up by a stroke, Williams and Newsom each missed the green on 17 and made bogey, setting up the final-hole dramatics.
• The Serraos have finished T3 or better five times in the last six years in this event.
• Three-time champions Hurst and Brittain made the move of the day, jumping 13 shots on the leaderboard into the tie for fifth after posting a 7-under 63 on Tuesday.

QUOTABLE

• "He's always made me feel comfortable. That's the thing. Anytime I felt nervous, he stepped in and brought me back down to reality." -- Williams
• "On 17, I lost my concentration a little bit. On 18, I said to myself, I play here enough, I can birdie this hole." -- Newsom

• "I thought that kind of got us going," Williams said, with Newsom adding, "that was the turning point." -- regarding Williams' up and down on 8.

• "Hit driver right in the middle and had 230 in, then hit 4-hybrid up there to about 6 feet. (McCoy) made a great birdie, so it freed me up to go ahead and put a good stroke on it." -- Trueworthy on the eagle on 18.

• "We knew coming in at 16, we were three back. We were at 10, they were at 13. We birdied 17, and we knew we had to make three on 18. Mike hit two great shots in and made the putt. We figured we might be one short. I was surprised they made bogey on 17, two solid players like that. But 62, we can't complain about that. We played really well." -- McCoy
• "We were pretty sure he was going to make it. He grew up playing here, he knows the course. We figured he'd leave it below the hole and give himself five, six feet up the hill. The chances were pretty good." -- McCoy on what he was thinking watching Newsom's bunker shot.

Day 1: International CC duo races to one-stroke lead

By Chris Lang

PORTSMOUTH -- International Country Club's Tom Follain and Mike Howell posted an 8-under round of 62 on Monday to take the 18-hole lead at the 44th VSGA Senior Four-Ball Championship at Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club. 

Follain, who turned 50 last summer, is playing in his first Senior Four-Ball Championship. He's joined by Howell, a past winner of the VSGA Super Senior Stroke Play and Super Senior Four-Ball Championships, who at 68 showed he still has the game to compete with the "young guys" in the senior ranks. 

Follain did a lot of the heavy lifting, shooting 5-under 65 on his own ball on a windy day on the shores of the Elizabeth River.

"He dragged the old man around today," Howell said with a laugh afterward.

Follain, however, added that he was freed up to attack because of Howell's steady play. The ham-and-egg performance gave the duo a one-stroke lead over longtime Elizabeth Manor member Roger Newsom and partner Dave Williams Jr.

Defending champions Jay Serrao and Steve Serrao lurk two strokes behind at 6-under 64.

NOTABLE

• Follain birdied holes 4, 5, and 8 on the front nine and finished the round with birdies on 16 and 17. Howell contributed birdies on holes 9, 10, and 18, and the duo shot a bogey-free round. 

• Newsom, a finalist at the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur and a two-time State Open of Virginia champion, grew up playing Elizabeth Manor and his course knowlede was evident early, as he birdied the first four holes, then added two more at 12 and 13. The side avoied bogeys and Williams chipped in with a birdie on 17.

• Jay Serrao, who has a flair for making long, dramatic putts, drained a 45-foot birdie putt on No. 13 that left brother Steve celebrating. They had one hiccup when both players bogeyed No. 14, but Steve added a birdie on 15 and Jay notched one on 18 to keep the side within striking distance. Steve Serrao is at the end of a stretch of 13 rounds in 14 days. Jay, meanwhile, is shaking off some rust as his home course -- Cavalier G&YC -- has been closed for renovations, meaning he was only playing his fifth round of the year.
• Keith Decker and Scott Shingler, who won this event in 2024 at Westwood Country Club, are one of five sides lurking three shots off the lead after posting a 5-under round of 65. Also in that group is Jason Pool and Francesco Romano, both of whom were on winning VSGA Four-Ball sides; Mike Ligon and Jack Catlett, who won both VSGA Super Senior 65-plus partner events last year; Mark McCoy and Michael Trueworthy; and Alex Sleeker and Tom Vlahakis, who played together in a U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
• Buck Brittain and Jon Hurst, who had a string of three straight wins in this event snapped in 2024, shot a 2-under 68 and are six shots off the pace. They made three birdies and a bogey on the front nine but stalled on the back, finishing the round with nine straight pars.

QUOTABLE

• "All those birdie putts are easier when your partner is rolling. He made a couple of great pars," Follain said, with Howell adding, "I freed him up a few times. The putter was hot today for him."

• "Really pure. Fast, but not penal. And they watered them last night, so they seemed a little more reasonable in some of the greasier spots," Follain on the greens at Elizabeth Manor." -- Follain on Elizabeth Manor's greens.

• "It's going to take another round like that to be competitive. You look at the scores from the Eastern (Amateur) the last few years, and you figure someone's going to score a low 60s round. I'm sure they're going to do it again tomorrow. It's all about having fun, making a lot of birdies, hoping to not make any bogeys. It sounds easy when you say it that way." -- Follain

• "We both drove it exceptionally well and very straight. We didn't have any balls out of play, and we hit driver pretty aggressively all day, and we were never out of the hole. Mike drove it like a Tour pro today. Made it easier to hit driver after that." -- Follain
• "I had just come back from playing the Giles (Invitational) up at Kinloch, and it was pretty tough up there. I got lucky. I didn't hit a good drive on 1, but I hit a wedge up there to 10 feet, and the putt went in. Then the next one went in, and the next one went in, and the next one went in." -- Newsom
• "I know every inch of this golf course. Any time there's a tournament here, it's special. I've played in several Easterns here. I won a U.S. Mid-Am qualifier here. Bring me back here, and we can go." -- Newsom
• "When I saw it was at Elizabeth Manor, I said I'm going to text (Newsom) before anybody else did. We've played together a bunch. I thought we'd team up well here together. Hopefully we can make a few more putts tomorrow." -- Williams
• "We wanted to stay in it and not be too far back," Jay Serrao
• "The whole front nine, we had better birdie chances, they just didn't go in. Then you start getting a little pressure. Then you look at the leaderboard, and you realize we were only two shots back. I just wanted to have a chance tomorrow." -- Steve Serrao