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Dates: Friday, September 26-Sunday, September 28
Format: 54 holes of stroke play. The top 50 percent of the field and ties after two rounds will advance to Sunday's third and final round.
Host site: Poplar Grove Golf Club
Day 3: Jordan birdies 18 to claim victory
(Joey Jordan celebrates after sinking the winning putt on 18 on Sunday. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
AMHERST -- In Joey Jordan's mind, there was going to be no easier way to win his first Virginia State Golf Association championship. He had about 15 feet for birdie on 18, tied with two others who were already in the clubhouse. The power was in his hands. One deep breath, one read, one perfect stroke. The sound of a ball rattling in a cup. A torrent of cathartic emotion released.
The second Jordan's putt fell to secure a one-shot victory over Brandon Ramsuer and Marshall Tinsley, he looked at the gallery assembled right of the 18th green at Poplar Grove Golf Club and screamed, "Come on!!," fists pumping. A career filled with almosts and runner-up finishes washed away, as he reveled in his first victory.
"I've been so close in so many different areas, and to finally do this ... the round kind of exhibits the struggle I've been going through," Jordan said. "Not a great start, really battling back, firing on all cylinders, then a brutal beat, then heroics at the end. It's kind a depiction of what my year has felt like.
"I didn't plan to yell. I don't even remember what I said. It was just, oh my God the relief. And the joy."
Jordan won the rain-shortened championship with a two-round total of 5-under 139. His 1-under 71 in the second round -- which began in driving rain on Saturday and ended in brilliant sunshine early Sunday afternoon -- was an adventure, featuring a double bogey on the par-4 15th. He entered that hole with a three-shot lead and headed to the 16th tee tied.
Jordan failed to get up and down for birdie on 16 and just missed draining a long birdie putt on the par-3 17th. Meanwhile, in the group ahead, Ramsuer and Tinsley headed to 18 tied with Jordan at 4-under. Ramsuer left his approach short on the final hole but got up and down from the crabgrass for par. Tinsley had a 10-foot birdie putt that could have put him in the lead but it singed the left edge, and he settled for par and waited to see what Jordan would do behind him.
Riding a surge of adrenaline, Jordan -- known as a bomber off the tee -- nearly drove the green on 18, his tee shot settling in the rough just off the edge of the green. He hit a solid chip that just wouldn't roll out toward the hole on the soft green, leaving plenty of work to do to cash in for birdie. The putt fell, and the celebration was on.
"I kind of told myself, this is the easiest it's going to get here," Jordan said. "I've got a putt to win, and everyone else is done. Just make sure you get this one to the hole and hit your line. Thank goodness it did."
NOTABLE
- Play resumed at 9 a.m. on Sunday after Saturday's round was suspended. The second round essentially stood as the final round.
- The top five players and ties are exempt from qualifying for next year's VSGA Amateur Championship at Bayville Golf Club. Along with Jordan, Ramsuer and Tinsley, Drew Brockwell (4th, -3), Gus Lascola (T5, -2), Colin Kent (T5, -2), and Andrew Crowley (T5, -2) earned those exemptions.
- Brockwell's 3-under 68 was the best round of the day and helped him move 12 spots up the leaderboard after opening with a 73 on Friday.
QUOTABLE
- "I really hit what I thought was going to be a perfect chip. But since my ball was laying against the grain, it just stopped dead. Fortunately, I caught a little bit of a teach from both sides from my playing partners. The yelling and the fist pump was more relief. It was brutal last year, getting beat by Utley, who played amazing. I had a tough start to that round, like I did today, so it kind of brought me back there. I wanted to make sure the same thing didn't happen again. I battled hard. Things were going smoothly. I had a good comfortable lead then made a dumb mistake on 15. But I bounced back, and the beautiful drive on 18, then chipping and making the putt in front of all of my friends who were watching. It was great." -- Jordan
- "It's been a tough year up until recently. I've got to give a shoutout to my dad (David). We went on a once-in-a-lifetime golf trip to Scotland, about a month ago. Since then, it's really brought me back to why I like to play golf. I was really getting down on myself, beating myself up all the time. We took the most amazing trip. We had the best time, father and son and some friends of ours. It really reminded me of why I play and why I love this game. I know he's not here, but he's going to be my first phone call. It was awesome. I'm really happy." -- Jordan
- "Friday, when I played 18, I laid up. But today, I knew standing on the tee that I needed to make a birdie. I was just going to unload on a driver. It was the first driver I hit full speed the whole entire tournament, and it was the best drive of the tournament and probably the best month for me." == Jordan
- "I guess I didn't pay enough attention to when (Ryan) Stinnett putted. I thought his stayed pretty straight but mine broke a little bit more left than I though and it lipped out on the low side." -- Tinsley
- "I was very proud of the way the first eight holes went, because it was ugly. I don't think I hit a fairway until 11, and I only hit two greens in regulation on the front. So it was a scramble. ... I always just try to stay in the fight and give myself a chance. That's all you can hope for." -- Tinsley
- "Coming back out on the restart, I was on top of the hill on 3, and honestly, I still don't know how to play that hole correctly. I think I took six clubs with me in the fairway and we had about 10 minutes to think about it. The next shot went into the hazard, had to take a drop, and bogeyed immediately. I kind of felt like I was playing from behind after that. Really, the rest of the round, I took care of the par 5s and birdied the short par 4. Really didn't make anything of distance. I had some looks, they just didn't go today. Joey made the putt on the last hole, and that's what it takes." -- Ramsuer
Day 2: Unrelenting rain shortens championship
By Chris Lang
AMHERST -- Heavy rain throughout Central Virginia on Saturday morning continued into Saturday afternoon, leaving some greens at Poplar Grove Golf Club underwater at times. After a nearly 2 1/2-hour suspension of play in the morning, the skies appeared to clear momentarily, and players went back out in hopes of finishing the second round of the 49th Virginia State Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship. No more than 30 minutes later, the skies opened anew with drenching rains, and with the golf course unplayable in places and not much hope to resume later in the afternoon and beat dwindling daylight, the round was suspended.
With most of the top half of the leaderboard only through two to four holes, the decision was made to continue Saturday's second round on Sunday morning, starting at 9 a.m. The second round will stand as the final round, and there will be no cut.
First-round leader Colin Kent made par on his first two holes and enters Sunday at 4 under par with a one-shot lead over Joey Jordan and Allen Clarke. Brandon Ramsuer and Andrew Crowley are two shots back at 2-under. All five players were through two holes when play was suspended for the second time.
This will be the first rain-shortened VSGA Mid-Amateur since 2006, when David Partridge won the title in 36 holes at Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club in Virginia Beach. Weather conditions in the Amherst area are expected to be much better on Sunday -- partly cloudy skies with a high of 81.
Day 1: Jordan, Kent tied for the lead
(Colin Kent, left, and Joey Jordan each posted rounds of 4-under 68 on Friday. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
AMHERST -- On a day that Poplar Grove Golf Club was playing nearly 8-over par for the field, Colin Kent and Joey Jordan managed to find answers and post 4-under-par rounds of 68 to share the 18-hole lead at the 49th Virginia State Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship.
Kent and Jordan are a stroke clear of Allen Clarke, a member at nearby Ivy Hill Golf Club in Forest. Three players were tied for fourth at 2-under 70: Andrew Crowley, Brandon Ramsuer, and 2019 Mid-Am champion Marshall Tinsley.
The co-leaders had one thing in common on Friday, as they both eagled the drivable par-4 14th hole, making putts from roughly the same distance (20 feet) after driving the green, Kent with a 4-wood, Jordan with a 4-iron. Kent also eagled the par-5 6th, nearly holing out from the fairway for albatross before settling for a tap-in eagle.
The Mid-Amateur is a championship for players 25 and older. After Saturday's second round, the event will be cut to the lowest 50 percent of the field and ties for Sunday's third and final round.
NOTABLE
- Jordan started on the inward nine and opened with two "fluke" bogeys, as he put it. The eagle on 14 got him back to level par, and he made birdies and 16 and 17 before a bogey on 18. He played the front nine bogey-free with three birdies.
- Kent had gotten it to 6-under for the day before dropping two shots when he hit it out of bounds on the par-5 16th, where he made bogey.
- Clarke was steady all day, finishing with four birdies and one bogey.
- Tinsley was at even par through 17 holes before holing out from the fairway on 18 for a walk-off eagle.
- Among those tied for eighth at even par are Poplar Grove members Ryan Stinnett and Tyler Lapp.
- The other past champion in the field, 2017 winner Justin Young, posted a 1-over 73 and is tied for 14th.
- The par-5 3rd hole played nearly a full stroke over par for the day (5.99), yielding only seven birdies and 25 double bogeys or worse.
QUOTABLE
- "They were kind of like fluke bogeys. They were both from good tee balls, so they were fluke bogeys and I knew that. I knew I was hitting the ball well. For me, that's the main thing in scoring. Out here, you've got to drive it well to get in position, which I was doing. So I just reminded myself to stay positive. My dad, for those who know him, is the most positive guy out there. I just heard his voice in my head and made a few more good swings. I'm hitting it nice, which is great. I just have to clean up some of the dumb stuff, which is kind of my M.O. anyway. Pretty normal round for me, all things considered." -- Joey Jordan
- "Feeling solid. Game's in a good spot. I haven't been playing a ton. But after the four-ball, I left with a lot of confidence. Good to see birdies being made." -- Jordan
- "That's the No. 1 thing out here, you have to hit it straight off the tee -- whether it's long or not. I hit a lot of 2-irons, and I hit driver when I felt comfortable. It's really what I feel in that moment, I'll do it. It's so penal in the rough, it's wet, thick and high, and there's trees and hazards everywhere." -- Jordan
- "I made all kinds of putts. I probably made five or six putts outside of 15 feet. They were going in from everywhere." -- Colin Kent
- "On 6, I got lucky on my drive, pushed it and it went way down there. I had a 9-iron and almost made it, put it to 4 inches. Tap-in eagle, that helps the score." -- Kent
- "I didn't get to play a practice round. I like the layout, fun to play. It was a little wet out there today, lot of embedded balls, but overall we had a good time out there. And the greens were rolling fantastic." -- Kent
- "I was just trying to come out here and put myself in position, so I was very happy with the round today." -- Kent