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Dates: Tuesday, July 8 - Thursday, July 10
Format: 54 holes of stroke play, with the field cut to the low 45 players and ties for Thursday's third and final round. If there is a tie after 54 holes, a sudden-death playoff will be utilized to determine a champion.
Host site: Two Rivers Country Club
Day 3: Rodgers holds off Cummins for one-shot victory
(Colton Rodgers, white hat, laughs with friends after winning the 73rd VSGA Junior Stroke Play Championship. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
WILLIAMSBURG -- Colton Rodgers hit his tee shot out of bounds on No. 16 at Two Rivers Country Club during Tuesday's second round of the 73rd Virginia State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play Championship. He was determined not to make the same mistake again in Wednesday's final round.
Instead, he striped the ball down the middle on the par-5 hole, hit his 6-iron approach to the middle of the green, then sank a 40-foot eagle putt that elicited a roar from the assembled gallery. The eagle proved to be the difference as the 15-year-old Rodgers made two pars down the stretch and held off 36-hole leader Josh Cummins to win the title and an automatic berth into the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
Rodgers, a member at River Bend Club, posted rounds of 67-72-66 for a three-day total of 11-under 205, one stroke better than Cummins. Rodgers, a rising sophomore at The Potomac School in McLean, returned a bogey-free 6-under round on Wednesday. The slip-up on 16 in the second round (a double bogey) was the final bogey of the tournament for Rodgers.
Cummins was in prime position to force a playoff -- if not win outright -- after his drive on the par-4 18th settled in the first cut, just right of the fairway. Cummins had 60 yards in but caught a flier out of the rough, and his ball landed in the left greenside bunker. He was unable to get up and down for par, securing Rodgers' victory.
NOTABLE
- Cummins was the 16-18 age group winner with his three-day total of 10-under 206. Because the overall winner cannot win his age group, Oakton's Ryan Hooker -- the youngest player in the field -- was the 15-and-under age group winner with an even-par 216.
- Rodgers is exempt into the Junior Stroke Play Championship as long as he's age eligible to play in it.
- Neil Kulkarni finished at 7-under 209 to finish alone in third.
- Matthew Hartley and Ben Cowgill each returned 6-under rounds of 66 to match Rodgers for best round of the day. Hartley moved 10 spots up the leaderboard with his round and tied for fourth with David Goode at 6-under 210.
QUOTABLE
- "It feels amazing. I definitely feel like my game has elevated a lot. I kept feeling like I was getting closer. It's a really good feeling to finally get a win and know I've got it in me." -- Rodgers
- "I got to the tee box, and I hit it OB yesterday. I tried to erase that from my mind. Today, I hit it down the fairway and had 201 left, took 6-iron and tried to put it in the middle of the green, and I did just that. I had a 40-footer, going right to left, just what I wanted. And I cashed it." -- Rodgers on the eagle on 16.
- "It was awesome. I knew I had to keep it together. I couldn't get too excited, I had two holes to play. It was tight. But just hearing my loved ones cheer for me, it was awesome." -- Rodgers
- "A fish flopped in my backswing (on 17), so I had to back off. But I was able to put a good swing on it." -- Rodgers
- "I was sitting with my family and friends. I knew we were tied. It was too bad he got a flier and missed it to the left. I was rooting for him. But I'm glad I could come out with the win." -- Rodgers
- "It's sweet. I'm stoked. I got a second opportunity and I capitalized. I want to make the best of it." -- Rodgers on missing qualifying for the U.S. Junior Am but getting into the field via this win.
- "It kind of feels right on schedule. I've been waiting for something. I've been grinding hard. I haven't had a lot of good results this year. But as I hit my summer stride, anything is possible. It feels right." -- Rodgers on the win.
Day 2: Cummins posts 67, holds two-shot edge
(Josh Cummins watches his drive on No. 6 Wednesday at Two Rivers CC. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
WILLIAMSBURG -- The opening day of the 73rd Virginia State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play Championship featured a pair of rising high-school sophomores at the top of the leaderboard. Wednesday, a pair of players reaching the end of their junior careers took center stage.
Christiansburg's Josh Cummins, bound for Longwood next month, posted a 5-under-par 67 on Wednesday at Two Rivers Country Club, giving him a two-day aggregate total of 8-under 136 and a two-shot lead heading into Thursday's third and final round. Right behind him is Ashburn's Neil Kulkarni, set to begin his college career at Columbia next month. Kulkarni returned a second straight 3-under 69 and sits in second at 6-under 138.
Three players were tied at 5-under 139: William & Mary bound Talon Dingledine (Richmond), rising sophomore Colton Rodgers (Great Falls), and rising junior Samuel Han (Ashburn). Dingledine backed up his opening 68 with a 71; Rodgers slipped to an even-par 72 after Tuesday's 5-under 67; and Han returned a 69 after shooting 70 the first day.
Cummins, Kulkarni, and Han will form the final grouping Thursday and tee off at 10 a.m. The penultimate group (9:50 a.m.) features Rodgers, Dingledine, and Virginia Beach's Max Bradshaw, who sits alone in sixth at 68-72--140.
The winner of the Junior Stroke Play earns an automatic berth into the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, unless that winner is Kulkarni, who has already qualified.
NOTABLE
- Cummins, who was a semifinalist at the recent VSGA Amateur, started strong with three straight birdies out of the gate. His only misstep was a bogey on 10. He finished by alternating birdie with par starting at No. 14.
- Kulkarni kept mistakes to a minimum, finishing with four birdies and just one bogey on the par-5 14th.
- Cummins and Kulkarni were the only two players to post rounds in the 60s both days.
- Three players are tied for seventh at 3-under 141, all rising seniors: Gate City's Carter Wolfe, Richmond's Charles Lange, and Blacksburg's Cameron Sharp.
- Trace Reavis, a rising senior from Galax, posted the round of the day, a 7-under 65 to surge into the top 10 after opening with a 78 on Tuesday. Reavis had an eagle, seven birdies, and two bogeys.
- Another big mover was Moseley's Noah Maclauchlan, who recently committed to Liberty to play college golf. Maclauchlan followed his opening 76 with a 5-under 67 to move into a tie for 10th.
- Overcast skies kept temperatures in the high 80s on Wednesday, much more comfortable then Tuesday's brutal conditions when the heat index climbed above 112 degrees. The scores reflected that, with 17 players posting under-par rounds. Only 12 under-par rounds were posted on Tuesday.
- Forty-eight players made the 36-hole cut at 9-over 153 or better.
QUOTABLE
- "It was straight into the wind. I put it on the green and it spun back. Had a nice little 5-footer and made it." -- Cummins
- "Can't really complain about my ball striking. I made a couple of little swing changes in the last couple of weeks, and it's really working for me." -- Cummins
- "It would be my first ever tourney win, so yeah, it would be a game-changer." -- Cummins on the final round
- "I hit it a lot more solid today, shaped it a lot more solid. I left a couple of putts out there today, but I'm still pleased all around." -- Kulkarni
- "I think it did make a difference. Everything just felt better. I wasn't out there thinking about the heat the whole time, sweat wasn't dripping into my eyes. It was a lot better." -- Kulkarni on the relatively cooler conditions on Wednesday.
Day 1: Rodgers sets early pace on blistering day
(Colton Rodgers tees off on No. 12 Tuesday at Two Rivers CC. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
WILLIAMSBURG -- Colton Rodgers, a 15-year-old rising sophomore at The Potomac School in McLean, fired a 5-under-par 67 on Tuesday at Two Rivers Country Club to take the 18-hole lead at the 73rd Virginia State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play Championship.
Rodgers, a member at River Bend Club in Great Falls, holds a one-stroke edge over another rising sophomore, Max Bradshaw, and recent graduate and William & Mary bound Talon Dingledine. Another pair of recent graduates -- Neil Kulkarni (Columbia signee) and Josh Cummins (Longwood signee) -- posted 3-under rounds of 69 and stand tied for fourth.
Players will be re-grouped by score for Wednesday's second round, with Rodgers, Bradshaw, and Dingledine going out together in the final starting time at 11:30 a.m. The top 45 players and ties after Wednesday will advance to Thursday's third and final round.
NOTABLE
- Rodgers won the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference individual title as a Potomac School freshman last fall, posting a course-record 7-under 64 at Blue Mash Golf Course in Maryland along the way. Rodgers finished Tuesday with six birdies, an eagle, and three bogeys.
- Bradshaw, a member at Princess Anne CC, won his first AJGA event last month, carding 15 birdies on his way to a victory at the AJGA Tour Stafford Preview, held at Gauntlet Golf Club near Fredericksburg. He had four birdies, an eagle, and two bogeys on Tuesday.
- Dingledine, a member at Stonehenge G&CC, is a past VSGA Junior Match Play winner who also was stroke-play qualifying medalist at last month's VSGA Amateur, held at Birdwood Golf at Boar's Head Resort.
- Cummins is coming off an appearance in the semifinals at the VSGA Amateur, where he fell to eventual champion Liam Maclauchlan.
- Maclauchlan struggled to a 5-over 77 on Tuesday. Though he made four birdies -- including hitting his tee shot on the par-3 7th to 6 inches -- he couldn't avoid the big number, finishing with two double bogeys and a triple bogey. He'll enter Wednesday near the cut line.
- Twelve players posted under-par scores on Tuesday.
- Temperatures at Two Rivers were in the mid-90s by the middle of the afternoon, with a heat index of over 112 degrees.
- There were 11 eagles recorded on Tuesday, with six coming on the par-5 9th hole.