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Dates: Tuesday, July 7 - Thursday, July 9
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's a tie after 54 holes, a sudden-death playoff will determine the champion.
Starting times: Starting at 8 a.m. off Nos. 1 and 10 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Starting at 8 a.m. off No. 1 on Thursday.
Defending champion: Colton Rodgers
USGA Exemption Event: The winner earns an exemption in the upcoming U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
Host site: Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech
(Ethan Evans celebrates his par putt on 18 on Thursday, which clinched the Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech record. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
RADFORD -- Growing up as a member of Northern Virginia's Army Navy Country Club, Ethan Evans watched from afar as fellow members David Stanford and Kelly Chinn won VSGA Junior Stroke Play championships, Stanford's titles in 2019 and 2021 sandwiched around Chinn's win in 2020.
"I was only like 8 or 9, and just seeing them winning, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, that's what I want to do," Evans said.
Evans joined those names -- among many others -- in dominant fashion on Thursday at Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech, firing a three-day total of 14-under-par 202 to post a dominant nine-stroke victory in the 74th VSGA Junior Stroke Play Championship.
"To now put my name on that trophy, it's definitely something that's so cool," Evans said. "Just to look back on it, 8-year-old Ethan always wanted to do it, and now he did it."
Evans opened Thursday's third and final round with a three-shot lead over CJ Lee and didn't pull away until toward the end of the front nine. After opening with a birdie, he parred the next seven holes before finding another gear. A birdie on No. 8 was the first of five birdies in a row. He added two more on 14 and 16 and was threatening the all-time margin of victory in this championship until he failed to get up and down for par from right of the green on 17. Evans made a two-putt par on the final hole and gave a muted fist pump, knowing the task had been completed.
Evans earned the USGA's golden ticket into the upcoming U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, which will be his second appearance in the event. He said he figures to take some big lessons from his first time playing in the event when he was 14.
"I missed the cut there, so I have a little bit of revenge in mind," Evans said. "I want to make match play. I'm super excited for it, and I think my game is ready."
Evans finished nine strokes clear of Noah Maclauchlan, who rallied from a 77 on the first day to shoot 68-66 over the next two days or a three-day 211. His third-round 66 tied the Pete Dye River Course record from the maroon tees, a distinction that lasted all of 45 minutes, as Evans' 65 then broke the course mark.
Maclauchlan, a member at Magnolia Green Golf Club, got the best of Evans in a playoff at the Lanto Invitational at Blacksburg Country Club in June, but Evans came out on top this time. Of all people, Maclauchlan said he knew Evans had this sort of performance in him.
"Ethan's approach game is one of the best I've seen," Maclauchlan said. "I would say from 8-iron all the way down to the wedge, he's never outside of 15 feet. Even on a decent to mediocre putting day, he's going to make some birdies. So it's no surprise when the putter heats up what he can do. He's a great player, and an even better kid."
Richmond's Ben Cowgill posted a three-day 3-under 213 to finish alone in third, a stroke clear of fellow Richmond area players Samuel Francis and Jamie Bliley.
The week, though, belonged to Evans, nearly from start to finish. A double bogey to end the first round left him in a three-way tie for first after 18 holes, but after that, he was dominant, finishing with 14 birdies and two bogeys over the final 36 holes. With college coaches from around the region in attendance, Evans -- a rising high school junior -- couldn't have picked a better stage to put on a show.
"I'll credit the field. There were a lot of really good players out here, it wasn't just me they were looking at," Evans said. "I was able to show that I'm able to beat a really good field, and by a big margin too. I think I was able to show some aspects of my game that I think they really liked. It was definitely a cool experience."
NOTABLE
The U.S. Junior Amateur will be held July 20-25 at Saucon Valley CC in Bethlehem, Pa.
Evans' final tally of 202 was the fourth lowest in history and tied for the second lowest score for a winner (with Jake Mondy in 2011). Kelly Chinn holds the record with a 194 at a par-70 James River Country Club in 2020. Pete Dye River Course played at par 72.
(Ethan Evans, Isaiah Cantrell, and Landon Hermansky share a laugh during Wednesday's second round. Credit: Nate Wise/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
RADFORD -- After Tuesday's first round of the 74th VSGA Junior Stroke Play Championship, Ethan Evans made two points about his play. He wanted to take the positives of his first 16 holes, and learn some lessons from his final two holes, when he went bogey-double bogey to stumble to the finish line at Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech.
The rising high school junior from Fairfax Station's scorecard on Wednesday backed up his Tuesday talk. Evans posted a 5-under 67 that included birdies on 16 and 17 and a nervy par save on 18, giving him a three-stroke lead over McLean's CJ Lee heading into Thursday's third and final round.
Evans and Lee -- who played in the group just ahead of Evans -- were locked in a tight battle until Evans' late-round surge. Lee made bogeys on 16 and 18, turning those final holes into a four-shot swing that put Evans in the lead.
They'll be joined in the final grouping on Thursday at 10 a.m. by Floyd's Isaiah Cantrell, who will begin his Radford career on this course next month. Cantrell returned an even-par 72 and finished the day at 2-under 142, five strokes back of the lead. A pair of Richmond area players -- Harrison Beaudoin and Ben Cowgill -- are tied for fourth at 1-under 143.
NOTABLE
Evans had just one misstep on Tuesday, a bogey on the par-4 8th hole. Aside from that, he made six birdies and 11 pars to post his 5-under round.
Cantrell made an eagle on the par-5 3rd hole but gave it back with a double bogey on No. 8. He was within striking distance of the lead until bogeys on 13 and 17 dropped him to level par for the day.
QUOTABLE
"Yesterday, I made a mess, I bogeyed 17 and doubled 18. Today, I just said, even par, I'm happy. 1-over even. They're two tough holes. Really today, on 17, I hit an 8-iron downwind from 185 and it went to 10 feet up the hill, so I was able to make that and I was really excited about that. On 18, I didn't want to go in the water, so I missed it left, but I missed it in a good spot, then hit it into the bunker. Then I made a good 6-footer there for par. It was exciting because I told myself I didn't want to lose any strokes on those two holes, and I was able to do it." -- Ethan Evans
"I've had a lot of opportunities this summer, being around the lead, being in the final group. I think I know how to do it. I'm just going to go out and play my game. Some days it goes your way, some days it doesn't. Just stay around the lead, and you never know what's going to happen around the stretch." -- Evans
(Ethan Evans was one of three players to post 2-under rounds of 70 on Tuesday. Credit: Nate Wise/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
RADFORD -- A trio of players lead a bunched leaderboard after the first day of the 74th VSGA Junior Stroke Play Championship at Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech. Poquoson's Landon Hermansky, Floyd's Isaiah Cantrell, and Fairfax Station's Ethan Evans each returned 2-under rounds of 70 and will head into Wednesday's second round with a one-shot lead over McLean's Christian Lee.
Four others ended Tuesday within two strokes of the lead -- Moseley's Liam Maclauchlan (the 2025 VSGA Amateur champion), Richmond's Jamie Bliley, Newport News' Thomas Aman, and Glen Allen's Samuel Francis. Four more players were tied for ninth at 1-over 73.
After Wednesday's second round, the field will be cut to the low 45 players and ties for Thursday's third and final round. There are currently four players tied for 45th at 8-over 80.
NOTABLE
No hole gave players more trouble on Tuesday than the par-4 18th, which runs along the New River and features tricky rough and multiple greenside bunkers. It played at a 4.97 stroke average, with only two players (Tanner Hesse and Chase Harris) making birdie. Twenty-eight players made bogey, and 19 made double-bogey or worse. "I think it's mainly the tee shot," Ethan Evans said. "You can't bail left because of the bunker. You can't leave it short because there are reeds on the left, and right is all hazard. It's really an intimidation thing. When you're in the fairway, it's not that bad. But standing on that tee box, it's hard shot."
Two of the three co-leaders made eagle on Tuesday, with Hermansky going the traditional route on the par-5 9th (long drive, green in two, reasonable eagle putt) and Evans going the less traditional route on the par-4 15th (hole out from 180 yards with a 7-iron). Cantrell, who will play for Radford University's golf team this upcoming season, finished with four birdies and two bogeys.
QUOTABLE
"I had a little bit of a mess-up coming in, but I just need to take the positives from the first 16 holes and take some lessons from the end." -- Ethan Evans
"Last week, I played the MAPGA Junior and played pretty solid, got third. A couple of days before that, I qualified for the second round of U.S. Amateur qualifying. So my game's been pretty solid. A couple of small tweaks that I've done, but overall, I like where it's at." -- Evans