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Dates: Monday, August 11 - Friday, August 15
Format: Two rounds of stroke-play qualifying, with the top 32 players advancing to match play, which begins on Wednesday. Rounds of 32 and 16 on Wednesday; quarterfinals and semifinals on Thursday; 18-hole championship match on Friday morning.
Host site: Bay Creek Resort
Day 2: Shingler earns second straight stroke-play qualifying medal
(Scott Shingler, file photo. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
CAPE CHARLES -- Scott Shingler posted a 2-under 70 on Tuesday at Bay Creek Resort to earn stroke-play qualifying medalist honors and the No. 1 seed for match play at the 78th VSGA Senior Amateur Championship.
Shingler's 8-under aggregate total of 136 left him two strokes clear of defending champion Buck Brittain, whose second-round 68 tied Jon Hurst for low round of the day honors. Brittain defeated Shingler 3 and 1 in last year's Senior Amateur final. Hurst finished third in qualifying at 5-under 139. Paras Pandya posted rounds of 71 and 70 for a 3-under total of 141 to claim the fourth seed.
Shingler will open match play at 8 a.m. Wednesday against Somsak Chivavibual, who survived a 4-for-1 playoff to earn the final match-play spot. Brittain will meet Scott Bemberis; Hurst will square off against Dean Griffith; and Pandya will meet Thomas Garner.
Winners of Wednesday's round of 32 matches will advance to the round of 16, which will be held Wednesday afternoon.
NOTABLE
- After making just one bogey on Monday, Shingler had to work around four of them on Tuesday. He made six birdies to finish 2 under.
- Shingler is seeking his third straight appearance in the Senior Amateur final match. He beat Matt Sughrue in 2023 before losing to Brittain last year.
- Brittain, seeking his fourth Senior Amateur title, posted a bogey-free round on Tuesday. Starting on No. 10, he opened his round with a birdie before making nine straight pars. He made birdies on 2, 3, and 8 on his back nine.
- 2018 champion Cam Young worked around a triple bogey on the par-4 8th to post a 1-under 71 on Tuesday. He finished tied for sixth and will open match play against Mikeal Johnston.
- Three-time winner Keith Decker posted a 2-over 74 on Tuesday to finish at 6-over 150 and tie for 24th. He will open match play as the No. 28 seed against No. 5 seed Michael Hays.
- Two-time winner David Partridge tied for 14th at 3-over 147 and will open match play against Bill McClanan. The other past champion to advance to match play was 2017 winner Rich Buckner, who will face Kevin South in the round of 32.
Day 1: Shingler sets early pace in stroke-play qualifying
(Scott Shingler reads a putt earlier this year at the State Open of Virginia. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
CAPE CHARLES -- Scott Shingler won the VSGA Senior Amateur in 2023 and was stroke-play qualifying medalist and finalist in last year's event. He continued his strong play in this championship in the opening round of stroke-play qualifying at the 78th VSGA Senior Amateur Monday at Bay Creek Resort.
Shingler (Dominion Valley CC) posted a 6-under-par 66 Monday to take a two-stroke lead over Kevin Dillard (Army Navy CC) after the first 18 holes of qualifying. After Tuesday's second round of qualifying, the field will be cut to the low 32 players for match play, which begins on Wednesday.
Shingler made five birdies, an eagle, and a bogey in posting his 66. Defending champion Buck Brittain, who is seeking his fourth Senior Amateur title, posted a 2-under 70 to tie for third, comfortably inside the match-play cut line.
NOTABLE
- Shingler opened last year's Senior Amateur with a 66 as well. He posted a second-round 71 to earn medalist honors.
- Players are playing the Nicklaus course (front nine) and Palmer course front nine (back nine) for this week's event, as that rotation is considered the club's "championship course."
- Dillard started on the back nine and was 2 over through five holes before making three straight birdies. He birdied four of the first six holes on his back nine before a bogey on No. 7 dropped him to 4-under for the day.
- Joining Brittain in the tie for third were Dave Williams Jr. (Sleepy Hole GC), Alan Myers (The Federal Club) and Stephen Whitfield (Bayville GC).
- Jon Hurst, who won the VSGA Senior Stroke Play title earlier this year, posted a 1-under 71 and is in a tie for seventh with 2018 winner Cam Young, Bowen Sargent, 2011 and 2015 winner David Partridge, Paras Pandya, and Chad Seibert.
- Eight players were tied for 32nd at 4-over 76 and will scrap for a spot in match play on Tuesday. Included in that group is three-time winner Keith Decker and Duncan Hardcastle, who recently earned a spot in the U.S. Senior Amateur as an alternate.