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Dates: Monday, April 7 and Tuesday, April 8
Format: Monday: Two-person scramble (both players tee off, then both players hit the selected second shot, and so on, until the ball is holed).
Tuesday: Modified alternate shot (both players tee off, one tee shot is selected, and players alternate shots from there until the ball is holed). Shotgun start times: 11 a.m. on Monday, 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
Host site: The Dominion Club
Day 2: Bailey/Collins win with birdie in playoff
(Will Collins, left, and Kyle Bailey celebrate after Bailey sank an 18-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)
By Chris Lang
GLEN ALLEN -- Birdies were hard to come by on a blustery, chilly day at The Dominion Club on Tuesday. But Kyle Bailey and Will Collins managed to dial two up at the perfect time, leading them to victory in the 7th Virginia State Golf Association Multi-Format Team Championship.
Bailey drained an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 9 on the second hole of a playoff to secure the victory. On the first playoff hole, Bailey tapped in for birdie after Collins' eagle look just slipped by the hole.
The event's title was a bit of a misnomer this year, as Monday's opening round of two-person's captain's choice was rained out, leaving the championship to be decided in the much more difficult modified alternate shot format. The course was already playing at 6,909 yards, but Monday's rain left made the course play even longer. With little fairway rollout and constantly swirling winds, the stage was set for tough scoring conditions. Three sides tied for the 18-hole lead at even-par 72. The course yielded just 72 birdies (against 232 bogeys) to the field.
Bailey and Collins, members at Keswick Club, were joined by Elizabeth Manor G&CC's Del Baker and Adam Horton and Hermitage CC's Zachary Sterling and Ryan Walsh in the playoff. Bailey/Collins and Baker/Horton advanced with birdies on 18 (Sterling/Walsh made par), and the playoff continued on the par-3 9th hole.
Horton was first to putt on No. 9, and his 25-footer squeaked just to the left of the hole at the end. Bailey was next to putt. He and Collins agreed on a downhill, right-edge read, and Bailey gave it just enough juice to sink for the win.
NOTABLE
- Bailey has won three different VSGA partner championships with three different partners. He teamed with Harold Dill to win the Four-Ball, and he paired with Jeff Long to win the Four-Ball Match Play (which eventually was retired and turned into the Multi-Format).
- Collins is a former UVA standout who spent five years playing professional golf, mostly on what was then known as PGA Tour Latinoamerica. He regained his amateur status in 2022 and only recently began playing competition golf again.
- Defending champions Ryan Taylor and Brandon Ramsuer never got going on Tuesday and posted a 5-over 77 to finish five shots out of the lead. They were looking to become the first three-time winners of this event.
- Bailey and Ramsuer will compete together in next month's U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in New Jersey.
- Marshall Tinsley and Adam Marshall posted a 1-over 73 and finished alone in fourth, behind the three sides who advanced to the playoff.
QUOTABLE
- "Today was hard. We missed out on the captain's choice yesterday, where you kind of softball your way into this. We had to go straight into alternate shot, and we kind of hammed and egged it nicely. That's the key to these things." -- Bailey
- "Both of us drive it pretty well, which makes it easier. If you can at least play from near the fairway, that makes it a lot better." -- Collins
- "I swear, all of the holes were into the wind today, except for 18. I was telling Kyle, I had more long irons and mid irons into greens on par 4s than I've had in a very long time. But it was fun." -- Collins
- "We both agreed on a read, and that just makes you feel better. That one was downhill, down wind, so I just had to get it going." -- Bailey on the winning putt
- "It doesn't matter if you're playing for $10 or whatever at home, it's not the same as being in something like this." -- Collins on the pressure of a playoff.
Day 1: Rain washes out opening round
GLEN ALLEN -- Heavy and persistent rain on Monday washed out the opening round of the 7th Virginia State Golf Association Multi-Format Team Championship. The championship will be reduced to 18 holes of modified alternate shot play with a 9 a.m. shotgun start on Tuesday.
With The Dominion Club already soaked and the forecast calling for steady rain throughout the day on Monday, the VSGA made the decision to cancel the two-person captain's choice round. This marks the first time the championship has been reduced to 18 holes.