8th VSGA Team Championship

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Dates: Monday, April 6 and Tuesday, April 7

Note: This event was formerly known as the VSGA Multi-Format Team Championship.

Format: Monday: Two-person scramble. 11 a.m. shotgun start.

Both players play from the teeing area, one of the tee shots is selected and both players play their second shots from that spot. One of the second shots is then selected, and both players play their third shots from that spot, and so on until the ball is holed.

Tuesday: Modified alternate shot. 9 a.m. shotgun start. 

Host site: The Dominion Club

Day 2: Beach brothers win second title on second playoff hole

(Sam and Ben Beach embrace on the 18th green at The Dominion Club on Tuesday. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)

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Story by Chris Lang | Video by Erin Strickler

GLEN ALLEN -- Sam Beach had already watched one chance to clinch the 8th VSGA Team Championship slip by the hole in regulation. He wasn't going to let it happen again.

Given a second chance on the second hole of a playoff, Beach drained a short birdie putt to give him and brother Ben their second Team Championship title in the last four years Tuesday at The Dominion Club. The Hermitage Country Club duo emerged victorious from a three-side playoff over Willow Oaks' Steve Serrao and D.J. Dougherty, and Central Virginians Adam Marshall (Falling River CC) and Marshall Tinsley (Winton Farm).

Each side posted two-day totals of 12-under 132 in regulation to reach the playoff, which began on TDC's par-5 18th hole. On the first hole, Serrao nearly holed the side's second shot from the fairway for albatross, instead settling for a kick-in eagle chance. Seeing how close Serrao got, Sam Beach nearly matched him, his approach settling to five feet. Tinsley and Marshall were short of the hole on the green on their approach and were essentially eliminated at that point.

They returned to 18 tee for the second playoff hole. The Willow Oaks side selected Serrao's drive in the modified alternate shot format, but Dougherty's approached sailed left toward a fairway bunker. Though it didn't settle in the sand, it was puffed up on a tough lie, leaving Serrao a difficult approach. He "caught a flyer" and sailed the green approach a good 50 feet past the flagstick. Still, Dougherty nearly ran the birdie attempt in, with the ball catching the edge of the cup before frittering off. The Beaches completed a textbook up-and-down from just shy of the front of the green, with Ben's approach setting up Sam's winning putt.

The Beach brothers grew up playing at The Dominion Club and won the title by one stroke over Justin Young and Scott Shingler in 2023. They also won the VSGA Four-Ball title that year, though due to scheduling conflicts, won't be in the field for that event this year, making Tuesday's victory extra special.

QUOTABLE

• "This one feels better than the first one, if that's possible. We played great yesterday, it was kind of a stress-free scramble. Then we got out here today, the wind kicked up, we made a couple of bogeys. We were leading, then we were behind. But we played really solid on the back nine. Then you saw the playoff, it was a crazy deal. Steve hits it to eight inches, we think we're done. Then Sam hits it to five feet, and we're able to choke it in there and get back to 18. Super grateful to have a great partner and win at a place we grew up at. Very fun." -- Ben Beach

• "We sort of stepped on our tails in regulation there. I had probably had a 25-footer and needed to cozy it in there. (Sam) was like, 'get it in that circle of friendship,' and sure enough, it kind of trickled out just outside of the comfort zone." -- Ben Beach

• When asked if he thought about the first putt when stepping up the one in the playoff, Sam said: "Maybe a little bit. I was just like, don't do that again. Give it a good chance. I put a good stroke on it and it happened to fall with good pace, made the hole look bigger."
• "I've been playing with him for 35 years. We know how each other work and think, and we know what to say and what not to say. He's the best partner." -- Sam Beach
• "We were 2 over par and weren't doing anything positive all day, then all of a sudden we get four birdies coming in. We felt great. We had an eagle putt on 18, we didn't know it at the time, but we had an eagle on 18 to win it, and it was close. We did great." -- Serrao
  

NOTABLE

• Two sides made big moves by shooting the best modified alternate shot scores of the day, 3-under 69s -- Zach Schwab and James Fisher, and Kyle Bailey and Zack Wehrman. Schwab and Fisher moved up 17 spots to tie for eighth, and Bailey and Wehrman moved up 20 spots to tie for 12th.

• Serrao/Dougherty and Pedro Larrain/Nick Rakes each shot 2-under rounds of 70 on Tuesday. Larrain and Rakes finished alone in fourth at 11-under 133.

• Both Adam Horton/Del Baker and Ryan Rettberg/Charlie Drummond posted rounds of 1-under 71 and finished tied for fifth at 10-under 134.

• After Monday's eagle-fest in two-person captain's choice, there were just two eagles on Tuesday: Tinsley/Marshall on 15, and Bailey/Wehrman on 2.

Day 1: Aiming for second title, Beach brothers take lead

(Sam Beach, left, and Ben Beach tee off on No. 2 on Monday at The Dominion Club. Credit: Chris Lang/VSGA)

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By Chris Lang

GLEN ALLEN -- The Hermitage Country Club brother combo of Ben and Sam Beach posted a 12-under-par round of 60 on Monday at The Dominion Club to take the first-round lead at the 8th VSGA Team Championship, which opened with a round of two-person captain's choice. The second and final round, which will feature a modified alternate shot format, is scheduled for a 9 a.m. shotgun start on Tuesday.

Scores are typically low during the captain's choice portion of this championship, and Monday was no exception. With bright sunny skies, cool temperatures, and minimal wind, conditions were ideal for sides to go low. In all, seven sides shot scores of 10-under 62 or better. The Beach brothers, who won both the VSGA Four-Ball and VSGA Multi-Format Team Championship (the former name of this event) in 2023, hold a one-stroke edge over Danny Pedrazzi and Mark Hourigan Jr., and Marshall Tinsley and Adam Marshall heading into Tuesday.

NOTABLE

• The Beach brothers opened with a par on No. 1 before making six straight birdies to get their round going. They didn't make a bogey.

• Pedrazzi and Hourigan Jr. notched 11 birdies. They started on No. 4 with a par before making three straight birdies.

• Tinsley and Marshall worked around a bogey with 10 birdies and an eagle on No. 2. Tinsley won the VSGA Mid-Amateur in 2019 at The Dominion Club.
• Two-time event winners Brandon Ramsuer and Ryan Taylor are among the four sides at 10-under 62. Also in that group are Steve Serrao and D.J. Dougherty, Jonathan Hand and Jeff Donham, and Michael Hankins and Jeffrey Bennett.
• Overall, there were 14 eagles recorded on Monday, with 11 coming on the par 5s and three coming on the drivable par-4 15th hole.
• Scores tend to be much higher for the alternate shot round. For instance, even-par 72 was enough to get into a playoff last year.