RICHMOND — At its Annual Meeting—held Saturday at The Country Club of Virginia, Westhampton —the Virginia State Golf Association honored its 2024 Golfers of the Year, 2024 Service Award winners, and welcomed two new members to the Association’s Board of Directors. In addition, five additional Board members were reelected for the Class of 2027 via vote of VSGA membership.
At the VSGA winter Board of Directors meeting, held Friday at CCV, the board voted on and approved two returning officers for 2025. Craig Groenendaal (VSGA eClub) will serve as the association’s Vice President for a second one-year term, and Vern Inge (The Federal Club) will serve as the association’s Secretary/Treasurer, also for a second one-year term. Brian Maloney (Springfield G&CC) was elected as the association’s 40th President in 2024 and is serving the second year of his two-year term.
Anne Greever (Willow Oaks CC) will complete her Board of Directors term in 2025 as Immediate Past President.
BOARD ELECTION
The VSGA Nominating Committee met—and in accordance with Article VII of the Bylaws of the Virginia State Golf Association—selected the following candidates for election to the VSGA Board of Directors, Class of 2027.
- Jake Allison, Roanoke Country Club (first term)
- Somsak Chivavibul, River Bend Club (second term)
- Mark Cote, USGA/VSGA GC (third term)
- Katie Cox, Spotswood Country Club (second term)
- Lauren Greenlief, International Country Club (third term)
- Duncan Hardcastle, Independence Golf Club (second term)
- Jeff Whitmire, Williamsburg Golf Club (first term)
Glenn Gray, who has served on the VSGA Board since 2019, is the lone outgoing member of the Board. Gray is unable to serve his third term due to out-of-state relocation later this year.
2024 VSGA AWARD WINNERS
» The 2024 President’s Award was presented to Mike Crowley and Vinny Giles, who were recognized together for their work on the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. Crowley was instrumental in bringing the first USGA championship to Virginia in more than a decade, serving as general chairman of the 43rd U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, held at Kinloch Golf Club. Crowley’s son Andrew qualified for the championship and hit one of the first tee shots in the first round of stroke-play qualifying at Kinloch. Crowley, who retired as the Vice Chairman of Markel in 2017, has spent much of his time since then ensuring the success of the event.
Giles—Virginia Golf Hall of Famer and the only player to ever win the U.S. Amateur, British Amateur, and U.S. Senior Amateur—is the co-designer of Kinloch and remains a key figure at the club today. Giles’ and Crowley’s leadership supported the Kinloch staff and made the event a first-class experience for competitors, spectators, and volunteers alike.
» The 2024 Service to Golf Award was presented to Mike Hott, who recently announced his retirement after nearly 33 years at Salisbury Country Club in Midlothian. In his time as the club’s head professional and director of golf, he taught thousands of lessons to all levels of golfers, from beginner juniors to PGA Tour professionals. His pupils included two 2024 VSGA Golfers of the Year (Steve Serrao and David Partridge), along with PGA Tour winner and Class of 2024 Virginia Golf Hall of Fame inductee Robert Wrenn. Hott is a member emeritus of the Board of Directors of First Tee Greater Richmond and has served as a longtime member of the selection committee for the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame.
» Duncan Haley was the recipient of the 2024 Volunteer of the Year Award. Haley began volunteering with the VSGA at the 2014 State Open of Virginia when it was held at Ballyhack Golf Club in Roanoke. He quickly became a volunteer coordinator that the VSGA and Middle Atlantic PGA could depend on. His duties included coordinating spotters, player and spectator shuttles, and scoring, among many other duties. Haley’s service continued as the State Open moved back east to Independence Golf Club in 2021. Haley, a VSGA member at Hidden Valley Country Club, was a natural choice to coordinate volunteers at the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, as he helped supervise and coordinate the 300-plus volunteers needed to put on the event at Kinloch and Independence Golf Clubs.
» The 2024 Grow The Game Award was presented to Dr. Mike Goatley, who is Virginia’s Turfgrass Extension Specialist at Virginia Tech, where he is responsible for the statewide development and implementation of educational outreach programs for turfgrass management. For years, Goatley has worked closely with the VSGA-VIP Scholarship Foundation, helping facilitate a connection for graduate students in the Turfgrass program at Virginia Tech to receive scholarships based on their research on turfgrass in the golf industry. In 2024, he was integral to the VSGA partnering with Virginia Tech’s School of Turfgrass Science to enroll deserving member-club employees in an online program designed to grow the next generation of turfgrass professionals. Thirty-four VSGA member club employees received grants to attend the program for free. Goatley has also played a major role in the relationship between Virginia Tech and Independence Golf Club, helping to establish a research facility on the club’s short course.
GOLFER OF THE YEAR AWARDS
» Golfer of the Year—Logan Reilly (Loudoun G&C): Reilly, 17, became just the fourth player to win the VSGA Amateur Championship and State Open of Virginia in the same year (in the merged Open era, 1985-present), joining Mark Lawrence Jr., who accomplished the feat in 2020. Additionally, he became the first junior to win the State Open in the merged era. He also partnered with Nick Alexander to finish in a tie for second at the VSGA Four-Ball Championship. Reilly earned a spot on the U.S. Junior Presidents Cup team as a captain’s pick, and he rewarded captain Charley Hoffman by going 3-0-0 and helping the American team to victory. Reilly has signed to play for Auburn University’s golf team starting in the fall 2025 semester.
» Women’s Golfer of the Year—Lauren Greenlief (International CC): Greenlief turned another outstanding season into her record seventh Women’s Golfer of Year the nod. Only one other player—Virginia Golf Hall of Famer Donna Andrews—has won it as many as four times. Greenlief earned her third VSGA Women’s Amateur title, and first her first since 2018, by defeating Kanchana Duangsam 3 and 2 at River Bend Club in the final match. That win gave her automatic entry into the U.S. Women’s Amateur. At the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, Greenlief advanced to the semifinals. Greenlief represented the U.S. on the inaugural Women’s Concession Cup team, going 3-0 in her matches to help the Americans to a resounding victory.
» Junior Boys’ Golfer of the Year—Xander Goboy (VSGA Junior Golf Circuit): Goboy capped a strong junior career by winning the VSGA Junior Stroke Play Championship last July at The Federal Club, earning him a spot in the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. Goboy also teamed with Trey Marrion to win the MAPGA/VSGA Junior Four-Ball Championship for the third time. Goboy carded top-10 finishes at the Scott Robertson Memorial, AJGA Will Lowery Junior Championship, and Junior PGA Championship. Now a freshman at North Carolina State University, Goboy posted a top-10 finish in one of his first college events, the Rod Myers Invitational.
» Junior Girls’ Golfer of the Year—Kathryn Ha (Roanoke CC): Ha earned VSGA Junior Girls’ Golfer of the Year honors for the second straight year. Ha claimed her first VSGA Junior Girls’ title in July at James River Country Club, earning her an exemption into the U.S. Girls’ Junior, where she qualified for match play and advanced to the round of 16. She was a quarterfinalist at the VSGA Women’s Amateur, where she fell to eventual champion Lauren Greenlief in extra holes. Ha became the first player in history to win both a Virginia High School League individual title and the VHSL Girls Open in the same year. Ha paired with Elizabeth Rudisill, her future teammate at Vanderbilt University, to qualify for the 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
» Senior Golfer of the Year—Steve Serrao (Willow Oaks CC): Serrao, a seven-time VSGA champion, added two titles to his tally in 2024, winning the Senior Stroke Play Championship at Williamsburg Golf Club in June and pairing with brother Jay Serrao to win the VSGA Senior Multi-Format Team Championship at Lakeside Park Club in the fall. The pair also tied for third at the VSGA Senior Four-Ball Championship and went 1-0-1 playing together at the Captain’s Putter Matches. Steve was a force playing outside of VSGA events as well. He finished No. 1 in the VSGA Senior Men’s Player Rankings, finishing in the top 10 nine times in 11 starts in points tournaments. He won Senior titles at the Fox Puss and Two Rivers invitationals.
» Senior Women’s Golfer of the Year—Andrea Miller (The Club at Glenmore): Miller earned this honor for the fourth straight year after capping the season with a dominating victory in the VSGA Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship. Miller also advanced to the championship match at the VSGA Senior Women’s Amateur for a fifth straight year, but her streak of four titles in that event ended with a 4-and-3 loss to Kristin Shifflett in the championship match. Miller won the CCV Invitational senior title, tied for sixth at the Donna Andrews Invitational senior, tied for second with Cindy Thompson at the VSGA Senior Women’s Four-Ball Championship, and finished atop the VSGA Senior Women’s Player Rankings.
» Super Senior Golfer of the Year: David Partridge (Hermitage CC): A member of the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame, Partridge earned his second Super Senior Golfer of the Year nod in a row. Partridge’s 2024 was highlighted by a win in the VSGA Super Senior Stroke Play Championship (65+ division). That victory, in nearly 100-degree temperatures in July at Loudoun Golf & Country Club, was Partridge’s 15th in a VSGA championship, moving him into a tie for second all-time on the VSGA’s wins list with Vinny Giles. Partridge also earned victories in the Richmond Golf Association Super Senior Championship and the Fox Puss Invitational. He was a finalist at the VSGA Super Senior Amateur Championship (65+ division), where he fell to Dave Pulk in the final match. Partridge also paired with Allan Strange to finish tied for second at both the VSGA Super Senior Four-Ball Championship (65+ division) and the VSGA Super Senior Multi-Format Team Championship.
» Super Senior Women’s Golfer of the Year: Shawn McCullough (Mount Vernon CC): McCullough earned this nod for a second straight year after claiming the title in the season-ending VSGA Super Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship. McCullough fended off Casey Burley by one shot at Cavalier G&YC in that event. Previously, Burley nipped McCullough 1-up to win the title at the VSGA Super Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. McCullough as a key member of Mount Vernon’s winning squad at the VSGA Women’s State Team Matches and teamed with Diane Willkens to win the VSGA Senior Women’s Four-Ball title at Spotswood Country Club. McCullough also won the Women’s Southern Golf Association Tournament Division title and tied for second at the Maryland Women’s Open, Senior Amateur Division.