Virginia Golfer Jan / Feb 2016 | Page 8

Around The Commonwealth from Virginia and West Virginia and a team from North and South Carolina. The Carolinas broke a 12-all tie after the first day of foursome and four-ball play at Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Carolinas won the singles matches 14½-9½ to seal the win. FALL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDUP 1st VSGA Four-Ball Match Play Championship: Keith Decker’s name is all over the VSGA record book, in individual, partner and team events. But he had never won an inaugural championship until pairing with Jon Hurst to claim the title in the first Four-Ball Match Play at Keswick Golf Club on the last weekend of October. Decker (Chatmoss CC) and Hurst (Fredericksburg CC) posted a 2 and 1 win over Vincent Nadeau (Spring Creek GC) and Kyle Bailey (Roanoke CC) in the championship match. Decker and Hurst made birdies on the first two holes during the title match to grab a 2-up lead and held on for the win. Decker clinched the match with a birdie putt on No. 17. The winning side trailed for just one hole in its three matches. Decker has been part of six winning sides in VSGA Four-Ball Stroke Play events. Hurst earned a title in a VSGA Four-Ball event for the first time. 1st VSGA Junior Golf Circuit Championship: Kurtis Grant (Army Navy CC) and Rory Weinfurther (Salisbury CC) won titles in the season-ending Junior Golf Circuit event. Grant, who also has AJGA and Hurricane Junior Tour event titles on 6 his 2015 resume, shot a 2-under 70 in the final round at The Country Club of Virginia’s Tuckahoe Creek Course. He posted a two-day 145 and finished a shot clear of Jack Sweeney (The Dominion Club). Weinfurther needed a playoff to top Amber Liu (VSGA Junior Golf Circuit) in the girls division. Both players posted rounds of 76-81 to reach the playoff, and Weinfurther made par on the first playoff hole to seal her win. 7th Mid-Atlantic Junior Invitational: The eight-member Virginia team rallied from a 15-stroke deficit after the first round to top Maryland by one stroke for its second straight Invitational win. The event was cut from 36 holes to 27 due to impending darkness at King Carter Golf Club. Virginia shot 665. Maryland finished at 666 and West Virginia finished third at 692. Jimmie Massie (Boonsboro CC) and Maryland’s Bennett Buch shot 109 to tie for individual medalist honors. 70th Captain’s Putter Matches: The 24-member Carolinas’ squad beat the Virginias 26½-21½ to end a four-year losing streak in the series of all-star matches between a team of regulars and seniors V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | J A N UA R Y / F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 6 GALLAGHER CLAIMS GOLFWEEK CROWN James Gallagher (Tidewater Amateur Golf Association) capped a strong 2015 season with a four-stroke victory in the Golfweek Senior Tour National Championship in mid-November in Hilton Head, S.C. Gallagher shot a 4-under 68 in the second round to finish ahead of Cory Walker of Orlando. Gallagher made three straight birdies on the back nine to take control of the final round. “I don’t know that it was my best back nine of the season,” Gallagher told the Daily Press newspaper. “But it was the best in a final round of a major tournament with the competition breathing right down my neck.” vsga.org TOP: MAGGIE WATTS/VSGA; VSGA FILE PHOTO (2) NEWS & NOTES GRIFFIN WINS IN URUGUAY Lanto Griffin, a former Virginia Commonwealth University standout and the winner of the 2015 Delta Dental State Open of Virginia, earned his first title on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica circuit in November, shooting a 9-under 271 to win the Roberto de Cenzo Punta del Este Open. Griffin finished two strokes clear of Rafael Campos, who was his roommate during his freshman year at VCU. Griffin tapped in for par on No. 18 in the final round to seal the win, a victory worth $31,000. “When I get under pressure, I get a little quick,” Griffin said. “I’m starting to learn how to manage that. You’re never going to perfect it. You’re never going to swing it great under pressure every time. You’re going to have bad shots. But mentally, I’ve kind of learned to manage it better in the last three or four months for some reason. It’s clicked, and I’m just really excited.”