Around The Commonwealth
Virginia ' s Ben James is ranked 26th nationally in Golfstat ' s
NCAA Division I men ' s player rankings , third among freshmen nationally .
Alex Price
THE BRENNAN WATCH
By his lofty standards , past VSGA amateur champion and River Creek member Michael Brennan had a ho-hum fall , finishing outside of the top 40 in all four of his events at Wake Forest while posting a 72.25 scoring average and just two rounds in the 60s . Reason for concern ? Probably not . Brennan showed plenty of chops during 2022 , winning the Genesis Collegiate Showcase , nearly making the cut in the PGA ’ s Genesis Invitational and playing for the United States in last summer ’ s Arnold Palmer Cup .
U . S . Walker Cup captain Mike McCoy certainly isn ’ t too worried . Brennan was one of two VSGA members invited to the Walker Cup practice session in December 2022 , joined by former Wake standout and two-time VSGA Mid-Amateur champion Evan Beck . Expect Brennan to surge in the spring .
FAMILY BUSINESS
While freshman sensation Ben James received most of the accolades for UVA ’ s fantastic fall , Fairfax ’ s George Duangmanee ( International CC ) quietly put together a solid fall himself . He was third on the team with a 72.08 scoring average , posted three rounds in the 60s and had two top-10 finishes . Duangmanee will be joined on grounds next season by his younger brother Josh , who was part of UVA ’ s fall signing class . Of note : past Wake Forest standout and VSGA Junior Match Play champion Dustin Groves joined the Cavaliers ’ coaching staff in August .
CHINN UP
Duke University ’ s Kelly Chinn , a past VSGA Junior Stroke Play winner , couldn ’ t have been thrilled with his start at the Blue Devils ’ home season opener , the Rod Myers Invitational . He posted a firstround 80 and finished in a tie for 47th . But he shook it off and progressed steadily through the fall and appears ready for a breakthrough spring on a Duke squad featuring no seniors . Chinn posted a careerbest second-place finish in the Golf Club of Georgia Intercollegiate , finishing with rounds of 69-69-66 for a total of 204 . He followed that up the next week with a 10th-place finish in the Bahamas ( 69- 72-68 — 208 ) as the Blue Devils rolled to a 20-shot victory .
A GATHERING OF CHAMPS
Virginia ’ s women ended the fall season at 12th in Golfstat ’ s rankings , buoyed by strong performances from
vsga . org J ANUARY / F EBRUARY 2023 | V IRGINIA G OLFER
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