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Opening Drive
Waiting for Spring
A QUOTE FROM baseball Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby translates well to golf in this part of the country.
“ People ask me what I do in the winter, when there is no baseball,” he once said.“ I’ ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”
Plenty of VSGA members flee to warmer climates in the winter, making golf a year-round thing. For the rest of us, indoor simulators and the occasional 70-degree day comprise much of our winter golf.
This issue of Virginia Golfer has traditionally been a look-ahead edition. As always, you’ ll find a list of schedules for the VSGA and USGA season, along with several professional tours. As we wait for spring, there are several things I’ m looking forward to regarding the 2026 golf season.
• Where does Michael Brennan go from here? The past VSGA Amateur champion earned his PGA Tour card in thrilling fashion in October 2025 in Utah, allowing him to skip the Korn Ferry Tour. It also gained him entry into some of professional golf’ s top events in 2026, including The Players, the PGA Championship, the RBC Heritage, and presumably the Masters, barring the unlikely scenario that he dropped 16 spots in the Official World Golf Ranking between Dec. 3 and the end of 2025. Winning in Canada and in a fall PGA event against Rico Hoey and David Ford is one thing. Regularly competing with the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy is another. I’ m excited to see how Brennan’ s impressive game translates on golf’ s biggest stages.
• The VSGA Amateur at Bayville Golf Club. Bayville has hosted this event in the past, but it was before my time on staff. Having covered the Captain’ s Putter there last year, it’ s easy to see why it’ s going to be a fantastic match-play venue for Virginia’ s top amateurs. I’ d encourage anyone in the Virginia Beach area to come out and watch in late June. You won’ t be disappointed.
• The continued growth of the Women’ s Open of Virginia. The event attracts top pros and amateurs from across the country and has been won by a high-level Division I player in each of its first three years. The Women’ s Open is back at Independence in June, and I expect it to continue to attract strong competitors.
• Watching dreams come true at The Federal Club, host of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Championship in October. Twenty PGA Tour cards will be issued on the tournament’ s final day, an exciting look into the future of golf.
As always, my inbox is open for story ideas. Thanks for reading!
Chris Lang, Editor clang @ vsga. org by CHRIS LANG
Bayville will host the VSGA Amateur in June, marking the third time the event has visited the Virginia Beach club. Jay Woodson( 2002) and Jake Mondy( 2012) are previous Bayville Amateur winners.
VSGA Service Awards Cont’ d...
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR: Diane Murdock-Thorp has been a dedicated VSGA course rating volunteer since 2006. Prior to the restructuring of volunteer roles within the Course Rating program, she served for many years as the captain of the Richmond-area Women’ s Team. Today, she remains a highly valued member of the VSGA’ s Course Rating team, bringing a deep well of experience, insight, and leadership. Diane is consistently among our most active course rating volunteers each year and plays a key role in mentoring and training newer volunteers on the technical and nuanced aspects of course rating.
Diane is a long-standing member of Meadowbrook Country Club in Richmond, where she is actively engaged in club leadership and the women’ s golf association. She has served multiple terms as club president and has contributed her time and expertise to numerous committees. Diane also played a leading role in the development of the Gillette Garden at Meadowbrook, a signature feature located just off the 18th green. Beyond her home club, she is a past president of the City Women’ s Golf Association in Richmond, further underscoring her commitment to advancing women’ s golf in the region.
Off the course, Diane serves on the Board of Directors for New Horizon Bank. Prior to her retirement, she enjoyed a successful career in the paper industry, including service as Chair of the Paper and Board Division of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry( TAPPI). Her record of professional achievement, combined with her decades of service to golf, exemplifies the spirit of the VSGA Volunteer of the Year Award.
SERVICE TO GOLF: Meg Gilmer, who was President of the VSGA’ s Women’ s Division from 1996-97 and was extremely active as a volunteer in 2025. Gilmer, a member at Farmington Country Club, served on the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame selection committee. She also was part of the Nominating Committee for the VSGA Board of Directors. Gilmer was instrumental in the VSGA’ s grand celebration of its 100th Women’ s Amateur Championship, serving on the planning committee and introducing the past champions in attendance at the celebration dinner.
6 V IRGINIA G OLFER | J ANUARY / F EBRUARY 2026 vsga. org