W hen Jay Woodson walked off the 18th green at Independence Golf Club on a July Sunday in 2013 , a 10-stroke State Open of Virginia victory in his pocket , it was the end of an era .
The championship — featuring the region ’ s top amateur and professional players — moved across the state to Ballyhack Golf Club in Roanoke for a seven-year run that ended in 2020 . The 2013 event was also the last that went a full four rounds , as the championship was shortened to 54 holes .
The event returns to Midlothian July 16-18 , complete with both a new title and presenting sponsor . The new name : The Truist State Open of Virginia presented by Virginia Lottery .
Truist — an American bank holding company headquartered in Charlotte — was formed in 2019 as the result of the merger of BB & T and SunTrust banks . SunTrust was a past title sponsor of the State Open during its first run at Independence .
Truist ’ s involvement will help fund a statewide television broadcast of the Saturday and Sunday rounds , spearheaded by WTVR ( CBS 6 in Richmond ). The final two rounds will be broadcast in most of Virginia ’ s biggest markets , including Richmond , Norfolk , Roanoke , Lynchburg , Charlottesville and Bristol .
And “ event ” is exactly what Independence is looking to host , turning the State Open into a weeklong celebration filled with live music , food , a pro-am , a par-3 contest and — of course — championship-level golf .
It all adds up to what Independence president Giff Breed calls “ an opportunity to celebrate golf in Richmond , Virginia .”
“ We ’ re super excited that the VSGA and the MAPGA are coming back to see a new and different Independence ,” Breed said . “ We ’ re excited about that partnership and to show what golf can be in the future , and not necessarily what it was in the past . This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase that . We ’ re going to bring music and food and all sorts of different activities for families and kids , and hopefully we ’ ll have an incredibly challenging test to identify the best golfer in the Commonwealth of Virginia .”
LOOKING LIVE
The last time the State Open graced the Commonwealth ’ s television airways was in the mid 2000s when Willow Oaks hosted the championship . As discussions began on how best to promote and present the State Open nearly a year ago , one topic kept coming up : television .
Enter WTVR , which plans an extensive broadcast during the 4-6 p . m . windows on both Saturday and Sunday , with some flexibility built in for either inclement weather that may move starting times earlier or a playoff that goes beyond the 6 p . m . signoff .
Robert Wrenn , a two-time mergedera State Open champion who holds a share of the 72-hole event scoring record at 268 , will call the action along with CBS6 co-sports director Lane Casadonte . ( Wrenn also won the VPGA Open in 1983 , the year before the VSGA and VPGA opens merged into one .)
There will be nine live cameras on the property , with eight fixed in position . There will be cameras fixed on both the 15th and 16th greens and six fixed covering 17 fairway through 18 green . One roaming camera will follow the leaders . Additional cameras will be on site to shoot pre-recorded intros and round recaps .
GIANNA GRACE PHOTOGRAPHY
“ We can ’ t wait to bring the best amateur and professional golfers in Virginia back to Independence . Since the last time the State Open was held at Independence in 2013 , there have been a lot of changes to the course , such as new tees and bermudagrass on the greens which made a great golf course even better . We have a lot of options with how we can set up the course , and we think we ’ ll be able to present a more challenging golf course compared to 2013 to identify the best player that week .”
– Josh Coates , VSGA director of championship and golf operations
vsga . org J ULY / A UGUST 2021 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 19