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Opening Drive
State Open Homecoming by CHRIS LANG
AS YOU MAY HAVE GATHERED from looking at the cover of this issue of Virginia Golfer , the State Open of Virginia is back in the Richmond area this month after a seven-year absence . Additionally , the event features a new title sponsor ( Truist ) and a new presenting sponsor ( Virginia Lottery ). For much of the merged Open era , which began in 1985 , Richmond has been the State Open ’ s home . Prior to the seven-year run at Roanoke ’ s Ballyhack Golf Club , the event had been held in the greater Richmond area every year save for three .
First off , a well deserved tip of the cap to Ballyhack , a fine seven-year host of the event which produced a great mix of professional and amateur champions , most recently , amateur Mark Lawrence Jr . in 2020 ( who has since joined the professional ranks ). From the food and beverage , to the conditions of the course , the hospitality , the volunteers , and the player experience , on behalf of the VSGA and MAPGA , we say thank you .
A new venue brings new excitement , and as you ’ ll read in the cover story , a return of television coverage of the championship for the first time since the mid-2000s . It also means a change in dates , as the event will move from Thursday-Saturday to Friday-Sunday . We ’ re confident that once again a worthy champion will be crowned at Independence .
Since the State Open last visited the venue , the course has changed , thanks to a Lester George-led renovation in 2014 . Some highlights from the first run at Independence ( 2007-13 ) include :
• Joshua Meador ’ s final-round hole-out for eagle on No . 16 in 2007 , helping him clinch a four-stroke victory .
• Amateur Roger Newsom claiming titles in both 2008 ( in a playoff ) and 2011 ( in an eight-shot runaway ).
• Amateur Evan Beck tying Robert Wrenn ’ s tournament record with a 268 to win the title in 2010 .
• And Jay Woodson going back-to-back in 2012-13 , the second title a 10-stroke romp . He also won titles at Ballyhack in 2014 and 2016 . With Independence ’ s commitment to turning the State Open into a festive event , look for plenty of excitement when the region ’ s top players converge on Midlothian in mid-July . Also of note in this issue :
• We celebrate our VSGA-VIP Scholarship Foundation award winners in this issue while hoping and planning for an in-person VSGA Day once again in 2022 .
• Michael Stott takes a look at golf ’ s pandemic boon and how clubs across Virginia are trying to keep the momentum going .
• Vaccinated but not quite ready to travel overseas ? Why not check out a domestic tropical destination ? Lisa Mickey explores Puerto Rico ’ s golf offerings in Virginia Explorer .
Honoring Top Virginia Scholars cont ' d ...
Remaining VSGA-VIP Scholarship Foundation award recipients are as follows :
• $ 5,000 : Tess Peterson ( Toano / Banner Christian School )
• $ 4,000 : Chas Funk ( Virginia Beach / Ocean Lakes HS ); Abby Krug ( Fairfax Station / Robinson HS ); Matthew Tan ( Oakton / St . Paul VI Catholic HS )
• $ 2,500 : Allison Douglas ( Covington / Covington HS ); Bella Graber ( Midlothian / James River HS ); Abbi Green ( Elkton / East Rockingham HS ); Madison Taggart ( Ashburn / Rock Ridge HS ); Gresham Wall ( Virginia Beach / Cox HS ); Kristen Waltman ( Colonial Heights / Colonial Heights HS )
• $ 2,000 : Nicole Chang ( Midlothian / Clover Hill HS ); James Dacey ( North Chesterfield / James River HS ); Kali Durham ( Big Stone Gap / John I . Burton ); Wil Gardner ( Ridgeway / Patrick Henry HS ); Daniel Goode ( Wytheville / George Wythe HS ); Ryan Lemmon ( Virginia Beach / Cox HS ); Connor Lloyd ( Winchester / Millbrook HS ); Olivia Minjack ( Alexandria / The Madeira School ); Grace Mowery ( Rockingham / Turner Ashby HS ); Hogan Schulze ( Williamsburg / Jamestown HS ); David Stanford ( Oakton / Marshall HS ); Akshitha Vemuru ( Herndon / Oakton HS ); Reagan Young ( Chesapeake / Western Branch HS )
• $ 1,500 Turfgrass Research Awards : Caleb Henderson , Daewon Koo and Matthew Tucker .
To read more about the award recipients , visit
VSGA . org and click on the Scholarship Foundation page under the “ Learn ” tab .
Mia Liang was the recipient of the 2021 Spencer- Wilkinson Award .
Chris Lang , Editor Contact me : clang @ vsga . org
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6 V IRGINIA G OLFER | J ULY / A UGUST 2021
vsga . org