CHRIS LANG ( 5 )

VSGA VIRGINIA GOLF HALL OF FAME TO ADD FIVE

The Virginia Golf Hall of Fame is set to add five members to its roster in October , including a decorated PGA professional , a superintendent , and three standout players .

Longtime PGA professional Tom Barry , who spent much of his time at Lakeside Park Club in Richmond , is part of the Hall of Fame ’ s Class of 2023 . Joining him are superintendent Peter McDonough , who recently retired from Keswick Golf Club , and former PGA Tour member Bobby Mitchell of Danville . Additionally , Jim Kite and Bob Moyers will be inducted . While each had standout careers — they won a combined 27 VSGA championships — they made their biggest impact as four-ball partners , winning five straight VSGA Senior Four-Balls together from 1991-95 .

The five will be inducted on Oct . 24 at Salisbury Country Club . Golf Channel ’ s Brad Faxon will serve as the ceremony ’ s emcee . Look for a deeper dive into this Hall of Fame class in the September-October issue of Virginia Golfer .

98th VSGA WOMEN ' S AMATEUR

Site : Cedar Point Club ( Suffolk ) Dates : July 25-27 Format : One round of stroke-play qualifying ; top 16 advance to match play championship flight , others flighted in consolation brackets ; round of 16 and quarterfinals on Wednesday ; semifinals and 18-hole championship match on Thursday . Defending champion : Kendall Turner ( Greenbrier CC ) About Cedar Point : The club is hosting its first Women ’ s Amateur , though it hosted the old VSGA Women ’ s Stroke Play Championship in 2001 . Cedar Point also hosted last year ’ s VSGA Amateur championship . No . 18 at Cedar Point is one of the finest closing holes in Virginia , a long downhill par 4 that will likely decide a match or two . Trends and storylines : The winner of this event has skewed younger of late . The last two winners were college students — Turner ( James Madison ) and Becca DiNunzio ( Virginia Tech ). Prior to that ,

high schoolers headed to play Division I golf won — Tatum Walsh ( JMU ) and Rory Weinfurther ( Richmond ). Top mid-am Lauren Greenlief won titles in 2017-18 and will look to add a third title to her resume in July . Also worth watching : Danielle Suh ( High Point ) was a finalist and stroke-play medalist last year and a semifinalist in 2021 . The Women ’ s Amateur is scheduled to visit River Bend Club in Great Falls in 2024 .

Clockwise , starting from top : Danielle

Suh , Lauren Greenlief , Nick Taliaferro ,

Josh Speight , Mark Lawrence .

2023 STATE OPEN OF VIRGINIA

Site : Independence Golf Club ( Midlothian ) Dates : July 21-23 Format : Three rounds of stroke play ; sudden-victory playoff will be utilized if there ’ s a tie after 54 holes . Defending champion : Nick Taliaferro ( amateur ) About Independence : Now the home of Open golf in Virginia , Independence hosted the inaugural Women ’ s Open of Virginia in June , and it will host this event for the third straight year . In September , it will host the Senior Open of Virginia for a fifth straight year . Trends and storylines : After seven straight years in which this event was won by a professional , the amateurs have taken center stage — starting with Jack Montague winning in 2019 and followed by Mark Lawrence in 2020 , Evan Beck in 2021 , and Nick Taliaferro in 2022 . Taliaferro will return to defend his title this year . Lawrence is professional now , and is looking to regain the title after two straight runner-up finishes . On the amateur side , the field includes veteran Scott Shingler , who won the prestigious Kenridge Invitational in June . Also , 2022 VSGA champions

Ross Funderburke ( Amateur ), Jon Hurst ( Senior Amateur , Senior Four-Ball ), Grayson Wood ( Junior Match Play ) and Samir Davidov ( Junior Stroke Play ), are in the field . On the professional side , Larkin Gross , Dick Mast , Rick Schuller , and Josh Speight have all played in PGA Championships , including Speight earlier this year . Four-time State Open champ Jay Woodson will also tee it up . Four of the last five State Opens have been decided by one shot , including one in a playoff .