Virginia Golfer May / Jun 2017 | Page 9

( ) compiled by CHRIS LANG V IRGINIA G OLFER A R O U N D THE USGA AND R&A HAVE PLANS TO MAKE SWEEPING CHANGES TO THE RULES OF GOLF. PAGE 12. T H E COMMON WEALTH » Virginia golf & the folks who make it great 7 NEWS & NOTES 9 TOP SCHOLARS 10 MEMBER CLUBS 12 THE RULES USGA RETIRES STATE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS Tom McKnight (standing), Keith Decker (kneeling left) and David Partridge brought the inaugural State Team Championship trophy home to Virginia in 1995. vsga.org T he USGA State Team Championship was supposed to be a one-time event celebrating the USGA’s centennial in 1995, but it became a biennial affair. Keith Decker was there for every one of them. And now that the USGA has retired the event, Decker (Chatmoss CC) will be the only player in the United States—man or woman—to hold that distinction. Decker was a member of the VSGA’s three-man entry for the 2016 State Team Championship in Alabama, the final time the men’s event was contested. The ladies will get one last chance at state pride when the final Women’s State Championship is held from Sept. 26–28 in Santa Fe, N.M. “The USGA continually evaluates its champi- onships and the way in which they are conduct- ed,” USGA Championship Committee chairman Stuart Francis said in a USGA release. “The decision to discontinue the State Team Champi- onships follows a thorough review and analysis, including consultation with representatives from state and regional golf associations.” The State Team Championships began in 1995, with both men and women competing. The three-person competition, held that year in Orlando, Fla., was intended to be a one-off event patterned after the World Amateur Team Championships. But it was such a success that the USGA decided to keep contesting it. The three-person teams featured elite non-collegian amateurs, since NCAA rules forbid any current college players from par- ticipating. “It’s our Olympics, playing for the USGA title,” Decker said before last year’s champion- ship. “There are not many people who have a gold USGA medal, or a silver USGA medal, or a bronze USGA medal. You know, Virginia has won a gold, they’ve won two silver and a bronze, through the years. And I can tell you, I know exactly where each one of them is. They’re in my house, right there, in the trophy room.” Decker’s first teammates in 1995, w hen Vir- ginia finished nine strokes clear of Florida to win its lone title, were David Partridge and Tom McKnight. His final teammates, in 2016, M AY / J U N E 2 0 17 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R 7