TWO WEEKS . TWO CHAMPIONS . The Virginia State Golf Association ’ s signature events take place right as the summer begins to heat up , with the men taking center stage in the last week of June and the women getting their chance to shine during July ’ s opening week .

As far as elite amateur golf in Virginia goes , it doesn ’ t get any better than those two weeks . Here ’ s a quick look at the two championships .

JON HOOD ( CEDAR POINT ); CHRIS LANG ( TAYLOR )

109TH VSGA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP Site : Cedar Point Club ( Suffolk ) Dates : June 27-July 1 Format : Two rounds of stroke-play qualifying ; top 32 advance to match play ; rounds of 32 and 16 on Wednesday ; quarterfinals and semifinals on Thursday ; 36-hole championship match on Friday . Defending champion : Jimmy Taylor ( Belle Haven CC ) Exemptions : In short , there are plenty of players who will not have to go through a qualifier to make it to Cedar Point . Among the exemptions : All past champions , finalists from the last three years , semifinalists from the last two years , and last year ’ s quarterfinalists ; State Open champions from 2012-present ; Mid-Amateur champions from the last three years ; and many more . In fact , exemptions were still being earned at the start of the 2022 season , as the winners of the VSGA Four-Ball Championship , Junior Match Play Championship and Senior Stroke Play Championship all will earn spots in the field . Qualifying : Qualifiers will be held at 11 VSGA member clubs throughout June , including a last-chance qualifier for those who missed on their first attempt . As recently as 2018 , the tournament champion has emerged from the qualifying stages ( Trey Smith ).

Cedar Point # 11 RIGHT : Jimmy Taylor

Previous winners at Cedar Point : Brinson Paolini ( def . Lanto Griffin in 2009 ), Jeff Horn ( def . John Cuomo in 1982 ), Curtis Strange ( def . O . D . Gardner in 1975 ). About Cedar Point : Located along the Nansemond River in southeast Virginia , Cedar Point underwent a complete Tom Clark-led renovation in 2003 . More recently , the club made more improvements , including renovated bridges and walkways , along with new bunkers . Cedar Point was the site of one of the great comebacks in VSGA Amateur history , as Brinson Paolini erased a five-shot deficit on the back nine of the second 18 holes to stun Lanto Griffin in 2009 . Trends and storylines : Because of when this issue went to print , not many players had officially committed to the Amateur by press time . One player who had , however , is defending champion Jimmy Taylor , who capped an impressive match-play run in 2021 by defeating three-time finalist Jordan Utley 8 and 7 at CC of Petersburg . Among the players Taylor

— who plays at William and Mary — beat was 2021 VSGA Golfer of the Year Evan Beck , who is expected to compete , as an Amateur victory was the only missing piece to what was a spectacular season that includes wins in the State Open of Virginia and VSGA Mid-Amateur . The only other past champions expected to be in the field are Scott Shingler ( 2011 ) and Keith Decker . Others to watch include Alex Price ( quarterfinalist in 2021 , semifinalist in 2020 ); mid-amateur Ryan Patrick , an excellent match-play player who advanced to last year ’ s quarterfinals ; Jack Montague , the 2019 State Open champion ; David Stanford , who lost in the 2020 final to Mark Lawrence Jr .; and of course , Utley , who always seems to find a way to scrap his way through match play for deep Amateur runs .