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Opening Drive
Coming Full Circle
ON A BEAUTIFUL MORNING in May 2023, I was zipping around in a golf cart at Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech, snapping photos, talking to players, and watching the action unfold at the VSGA Four-Ball Championship— a typical day on the job during the season.
I made my way to the first tee and was a little surprised at who I saw going through his pre-shot routine: Jacob Singleton, complete with crazy long hair that made him nearly unrecognizable.
Back story. Before joining the VSGA in 2015, I spent 10 years at the News & Advance in Lynchburg. Golf was among my beats. One of the first strong players I covered coming through our high schools was Singleton, a standout at William Campbell in Campbell County.
I spent a lot of time walking with Jacob’ s dad, Bill, during tournaments like The Fox Puss at Boonsboro, high school regionals, and junior championships. And with Jacob being one of our best players, I spent plenty of time talking to him after rounds. After a couple of years at Liberty University, Jacob slipped off the radar and moved out of state. When I saw him on the first tee, playing in the four-ball with his longtime friend, Corbin Pillow, I thought about catching up to see what he’ d been up to since his high school days.
What started as a story idea about him, though, morphed into something much bigger. I knew a little bit about the history of Hat Creek, the nine-hole course he grew up playing, but didn’ t realize the deep family history rooted in the fairways there. This issue’ s cover story turned into a celebration of how generations of the Singleton family turned Hat Creek into a thriving community hub in Brookneal.
One thing that came out of our recent conversation was the topic of burnout in young golfers who believe the PGA Tour is the end all on their list of goals from the moment they pick up a club. It’ s not always healthy, and that’ s something both Jacob and younger brother Josiah discovered as they worked their way through college.
But golf isn’ t always about competition. It’ s about shared values, community, friendship, and fun— all things Jacob talks about when he talks about Hat Creek.
Oh, about that four-ball championship. Jacob and Corbin didn’ t win or even contend, really. But that was OK with Jacob, now a husband and father of five who judges his selfworth on much more important things than whether he shoots 68 or 78 on a given day.
“ I didn’ t play great, but my existence didn’ t depend upon it,” he said.“ And I could tee it up again the next day with a smile on my face. And that’ s something I couldn’ t have done before.”
A lesson worth remembering.
Chris Lang, Editor clang @ vsga. org by CHRIS LANG
The family vibe is strong at Hat Creek, a nine-hole course in southern Campbell County that serves as a community hub for generations of players.
“ VSGA Amateur” Cont’ d...
Some storylines to watch during this year’ s Amateur, which runs from June 22 – 26 at Bayville:
• The field continues to skew young as some of the top college players chase opportunities to score World Amateur Golf Ranking points at Elite Amateur Series events. The VSGA Amateur at least has gotten out of the shadow of the popular North & South Amateur at Pinehurst— this year’ s event will be played opposite of the Northeast Amateur in Rhode Island, which isn’ t quite the same local draw. The last three winners( Maclauchlan, Logan Reilly, and Grayson Wood) were all in high school or had just graduated.
• Three of the four semifinalists last year were in high school, with Owen Love and Josh Cummins joining Maclauchlan and Young. Cummins recently completed his freshman season at Longwood University. Another high schooler, Luca Rinaldi, was low amateur at last year’ s State Open of Virginia. Other juniors to watch include last year’ s Junior Match Play winner Charles Lange and the 2025 Junior Stroke Play winner Colton Rodgers.
• Two semifinalists from 2024 are back, seeking their first championship match appearance. Unable to crack the lineup consistently at Florida, Rylan Shim transferred to North Carolina State where he’ s seen consistent playing time for the Wolfpack. Shim was on the wrong end of Reilly’ s sizzling semifinal round in 2024. Drew Brockwell, a former Virginia Tech standout, is in the mid-amateur ranks now. He fell to finalist Nikita Gubenko in 2024 and has been a factor in this event for a decade. He was a quarterfinalist as a teenager in 2016.
• Don’ t sleep on the mid-ams. Along with Brockwell, Brandon Ramsuer, Robb Kinder, Ryan Rettberg, and Nick Brediger— all of whom have participated in USGA championships— are likely to be factors.
• Bayville will set up differently than it did when Jake Mondy defeated Buck Brittain in the final there in 2012. The course underwent a recent Andrew Greenled renovation that included significant bunker removal and full green renovations. Bayville also hosted in 2002, with Jay Woodson defeating Ryan Stinnett in the final.
6 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M AY / J UNE 2026 vsga. org