Virginia Golfer Nov / Dec 2019 | Page 10

( atc ) VSGA FALL FINISH A quick look back at the final months of the VSGA competitions season THE DOMINION CLUB | Sept. 27-29 Marshall Tinsley kept waiting for the nerves to set in. Thankfully for the 30 year old from Forest, they didn’t appear until he was standing over a one-foot tap- in to win the championship on Sunday. In his Mid-Amateur debut, he used a stellar second-round 66 to take a share of the 36-hole lead and held on for a one-stroke victory over Kyle Martin. Tinsley, who plays out of Winton Farm, survived a double bogey on No. 8 and made three birdies on the back to hold off Martin. Afterward, Tinsley phoned his parents, who were at the beach. “This was more for them than it was for me, honestly,” Tinsley said. “I started playing golf because my dad and brother did. … (My dad) is my coach. Anytime I’ve got a problem, I call him and say we’re going to the range to figure this out.” 8 WINNING SCORE: 70-66-71—207 QUICK FACT: Martin, a member at Cedar Point, was runner-up in the event for the second straight year. 72ND VSGA SENIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP THE HOMESTEAD (CASCADES) Aug. 12-16 It doesn’t get much better than hitting the shot of your life with a championship hang- ing in the balance. Steve Serrao experienced that feeling on the first hole of The Home- stead’s venerable Cascades Course. Having let a 4-up lead in the title match against Dave Pulk slip away, Serrao summoned a perfect iron shot from underneath a tree, the approach settling 18 inches from the cup. He converted the birdie to beat Pulk in 19 holes and claim the title. Serrao, a member at Willow Oaks CC, struggled earlier in the year, even making a 10 on a hole during the VSGA Senior Stroke Play Championship. But he put it all together and outlasted Pulk in a classic final match in Hot Springs. “I’ve had a tough year with everything … putting, hitting, I was getting really “I started playing golf because my dad and brother did. … (My dad) is my coach. Anytime I’ve got a problem, I call him and say we’re going to the range to figure this out.” —Marshall Tinsley V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 vsga.org 43RD VSGA MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP Marshall Tinsley, winner of the 43rd VSGA Mid-Amateur Championship.