MEN ’ S EVENTS 44 ^TH VSGA MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP Winner : Blake Carter ( 68-71-63 — 202 ) The story : The opening stretch of the back nine at Bayville Golf Club clipped many players in the VSGA Mid-Amateur , but Carter was able to navigate the first six holes of the inward nine with ease during the final round , making birdies on 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 and 15 to pull away from the pack and win his first VSGA championship . Carter opened the final round four strokes behind 36-hole leader Mikey Moyers but surged up the leaderboard and beat Moyers by four strokes after firing a final-round 9-under-par 63 .

“ I played 10 through 14 like a dream ,” said Carter , a former Longwood standout who spent time on the PGA Tour ’ s Mackenzie Tour in Canada . “ I really wasn ’ t expecting that . But I hit some really good shots . … You just can ’ t make

any mistakes back there . Mikey is really good . He didn ’ t make a bogey for his first 36 holes . You just have to play solid golf all day , and I did .”

55 ^TH VSGA FOUR-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP Winners : Nick Taliaferro and Andrew Kennedy ( 66-60 — 126 ) The story : Longtime competitors in Richmond Golf Association events and teammates at Radford University , Taliaferro and Kennedy posted the best closing round in event history , a 12-under-par 60 that helped them surge to a three-shot victory at Poplar Grove Golf Club . It was the first VSGA title for either player , though Kennedy reached the final match of the VSGA Amateur in 2018 . The event was moved from May to October due to the pandemic .

“ My partner , he couldn ’ t have played better ,” Kennedy said . “ And I couldn ’ t

have asked for a better partner . All in all , we just clicked and played well .”

2 ^ND VSGA MULTI-FORMAT TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP Winners : Regular , Brandon Ramsuer and Ryan Taylor ( 61-69 — 130 , won in playoff ); Senior , Jon Zampedro and Jeffrey Klatt ( 60-65 — 125 ) The story : Another event moved from the spring , the second playing of this championship produced first-time VSGA champions in both divisions . Ramsuer , a late fill-in for Taylor ’ s original partner , hit an eagle putt to six feet on the playoff hole , and Taylor finished it for the winning birdie . In the senior division , Zampedro and Klatt overcame a four-shot deficit to win with a two-putt birdie on 18 at The Dominion Club . The first round of this event features a two-person scramble , and the second round is modified alternate shot .

CHRIS LANG