Around The Commonwealth
CHRIS LANG( 2)
Elsewhere: For the second time in four years, a University of Richmond player won the VSGA Women’ s Stroke Play Championship. Sophie DiPetrillo, who is from Massachusetts but is a member at Independence Golf Club, posted a three-day aggregate 221 to finish two shots clear of Amanda Hollandsworth. DiPetrillo joins Elsa Diaz as Spiders to have won the title in recent years. … Army Navy CC’ s Shelley Savage used a strong first round to gain separation and win the Senior Women’ s Stroke Play title, her fifth championship in the event. She finished three shots clear of CC of Virginia members Boodie McGurn and Natalie Easterly. … Dot Bolling won the inaugural VSGA Super Senior Women’ s Stroke Play championship for players 65 and older. … The Carolinas defeated the Virginias 89-55 in Hilton Head Island, S. C., to win the 62nd Women’ s Virginias-Carolinas Matches. … Easterly ran through a stacked bracket at the Omni Homestead Resort’ s Old Course to win the 61st VSGA Senior Women’ s Amateur Championship, defeating four-time champion Mimi Hoffman 1 up in the title match. She also eliminated past champions Savage and McGurn along with past finalist Lindsay Wortham on her way to the championship.
JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 66th VSGA Junior Stroke Play Championship
Richmond’ s Connor Johnson Jr. began his Virginia Tech career in August. Before that, he capped a memorable summer with a win on his soon-to-be college home course. Johnson, who has been a mainstay in VSGA junior golf for the last several years, posted three rounds in the 60s and held off a charge from Matthew Monastero to win his first VSGA individual title.
“ I feel like it’ s been building for four or five years, since I started playing junior golf and got serious about it,” Johnson said.“ It feels good to have all that hard work finally pay off, so I can perform like I know I can.”
Johnson bested an especially strong field that included five players who played in the U. S. Junior Amateur Championship. Two of the three players who reached match play at Baltusrol— Monastero and Connor Creasy— were in the final grouping with Johnson, who returned a steady 69 and made crucial putts when he needed to at the end of the round to come out on top.
“ Beating a great field like this just gives me a lot of confidence going into my college career,” he said.
Winner: Connor Johnson Jr.( 204) Runner-up: Matthew Monastero( 206) Quick fact: Johnson’ s winning score was the lowest in the event since Jake Mondy won with 202 in 2010.
49th VSGA Junior Girls’ Championship
Jayde Dudley didn’ t have to look far to see a bunch of championship trophies. Her grandmother, Dot Bolling, has won nine during her illustrious VSGA career. After sinking two crucial par putts in a downpour at Boonsboro Country Club, Dudley won a trophy of her own, claiming the 49th VSGA Junior Girls’ Championship by two strokes.“ This is definitely the biggest tournament I’ ve won,” Dudley said afterward.
The 17-year-old Dudley, who has one
Jayde Dudley, 17, sunk two huge putts in the pouring rain to win the VSGA Junior Girls ' Championship.
year left at Roanoke’ s Hidden Valley High School before heading to Radford University, reached match play at the VSGA Women’ s Amateur earlier in the month and tied for 14th at the VSGA Women’ s Stroke Play Championship.
Winner: Jayde Dudley( 145) Runner-up: Jillian Drinkard( 147) Quick fact: Victoria Tip-Aucha, winner of the last two VSGA Junior Girls’ titles, finished in fourth.
Elsewhere: Rocky Mount’ s John Hatcher Ferguson IV won the 28th VSGA Junior Match Play Championship, defeating Blacksburg’ s Ben Carroll in the final match 3 and 2. Along the way, he ousted defending champion Michael Brennan in the semifinals. … Portsmouth’ s Jonathan McEwen and Suffolk’ s Hope Mia Garcia were the respective 12-13 age division winners at the 12th VSGA Youth Championship, held at the Country Club of Petersburg. … The Virginia team won the annual Virginia-Maryland Junior Girls’ Matches 20-16. … The annual Mid-Atlantic Girls’ Challenge between Virginia / Maryland and North / South Carolina ended in a 6-6 tie. … The 36th Virginias-Carolinas Junior Boys’ Matches, held at the Country Club of North Carolina’ s Cardinal Course, also ended in a deadlock, with the Carolinas squad rallying in singles to forge an 8-8 tie.
“ It feels good to have all that hard work finally pay off, so I can perform like I know I can.”
— Connor Johnson Jr.
vsga. org S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2018 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 15