Around The Commonwealth
“I took deep
breaths. I told
myself, ‘don’t
overthink it.
I’ve been doing
this all day. Just
keep it up’ and it
worked in
my favor.”
—Rory Weinfurther
106 TH VSGA AMATEUR
KESWICK GC | JUNE 24-28
Round by round, the mid-amateurs and col-
lege players fell until three juniors remained
in a semifinal round that felt more like a
Junior Match Play Championship than an
Amateur at times. If this wacky Amateur
Championship proved anything, it’s that the
junior game in Virginia is deep and thriving.
Michael Brennan, who is completing
his senior year at Tuscarora High School
before heading to Wake Forest to begin
his college career, emerged victorious at
Keswick Golf Club, ousting fellow junior
Christopher Zhang in a tense final that
went the full 36 holes and only ended when
Zhang’s birdie putt on 18 slid past the hole
after coming tantalizingly close to falling.
Brennan earned his second VSGA cham-
pionship, having burst onto the scene as a
15 year old winning the VSGA Junior Match
Play title. He’s also been the low amateur at
the Delta Dental State Open of Virginia and
the stroke-play medalist at the Amateur.
And he’ll have a chance next year to defend
his title and become a two-time Amateur
champion before ever making a swing for
Wake Forest. Youth, most certainly, is being
served in the Commonwealth.
Final Match: Michael Brennan d.
Christopher Zhang, 1 up
Medalist: Connor Messick (136)
vsga.org
94 TH VSGA WOMEN’S
AMATEUR
PRINCESS ANNE CC | JULY 15-18
For Rory Weinfurther, attitude was a key
component to her victory over Mallory
Hetzel in the title match of the VSGA
Women’s Amateur at Princess Anne Coun-
try Club. Even as the match ebbed
and flowed, she refused to let her-
self get caught up in the moment.
“Towards the end there, I also
stayed calm,” she said after her
1-up victory over Hetzel. “I took
deep breaths. I told myself ‘don’t
overthink it. I’ve been doing
this all day. Just keep it up’
and it worked in my favor.”
The 17-year-old Wein-
further has one year
remaining at St. Cather-
ine’s in Richmond before
heading just down the
road to play for the Uni-
versity of Richmond.
She’s been a mainstay on
VSGA junior invitational
teams for several years
now and has twice been
runner-up at the VSGA
Junior Girls’ Cham-
pionship. To win the
hardware at Princess
Anne, she defeated
two college players
LEFT: Rory Weinfurther broke through for the
biggest win of her career, winning the 94th
VSGA Women's Amateur Championship.
BELOW: Michael Brennan won an all-teenager
final at the 106th VSGA Amateur.
(Katie Muscatello and Sidney Walker),
the stroke-play medalist (Becca DiNun-
zio) and a college coach (Hetzel). A wor-
thy champion, indeed.
Final Match: Rory Weinfurther d.
Mallory Hetzel, 1 up
Medalist: Becca DiNunzio (134)
62 ND VSGA SENIOR
WOMEN’S AMATEUR AND
1 ST VSGA SUPER SENIOR
WOMEN’S AMATEUR
THE OMNI HOMESTEAD RESORT
(OLD COURSE) | JULY 29-AUG. 2
Salem’s Dot Bolling was one of the most
vocal competitors when it came to lob-
bying for a championship for senior
ladies ages 65 and older. Now that they
exist, she’s certainly taken advantage
of them. A year after winning the inau-
gural VSGA Super Senior Wom-
en’s Stroke Play title, she added
a record-tying 10th VS GA
championship to her resume
by defeating Fran Hensley 2
and 1 in the final match of
the 1st VSGA Super Senior
Wo m e n ’s A m a t e u r.
Bolling ’s victory came
20 years after she had
lost to Hensley in the
final of the Senior
Women’s Amateur.
History was
matched in the
Senior Women’s
Amateur as well.
S p r i n g f i e l d ’s
Mimi Hoffman
defeated Alex-
andria’s Shelley
Savage 2 and 1 in
the final for her
fifth title in the
event, matching
the record held by
MICHAEL BRENNAN
Peggy Woodard and
S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 19 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R
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