JON HOOD |
Cavalier Golf and Yacht Club in Virginia Beach was the host club for the 2022 Virginia Senior Amateur Championship in mid-August . CGYC has been an ardent supporter of golf and the VSGA for many years . Cavalier has hosted numerous important championships over its long , rich past , and the club has been the scene for many historic moments in Virginia golf history . One such iconic incident took place in 1946 when Cavalier was the venue for a very memorable State Open . Sam Snead , already a major champion , was playing in the ‘ 46 Virginia State Open in one of his only appearances in the event . Chandler Harper — who along with Snead was a member of the inaugural class of the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame — would capture a record 11 Virginia State Opens and seven PGA tour titles including the 1950 PGA Championship over his remarkable career , was participating along with such greats as wee Bobby Cruickshank , the long-time pro at the Country Club of Virginia ( he won six State Opens and was twice runner-up in the U . S . Open ), and Johnny O ’ Donnell , a superb golf professional from Norfolk , who would later go on to win five State Opens . Given the unprecedented quality of the field and especially the presence of Snead , the interest among the local community to see these titans square off against one another was massive .
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Through three rounds of the championship , Snead had played splendid , consistent golf ( 69-66-68 ) to amass a seemingly insurmountable 9-shot lead over Harper . However , “ Old Bones ,” as he was affectionally nicknamed , came storming back to fire a course record 63 in in the final round , in front of 2,000 spectators , to forge a tie with Snead and force an 18-hole playoff the following Sunday , Easter Sunday . While Snead would win the playoff ( 64-67 ), The Slammer would never have made it into the playoff if it were not for a very unexpected event that occurred on the 14th hole in the final round .
The ultra-demanding 14th at Cavalier is an outstanding par-4 that strongly favors a right-to-left shot from the tee to find the narrow fairway that is tightly bordered by huge trees and out-of-bounds ; the hole is further protected by a series of three deep , strategically placed bunkers along the right side of the landing area . With trouble abounding on all sides and still further difficulties presented by an extremely challenging green structure that includes a super-fast , sloping putting surface , a large penalty area , as well as a cavernous revetted bunker , following a missed fairway golfers would be wise to play very conservatively to avoid a potentially huge number on this exquisite par 4 .
In the final round of regulation , Snead was not in top form and on the 14th , he lost his tee shot well to the right . The ball appeared
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Black : 420 yards
Black / Gold : 388 yards
Gold : 371 yards
PAR 4 YARDAGES
Gold / Silver : 362 yards
Silver : 360 yards
Copper : 321 yards
clearly headed out-of-bounds , however , Lilly Harper Martin , Chandler ’ s sister , was standing just on the other side of the fence that demarked OB and the ball struck her on the shoulder , which caused the ball to carom back in bounds , thus saving Snead two shots , and enabling him to keep pace with the charging Harper . Ms . Martin , nicknamed the “ Tiny Typhoon of Portsmouth ,” who won seven State Amateur titles ( a record that has stood for 81 years ) over an eight-year period , will be inducted into the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame in October .
A five-time VSGA Player of the Year , David Partridge was elected to the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame in 2020 . He lives in the Richmond area and works as a mortgage banker .
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