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STATE OPEN OF VIRGINIA PRESENTED BY CAPTECH Winner : Nick Taliaferro ( 65-66-72 — 203 ) Fun fact : Amateurs have won the last four State Opens after professionals had won the previous seven .
It was all going so well for Nick Taliaferro until it wasn ’ t . There he was , eyeing his approach into the 13th green at Independence Golf Club on a sweltering Sunday afternoon , his confidence flowing as he held a five-stroke lead . Taliaferro ’ s closest pursuer , two-time champion Evan Beck , played several groups ahead and was running out of holes to chase down the leader .
Taliaferro hadn ’ t done much wrong to that point . He played with unrelenting consistency over the three days at Independence and at that point was 14 under par . Beck would finish his round with a par on 18 to end at 9 under . But three bad swings undid the entirety of Taliaferro ’ s lead . His approach on 13 landed left on a downslope in spongy Bermuda rough , leaving him a difficult shot to control . He eventually made double bogey .
On 15 , Taliaferro sprayed his first drive left out of bounds then piped his provisional ball into a penalty area to the right . He made triple bogey there , and in about 30 minutes time , went from runaway leader to tied for first on the 16th tee .
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Taliaferro spent the tournament walking with his Radford University teammate , Channing Blevins , who served as Taliaferro ’ s caddie . Instead of letting his friend unravel , Blevins offered calming words .
“ If I had told him Friday morning that he ’ d be tied for the lead with three holes to go , he probably would have taken it ,” Blevins said . “ So let ’ s forget about the last three holes and do the best we can and get a couple of looks .”
That look came on the 18th green . Taliaferro had settled down to make par 16 and 17 , and then on 18 , he hit a solid 8-iron approach hole high to 12 feet . After a lengthy read of the potential winning putt , his stroke was pure . He pumped his fist as the gallery surrounding 18 roared and putt fell to secure the championship .
The win had been building for some time . Taliaferro , 22 , grew up minutes from the course and played golf at nearby James River High School . Independence was the team ’ s home course , and Taliaferro admitted that his comfort level played a key role in his win . He teamed with another
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Nick Taliaferro made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 54th hole to claim the State Open of Virginia title .
Radford teammate — Andrew Kennedy — to win the VSGA Four-Ball Championship in 2020 , and he was coming off a fourth-place showing in the 2021 State Open . Now , he ’ s a State Open champion . “ He bounced back really well ( from the triple ),” said Mark Lawrence Jr ., who tied with Chris O ’ Neill for low professional honors . “ I ’ m really happy for him . He deserved it . He outplayed the field this week .”
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