( at c)
With father Tim working the bag in the final, Maclauchlan rolled to a huge early lead, going 6 up through 19 holes. Though Young chipped away at that lead, Maclauchlan had a chance to end the match 3 up on the 15th hole, but his 20-foot birdie putt came up a roll short, extending the match. Young won the next two holes— holing out from the bunker on 17 for birdie— to send the match to the final hole, where Maclauchlan made a nervy 2-foot par putt to claim the Schwarzschild Brothers Trophy.
It was an eye-opening win for Maclauchlan, who paired with older brother Noah to win the MAPGA / VSGA Junior Four- Ball and finish second at the VSGA Four- Ball earlier in the season. The victory put the rising home-schooled junior on the radars of college coaches around the state at a critical time in the recruiting cycle. As his coach, four-time State Open winner Jay Woodson, said,“ The kid is fearless. He’ s not afraid of any player, any opponent, any moment, as you can see. He deserved to win.”
100TH VSGA WOMEN’ S AMATEUR On a Sunday evening, prior to the start of the championship, 19 past winners of the
VSGA Women’ s Amateur gathered for a celebration of women’ s golf in Virginia. Sky Sload, who has long yearned to be included in the winner’ s circle, talked to as many of them as possible.
“ To be among them was a true treat,” she said.“ I learned a lot from them in regards to what it takes to be a champion. I’ m glad I got to put it into practice, because I ended up on top this week.”
Indeed, Sload capped a strong week with a 6-and-5 victory over Sydney Hackett in the 18-hole final match at Keswick Club. Along the way, she defeated threetime winner Lauren Greenlief and ended 2023 winner Makayla Grubb’ s 10-match Women’ s Amateur win streak. Sload’ s career has been a winding road, with college stops at UVA, Missouri and Wake Forest. She hopes the victory will provide a springboard as she heads to LPGA Q School in the fall in hopes of earning at least Epson Tour status next year.
“ It’ s been a dream of mine,” Sload said.“ I have such a burning fire in my stomach for this game, and this desire to be successful and to be like the women who are on tour right now who I look up to so much.”
STATE OPEN OF VIRGINIA Larkin Gross has an interesting perspective of the State Open of Virginia, which is jointly conducted by the MAPGA and VSGA. As a Class A PGA of America member, Gross— an assistant professional at Westwood Country Club in Vienna— has played in three PGA Championships. He’ s not far removed, however, from playing in VSGA championships as an amateur.
“ I have such a burning fire in my stomach for this game, and this desire to be successful and to be like the women who are on tour right now who I look up to so much.”
– SKY SLOAD
CHRIS LANG
8 V IRGINIA G OLFER | S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2025 vsga. org