( atc )
Road to Roanoke
State Open
The 2017 Delta Dental State Open of Virginia preview |
by CHRIS LANG
B
allyhack Golf Club is considered a
national destination club. Its 18-hole
championship course has been the
destination for Virginia’s best ama-
teurs and professionals for four
straight years now.
The Delta Dental State Open of Virginia
returns to the Roanoke club in its traditional
spot on the calendar, concurrent with the Open
Championship, the season’s third major cham-
pionship. A mix of top amateurs from Virginia
and top professionals from the Middle Atlantic
Section of the PGA will compete in 54 holes of
stroke play to decide a champion.
Here are some things to watch July 20-22 at
Ballyhack.
WHERE’S THE CHAMP?
After surviving a playoff and claiming his
fourth State Open victory last July, Jay Wood-
son sat at a table inside the Ballyhack club-
house, joking with reporters.
“I never even talked to you guys until today,”
he said.
True. He shot rounds of 73 and 70 and entered
the final round eight shots behind second-round
leader Mark Lawrence Jr. Lawrence and Lanto
Griffin stumbled down the stretch, opening the
door for Woodson, who sat in the clubhouse for
an hour after returning his 7-under 65, waiting.
When all three finished with three-day 208s,
Woodson seized the opportunity, a birdie on the
second playoff hole securing his unlikely victory.
Woodson, a professional from Powhatan,
won’t be around to attempt to add a fifth title
to his resume this July, but for good reason. In
April, Woodson shot a four-day 284 at Q School
for the Mackenzie Tour (PGA Tour Canada)
and won a playoff for fifth place, which ensured
him an exemption into the first eight events of
the 2017 Mackenzie Tour season. He’ll be in
Quebec for the Mackenzie Investments Open,
the sixth event on the Tour schedule.
After winning the Big Break Invitational in
2014, Woodson spent time trying to Monday
qualify for PGA Tour and Web.com events, with
12
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | J U LY / A U G U ST 2 0 1 7
There will be a new champ
in 2017, as four-time winner
Jay Woodson will be playing a
Mackenzie Tour event in Canada
instead of the State Open.
vsga.org