105 th
VSGA Amateur Championship
TOP CONTENDERS
Mark Lawrence Jr . ( Independence GC ): It ’ s hard to look past the defending champion and 2017 VSGA Men ’ s Golfer of the Year . Lawrence used his VSGA Amateur title as a springboard to a semifinal appearance at the U . S . Amateur Championship later in the summer . The Virginia Tech junior leads the Hokies in scoring average and rounds under par ( through early April ) and is 14-3 in match play at the VSGA Amateur since 2014 .
Michael Brennan ( River Creek Club ): The 16-yearold stormed onto the scene in 2017 , winning the VSGA Junior Match Play Championship , taking medalist honors at the VSGA Amateur and sharing low-amateur honors at the Delta Dental State Open of Virginia . He also won the Middle Atlantic Amateur last year , beating past VSGA Amateur champion
Scott Shingler in a playoff . Brennan ’ s 2018 is off to a great start , as he won the Dustin Johnson World Junior outside Myrtle Beach in February . One thing is certain : Brennan won ’ t sneak up on anyone this year .
Jordan Utley ( Independence GC ): The former University of Richmond standout is 8-3 in match play at the Amateur since 2014 with two championship match appearances . A gritty competitor , Utley is one of three to have beaten Lawrence in match play at the Amateur . Champions Maclain Huge and Joey Lane are the others .
Mark Lawrence Jr .
Wren , Virginia ’ s Connor Messick , Virginia Tech ’ s Ian Hildebrand and Arizona State ’ s Ryan Douglass . Also , outside of the usual suspects ( Shingler , Justin Young , Utley , Keith Decker , etc .), there are some strong mid-ams to watch should they play , including Brandon Cigna , John Rosenstock and reinstated amateurs Garland Green and Sam Beach .
TOUGHEST HOLES : Most competitors who played the Four-Ball Match Play last year at The Federal Club agreed that surviving the first six holes was key if one wanted to compete for the championship . That stretch includes the long , par-4 sixth hole that can stretch to 478 yards from the back tees .
DID YOU KNOW ? Since Shingler ’ s win in ’ 11 , collegians have won every championship . Schools represented : Duke ( Brinson Paolini ), Auburn ( Jake Mondy , twice ), and Virginia Tech ( Lawrence , Lane , Huge ).
|
|
|
Scott Shingler ( Dominion Valley CC ): Shingler is the last mid-amateur to win the championship , defeating Ji Soo Park at The Virginian in 2011 . Shingler is 13-7 in match play at the Amateur since 2010 and will be seeking his first trip past the quarterfinals since his championship run in 2011 . |
|
PHOTO CREDIT HERE |
Hole No . 11 at the Federal Club , which will host the the 105th VSGA Amateur Championship in June . |
CHRIS LANG |
KEEP AN EYE ON : The college players . Every year , a bevy of talented players return home from school to compete for the Amateur title . Players exempt from qualifying this year include Yale ’ s Teddy Zinsner ( 2017 VSGA Junior Stroke Play champion ), Virginia ’ s Brandon Yoon , Temple ’ s Trey |
Jordan Utley |
vsga . org M AY / J UNE 2018 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 21