Golf Notes: Valentine Invitational field strong again

Valentine Invitational field strong again

Adam Horton of Chesapeake will be on hand to defend his title in the Valentine Invitational at Hermitage Country Club this weekend.

The 54-hole stroke-play tournament has long been one of the premier invitationals in the commonwealth and consistently draws a strong field.

Horton won wire-to-wire a year ago. Last year's runner-up, Scott Shingler of Haymarket, also is in the field and ranks high on the contender list. Shingler was the low amateur and tied for second overall at the SunTrust State Open.

Current Virginia State Golf Association points leader Keith Decker also is in the field. Decker is a past Valentine champion and will represent Virginia along with Shingler and Pat Tallent at the USGA State Team Championship. Decker has been a member of the Virginia team all eight times the national tournament has been held.

Also among the players to watch are recent RGA Mid-Amateur winner Ben Keefer (a Hermitage member), reigning RGA Senior and Men's Amateur champion Tim Kelley, current State Mid-Amateur champ Nick Biesecker, reigning Zimbabwe, South Africa, national amateur champion Marc McDonald, and last year's SunTrust State Open winner Roger Newsom.

Some of the commonwealth's top high school and collegiate players are in the hunt for the title as well.

Play begins Friday and ends Sunday.

Virginias juniors on winning streak

The Virginias' junior boys captured their third consecutive Virginias-Carolinas Junior Team Matches last weekend at Boonsboro Country Club in Lynchburg.

Holding a one-point lead going into Sunday's singles round, the Virginias outscored their opponents 5-3 for a 9½-6½ victory.

Soon-to-be University of Richmond freshman Daniel Walker of Earlysville scored a team best three points for the Virginias.

Matthew Ball Jr. (Richmond) scored the Virginias first point in singles. His brother, Adam, the reigning State Junior champion, earned a halve. Three-time Times-Dispatch player of the year Nick Austin, also UR bound, lost his singles match but teamed with Walker to win two points in Saturday's foursome and best-ball matches.

The Carolinas lead the all-time series 14-12-1, but the Virginias are 8-3-1 in the past 12 meetings.

For complete results, visit http://www.vsga.org.

State Senior Am at Princess Anne

The State Senior Men's Amateur Championship begins Monday at Princess Anne Country Club. It's the first time the Virginia Beach club has been the State Senior venue.

The course underwent extensive renovations in 2007 and re-opened in May 2008. Princess Anne's head professional, Paul Michaelian, was formerly at the Country Club of Virginia and Meadowbrook Country Club.

The starting field of 117 ages 55-and-over will play 36 holes of stroke play to determine the 32 players who qualify for match play. The first two rounds of matches are Aug. 26, the quarterfinals are Aug. 27 and the scheduled 18-hole final is Aug. 28.

Charlie Green of Tazewell is the defending champion. He is one of 11 players in the field who are past champions of VSGA state tournaments. Seven of last year's eight quarterfinalists are competing.

Chip shot

Justin LaRue, a 6-year-old from Chester, recently competed in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Pinehurst, N.C. LaRue won the state qualifier for the international tournament, and also plays regularly in VSGA Junior Club tournaments. He played a practice round with Kota Murakami of Japan, who wound up winning the 6-year-old age division. LaRue tied for 20th. His big prize from the tournament was earning best putter accolades for his age group. - Arthur Utley