2014 Northern Virginia Amateur

After fourteen holes in Sunday’s final round of the 41st Northern Virginia Amateur, three golfers were tied for the lead and another was one shot back – but two charged from the pack with four-time champion Scott Shingler edging newly-reinstated amateur John Corbin for his fifth title at the Pleasant Vally GC. The round was full of drama and turnarounds before Shingler bettered Corbin’s birdies at 15 and 17 with a hat trick of birdies of his own at 15, 16 and 17 from 5 feet, 5 feet and 2 feet respectively.

Brandon Cigna entered the final round with a 1-shot lead over Kevin Dillard, 3 shots over Shingler and 6 shots over Corbin after opening rounds of 69-70. Jim Nirich was 5 shots back at even-par 144. A bogey-triple bogey (lost ball)-double bogey stretch at holes #2 thru 4 however gave Dillard the lead at 4-under which he held over Shingler by 2 shots after the outgoing nine when they both shot even par 36. Corbin also had 36 and was 5 shots back while Nirich’s 39 put him 7 back. A biride at the tenth by Cigna got him back to even par, 4 shots back. A bogey-double bogey stretch by Dillard at the 11th and 12th holes reduced his lead to one over Shingler, who had bogied the 10th and 11th, and Corbin, who was quietly working his way up the leader board with steady 1-under golf to that point. With a Dillard bogey at the 14th, there was a three way tie between Dillard, Shingler and Corbin at even par with Cigna one back after a bogey at the 12th.

While the stage was then set for the Shingler – Corbin birdie charge, the preceding two holes were the key to Shingler’s win. With his round heading in the wrong direction after bogies at holes 11 and 12, Shingler pulled his second shot on the par-five 13th headed for the hazard. In a good break/bad break scenario, the ball caught the greenside bunker but settled into a footprint forcing Shingler to blast out away from the hole 40 feet away. After a fast downhill putt that got away from him, Shingler was left with a 12 foot par putt which he made. On the next hole, the 152 yard par-3 14th, Shingler’s tee shot landed at the base of the pin and bounced back off the green. An up-and-down save for par kept his round going. The win puts Shingler within one of Gil Fitzhugh’s record of six Northern Virginia Amateur titles from 1980-1992.

Cigna recovered nicely after the fourth hole, playing the remaining holes in even par for a fourth place finish, tied with Brenton Flynn who had rounds of 74-71-72-217. Dillard finished in third at even-par 216. Nirich finished tied for sixth with Andy Heye who closed with two 71’s after an opening 77. This was Corbin’s first amateur tournament after receiving his amateur status back follwing six years as an assistant pro. Corbin came close a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole when his tee shot lipped out for a tap-in birdie. He said that he plans to play in more local and state events. With new players like Corbin, Flynn, Cigna, and Doc Schulte who tied for 12th, added to the area’s list of outstanding players, the future of Northern Virginia amateur golf looks very bright.

The Northern Sections would like to thank the Pleasant Valley GC, General Manager Jon Fulton, PGA Professional Mike Zosh and their staffs for hosting this year’s event and for their support of Northern Virginia amateur golf.
Pictured: Carole, Scott and Ron Shingler with the Henry Kerfoot Trophy
Final Scores

2014 Northern Virginia Four-Ball

Jason Pool and partner Derick Paxton are both lifelong members of the River Bend Club in Great Falls, host of this year’s Northern Virginia Four Ball, and both went to Langley High School. Beyond that the comparisons pretty much ends. With their victory today in the championship which began 28 years ago, Pool captured his second Four Ball and fifth overall Northern Virginia title while Paxton captured his first. Pool will be 40 on his next birthday while Paxton, who is a rising sophomore at Clemson this year after transferring from Rhode Island, will be 20. Pool captured the Virginia AAA High School championship in 1992 before his partner was even born. Differences aside, they used their local knowledge and apparent team chemistry to pull away from the field on the back nine in the final round. Pool and Paxton started the day tied for first with 2012 champions Jimmy Delp (Laurel Hill) and Dan Hosek (Ft. Belvoir) at 5-under 66 with seven other teams within 3 shots. Pool birdied the first and sixth holes with Paxton adding another on the fifth for a front nine 3-under 33, then got a break on the eleventh hole when Paxton made a birdie after his second shot went through a tree while his partner was making bogey. Pool then kept the round going with a good par save at the fourteenth, setting up their seal-the-deal finish. Pool stiffed his second on the 15th to 12 inches for birdie and made a 12 footer on the 16th for another. After Paxton had hit his second shot to within 15 feet with a 9 iron on the 478 yard par-four 17th, Pool holed out for birdie from the bunker. On the final hole Pool hit his 252-yard second shot on the par-five to within 12 feet and, after Paxton had made birdie from near the first tee, rolled in the eagle putt for a final round 62 and a seven shot victory. Their total was 14-under 128.

Geoff Castleton and Harold Dill from South Riding tied for second with Don McClintock (Laurel Hill) and Chris Hoffman (Jefferson District) with 135. Castleton and Dill followed their opening 67 with 68, while McClintock and Hoffman shot a final round 66 to go with an opening 69. Brandon Cigna (Arlington) and Chris Robb (Augustine) tied for fourth with Brandon Burns and Mark Fegani of Raspberry Falls with 136. Cigna and Robb had 68-68 while Burns and Fegani had 69-67. Hosek and Delp finished in a tie for sixth at 137 with Kevin Dillard (Army Navy) and Jim Nirich (Stonewall). Dillard and Nirich had 66 in the final round.

The Northern Sections would like to thank the River Bend Club, PGA Professional John Madden and his staff, along with Superintendent Tom Lipscomb and his staff for hosting this year’s event. The course was in magnificent condition and the members were very gracious in the support of the championship.
Pictured: Pool (L), Paxton (R)
Final Scores