HOT SPRINGS, Va., Aug. 25,
2011 –– Stroke play medalist
David
Partridge, 56, of Manakin will face
northern Virginian
Tim
Vigotsky, 57, of Centreville in Friday
morning’s scheduled 18-hole final of the
64th Virginia State Golf Association Senior
Amateur Championship being conducted at The
Homestead’s Cascades Course.
Both players posted a pair of victories in
Thursday’s quarterfinal and semifinal
round matches to set up Friday’s
deciding encounter, which will begin at 8 a.m.
Partridge continued the same strong play
that he has displayed throughout this
week’s championship, posting two
victories over a pair of locals. In the
quarterfinals, the central Virginian notched a 3
and 2 win over Salem’s Jack Allara,
before ousting event rookie and his former
University of Virginia teammate Van Renick of
Roanoke, 5 and 4 to reach the final.
Vigostky (pictured left ),
meanwhile, recorded a pair of 1-up victories,
getting past local and Homestead member Jack
Vardman (Hot Springs) in the morning. He then
defeated 2009 event champion Mike McDonald
of Williamsburg in the semifinals.
In his round of eight encounter against
Allara, Partridge built a three holes up lead
through four, shot the stroke-play equivalent
of one under par in that stretch and led the
remainder of the match.
Against the 55-year-old Renick in the
semifinals, he again took control of an all-
square match in the early stages by claiming
four of six holes from Nos. 4-9 to gain a four
holes up advantage. Partridge played that
span of holes in even par counting the
concessions that are customarily a part of
match play.
After his opponent got within two with
wins at Nos. 10 and 11, Partridge claimed the
last three holes of the match. The central
Virginian drilled a 7-iron to 7 feet for an
eventual birdie at the par-4 12th hole to gain a
three holes up lead. Partridge then blistered his
tee shot at the par-4 13th hole and had the
perfect distance in – 101 yards –
to set up his gap wedge approach for an
ensuing birdie from 4 feet. He closed the
match with a deciding par at No. 14.
“I still felt like I had the edge, but to
come back and retake control of the match
was fun, I must admit,” said Partridge, a
VSGA member at Hermitage Country Club.
“If I hadn’t played well on Nos.
12 and 13, the result could’ve been
entirely different.”
Admittedly, his second day 5-under 65
that carried Partridge to low qualifying honors
gave him some added confidence. Since, he
has relied on the steady play that match play
demands – and the Cascades Course
rewards. His closest match has been a 2 and 1
victory over Lexington’s J.W.
Entsminger to open match play.
“I’ve played pretty solidly
throughout the championship and feel like my
game is in pretty good shape,” Partridge
said. “My game isn’t super-sharp,
but it certainly is in good shape.”
After reaching the age eligibility
requirement of 55 last year, Partridge made it
to the quarterfinals in his debut appearance in
2010. A veteran of VSGA competitions,
Partridge is twice a winner of the VSGA
Amateur Championship and a three-time VSGA
Mid-Amateur victor.
He says his mindset entering the
championship final will remain the same.
“Typically if you play your own game
and play aggressively in match play,
you’re going to come out
better,” Partridge said. “You
want to be the aggressor, shoot a good score
and hopefully have the advantage.”
Vigotsky played 36 holes in recording two
victories on Thursday. In the quarterfinals, he
scored a par-win at the par-3 18th hole, two-
putting from 30 feet, to slip past Vardaman,
the sixth low-qualifier for match play.
After the lunch break, neither Vigotsky nor
McDonald held more than a one-hole up lead in
the match. Following a weather delay in the
afternoon, Vigotsky returned to claim the par-
4 14th hole via an adventurous route. In
trouble off the tee, his drive came to rest near
a big rock on the left and he barely advanced
his second shot.
“It literally moved about 10 or 15
yards,” Vigotsky recalled with a laugh.
On his third shot, he still had trees and
overhanging limbs to contend with, but
managed to lace a 2-hybrid from 180 yards
that darted low, scurried between two
greenside bunkers and found the green where
he two-putted for a bogey win. If ever there
was a good bogey, the great escape more
than qualifies. He held the 1-up lead the rest
of the way.
“It was one of the best shots that
I’ve hit out of trouble. I’ve got a
big selection to choose from given the places
I’ve been over the years,”
Vigotsky smiled.
Vigotsky has won three demanding
matches in earning his first appearance in the
final. He bested Vienna’s Pat Tallent,
the third low qualifier for match play, in
Wednesday afternoon’s round of 16.
Then came Thursday’s endurance test.
“It was a grind – I got the full
arsenal from them,” said Vigotsky, a
VSGA member at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club
in Gainesville. “They’re all fighters
– they scrap, they claw – but
they’re all great to play with.”
Vigotsky knows things will get no easier
against Partridge, who has basically rolled
through match play.
“He’s really playing well and
taking care of business,” Vigotsky said.
“You have to be hitting on all cylinders
to make it a good, tight match because you
know he is going to be.”
HOT SPRINGS
––Results from the
quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of match play
at the 64th VSGA Senior Amateur
Championship at The Homestead’s
Cascades Course (6,256 yards, par 35-
35—70) on Thursday, Aug. 25 (stroke
play qualifying score indicated).
Quarterfinal round of match play
results
(1) David Partridge (Manakin), 137 def. (9)
Jack Allara II (Salem), 144, 3 and 2
(4) Van Renick (Roanoke), 139 def. (5) John
Hoffman (Fairfax), 139, 4 and 3
(26) Mike McDonald (Williamsburg), 151 def.
(2) John Price (Fairfax), 138, 3 and 1
(14) Tim Vigotsky (Centreville), 146 def. (6)
Jack Vardaman (Hot Springs), 142, 1 up
Semifinal round of match play
results
(1) David Partridge (Manakin), 137 def. (4)
Van Renick (Roanoke), 139, 5 and 4
(14) Tim Vigotsky (Centreville), 146 def. (26)
Mike McDonald (Williamsburg), 151, 1 up
HOT SPRINGS
––Pairing and
starting time for the final round of match play
at the 64th VSGA Senior Amateur
Championship at The Homestead’s
Cascades Course (6,256 yards, par 35-
35—70) on Friday, Aug. 26 (stroke play
qualifying score indicated).
Friday (Aug. 26), Hole No.
1
8 a.m.: (1) David
Partridge (Manakin), 137 vs. (14) Tim Vigotsky
(Centreville), 146
View results for VSGA Senior Amateur