Leon Roday has won in back-to-back events
(VSGA photo)
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (October 11, 2017) – Leon Roday (Henrico, Va.) delivered a final round score of 2-under-par 70 to post a two-stroke victory in the senior division of the Two Rivers Senior Invitational, which concluded on Tuesday at Two Rivers Country Club.
Roday completed the three-round event with a 2-under 214 aggregate to outlast Tim Vigotsky (Centreville, Va.) and overnight leader and Two Rivers member Dave Pulk (Williamsburg, Va.) who stumbled to 4-over 76. Vigotsky produced the low round of the day of 3-under 69. Both Pulk and Vigotsky closed action at even-par 216. All told, Roday put together a strong ball-striking round with all of his birdies at Nos. 9, 14 and 16 coming within 6 feet. The 63-year-old Roday trailed Pulk by four strokes entering the final round, but made up the deficit by relying on consistency. With the victory, Roday captured his eighth tournament crown this season.
“I hit it well and made a couple of putts,” said Roday, who claimed last week’s Virginia State Golf Association Mid-Senior Championship. “David (Pulk) is one of the best senior amateurs in the country. Anytime I can come out ahead, I feel very fortunate. “I retired a couple of years ago. My whole life I’ve loved golf. It’s great to play a lot of it.”
Pulk owned a four-stroke advantage over Roday entering the final round, but struggled in the early stages in the shotgun start format, including making a triple-bogey 8 at the par-5 14th hole where he hit two shots out of bounds resulting in four penalty strokes.
Following a five over par start, Pulk picked himself up off the canvas and made three straight birdies at Nos. 15-17 and added another at No. 1 to stand at one over for the round. His roller coaster round hit a rally-ending dip though with a three-putt bogey at No. 1 and a double at the par-3 fourth hole.
“Disappointing,” Pulk said of his round. “When you have that many penalty strokes, it’s hard to play well—a few too many mistakes.”
Vigotsky not only turned in the low score among the seniors, but also had the highlight shot of the last round. He made a hole-in-one at the par-3 17th hole where his 6-iron tee shot from 168 yards landed 6 feet short of the flagstick before the ball scampered into the hole like a scared rodent.
“I wasn’t sure it went in. I didn’t want to snakebite myself,” said Vigotsky, who accounted for the sixth ace of his career. “Fellow-competitor Scott (Reisenweaver) said, ‘It absolutely went in.’ ”
The good karma continued. Vigotsky began the final round seven strokes off the lead, but the ace started a stretch in which he was five under par in a four-hole span.
“I was a long way back, but you never know with this game. I kept plugging away,” Vigotsky said.
Among the super seniors (ages 65-69), Charles Yandell (Cashiers, N.C.) returned a closing day division-best score of 3-under 69 and outlasted Two Rivers member Mike McDonald (Williamsburg, Va.) by rolling in a left-to-right breaking 10-foot birdie putt at the second extra hole, the par-4 18th. Yandell and McDonald each finished the 54-hole tournament at 1-under 215.
After opening with 76, Yandell shot five under par (70-69) in the final two rounds to rally. Yandell missed only one green over the final 36 holes and toured the layout’s par 5s in three under par on the deciding day. He credited a swing change that entailed increasing his right hip rotation on the backswing.
“My ball striking wasn’t very good the first day,” Yandell said. “On the second day, I was striking it well on the range. All of the sudden, I had good tempo and trusted it the past two rounds.”
In the Legends’ category (ages 70 and older), George Washburn III (Frederick, Md.) shot 2-under 70 to notch an eight-stroke runaway victory (3-under 213). George Owens of Virginia Beach (75, 5-over 221) was the next low scorer. The 71-year-old Washburn was the only competitor to shoot three rounds of par or better; he had 72-71 the first two days. He tamed Two Rivers’ undulating putting surfaces, hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation to close out his triumph.
“On these greens, that’s an accomplishment for me and led to a couple of birdies,” said Washburn, the top point-earner in the Golfweek Legend division rankings.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. –– Scores from the final round of the Two Rivers Senior Invitational at Two Rivers Country Club from Tuesday, Oct. 10.
SENIOR DIVISION (ages 50-64)
Leon Roday (Henrico, Va.), 68-76-70—214
Tim Vigotsky (Centreville, Va.), 75-72-69—216
Dave Pulk (Williamsburg, Va.), 68-72-76—216
Rich Buckner (Gainesville, Va.), 70-75-75—220
Tony Good (Glen Allen, Va.), 73-75-74—222
Scott Reisenweaver (Midlothian, Va.), 75-73-74—222
John Fritz (Mint Hill, N.C.), 74-76-73—223
Danny Yates (Marshall, Va.), 72-73-79—224
Dean Griffith (Front Royal, Va.), 77-76-74—227
Kirk Geiling (Loveland, Ohio), 71-79-78—228
Cam Young (Manakin-Sabot, Va.), 76-76-76—228
Kent Erdahl (Williamsburg, Va.), 71-78-80—229
Bill Sibbick (Martinsville, Va.), 77-79-74—230
Jim Woodson (Powhatan, Va.), 79-77-74—230
John Steele (Boyds, Md.), 76-78-76—230
David Jordan (Glen Allen, Va.), 78-72-82—232
Scott Richards (Norfolk, Va.), 74-82-77—233
Duncan Hardcastle (Midlothian, Va.), 81-77-75—233
Paul Holbrook (Williamsburg, Va.), 83-78-80—241
David Prokop (Haymarket, Va.), 79-85-78—242
Len Brooks (Charleston, S.C.), 80-86-77—243
Dave Hanna (Williamsburg, Va.), 84-81-80—245
Jeff Fleishman (Williamsburg, Va.), 78-85-83—246
John Skinner (Miami Lakes, Fla.), 81-79-WD
Keith Champion (Virginia Beach, Va.), 98-96-WD
SUPER SENIOR DIVISION (ages 65-69)
* - Charles Yandell (Cashiers, N.C.), 76-70-69—215
Mike McDonald (Williamsburg, Va.), 75-69-71—215
Mike Jackson (Martinez, Ga.), 70-76-82—218
Mark Runyan (Centennial, Colo.), 76-73-82—231
Bob Rotella (Keswick, Va.), 81-75-76—232
Wyatt Meyer (Lutz, Fla.), 80-85-95—260
* playoff winner
LEGENDS’ DIVISION (ages 70 and older)
George Washburn III (Frederick, Md.), 72-71-70—213
George Owens (Virginia Beach, Va.), 72-74-75—221
Bill Flanders (Williamsburg, Va.), 78-79-72—229
Meredith Henry (Bluffton, S.C.), 80-80-76—236
Arne Svindland (Williamsburg, Va.), 77-79-80—236
Steve Golis (Alexandria, Va.), 74-80-84—238
Dan Tate (Washington, D.C.), 78-83-80—241
Dick Johnson (Williamsburg, Va.), 81-81-81—243
Ed Porter (Grafton, Mass.), 85-86-75—246
Hank Berry (Williamsburg, Va.), 82-80-85—247
John Casstevens (Glen Allen, Va.), 78-82-WD
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