Shingler, Park to meet in State Am finals

Everybody was expecting it to be a kids' party.

Then Scott Shingler crashed it.

Shingler, a 39-year-old out of Haymarket, Va., won a thrilling match play quarterfinal on the 20th hole over Keith Decker on Friday morning; then came back out after lunch to beat Sam Beach 3 and 2 in the semis to advance to the finals of the 98th Virginia State Amateur Championship at The Virginian Golf Club.

"They counted the older guys out, I think," Shingler said between laughs. "Everything was about the young guys earlier this week, but I was just fortunate enough to play well this week and win some tough matches against some great players."

None were tougher than his day-opening victory over Decker - who squared the match on the final hole with a birdie on the par-5, 552-yard finisher. The pair stayed even after 19 before Shingler sank a 35-foot putt to grab the win on the 20th.

"Downhill, left to right, playing about a six-foot break," Shingler said. "And I was fortunate enough to get the line and speed matched up and converted the putt."

In the semis, Beach went 1 up on Shingler with a birdie on No. 3, but wouldn't win a hole the rest of the way. A far cry from Beach's quarterfinal against Jon Hurst when the 22-year-old out of Glen Allen, down 3 on No. 14, won the final four holes to take the 1-up victory.

Shingler, who made it to the quarterfinals in 1997 - the last time the event was held at the sprawling Tom Fazio designed course - will face 18-year-old Ji Soo Park in today's 36-hole match play championship round.

"I don't know a whole lot about him," Shingler said of his finals opponent. "Looking at him hit some shots, he's got a nice swing and nice rhythm."

Park, who opened the day with a 19-hole win over Weston Eklund, needed an extra hole to come back from 2 down to beat fellow 18-year-old Bryce Chalkley and advance to face Shingler.

Chalkley, a rising sophomore at Virginia Tech, was 2 up after 15 but Park birdied on 16 to close the gap. A putt away from winning it on No. 18, Chalkley three putted while Park drained a birdie to send it to the extra hole.

"I had a putt to win and just hit it too hard," Chalkley said.

Park, who graduated from Chantilly High School in June, began chipping back on the par-5, No. 14 after Chalkley won three straight to go 2 up. The duo exchanged birdies on 14 and par 3s on 15 before Park, who held a 1 up lead until No. 11, closed the gap on 16 with a birdie before squaring things on 18 to force the playoff hole.

"I was two down with four to play," Park said. "I lost a little focus after the first few holes and I was missing short birdie putts. I had to get my focus back."

Winning No. 18 helped; his putt on No. 19 lifted him to today's final.

"I killed my driver, I got a four iron perfectly cut short [to set up the winning putt]," Park said.

He pushed his downhill 15-footer to the right and watched as it cut left with the slope and fell into the hole. Park, who showed little emotion during his final-four play, pumped his fist as the small crowd that gathered to watch the future ACC rivals applauded.

Park smiled and shook Chalkley's hand before turning to his father and golf coach, Jong Chan Park, to wrap him in a hug.

Park, who admitted being nervous about playing in today's finals, is familiar with Shingler and is expecting nothing less than a great 36-holes of match play when the pair tees off at 8 a.m.

"He's a great player," the South Korean immigrant said. "I just have to play my game, relax and enjoy it. Not like today, I'm not going to lose my focus."

Chalkley, flawless in his 5 and 4 quarterfinal win over Tazewell's Buck Brittain to start the day, lamented his missed opportunity on 18 and joked about another added shot Park provided.

"To make it worse he's actually attending the University of Virginia next year," he said. "I'm sure I'll see him down the road quite a bit."

A budding rivalry?

"Maybe," Park said as he smiled. "And the first match I won. It's 1-0 now."

NOTES: Despite having played at The Virginian in 1997 - the last time the State Am made a stop in Bristol - Shingler doesn't think that will give him an advantage today. "I only remember a handful of holes, so I'd say no." ... The Haymarket resident took a three-and-a-half-year hiatus from the links before his wife encouraged him to pick the clubs back up in the summer of 2007. "She didn't have to twist my arm too hard though to make that happen," he said. ... Park, who came to The Virginian with question marks next to his short game called his much-talked-about shortcoming a "rumor" before stopping to correct himself. "No, not a rumor," he said. "It was true that I was really bad at short games, I agree. But now, I've tried to fix it. I've done well this week putting and chipping. It was good enough today." ... Park's father, Jong Chan, doubles as his golf coach, a relationship that sometimes tests both of their patience. But the 18-year-old said he wouldn't have it any other way. "It's tough, really tough," he said. "I don't agree with him sometimes, still, I got a lot of things to learn from him. He's not a professional, but he's studied golf a lot."