VSGA GOLF: Hayden makes match play; Hite earns top seed

Conner Hayden described his opening performance Tuesday at the 98^th Virginia State Amateur Championship as “a solid round of golf.”

He had a slightly different description of his second 18 holes Wednesday at The Virginian Golf Club.

“It was a nervous round of golf today,” said the soon-to-be Chilhowie High School senior.

Nervous – and noteworthy.

Hayden, 17, shot a 3-over 74 in round two, giving him a two-day total of 144 that allowed him – without a shot to spare – to make the 32-player cut for the rest of the week’s match play as the only competitor who isn’t a legal adult remaining in the field.

“That’s a huge achievement in the first place,” said Hayden, a member at The Virginian playing in his first State Am. “That was the main goal coming in here was just to make it to the top 32 and have new goals after that. It’ll be a crazy little night.”

Despite his youth, it was a veteran’s poise that pulled Hayden into the final 32.

Starting on No. 10 Wednesday, Hayden had a wild first nine holes with three bogeys, three birdies and three pars. Still, as he wound down his round with a birdie on No. 5 to cancel out a bogey at No. 4 and draw back to even for the tournament, Hayden looked to be in a comfortable position to make the cut.

Then came disaster at No. 8.

On the downhill par 3, Hayden plopped his tee shot in the water, failed to get up-and-down after his drop and wound up with a confidence-shaking double bogey.

But Hayden proved he has plenty of poise to go along with his wunderkind-worthy talents, composing himself for No. 9 and making a difficult two-putt to save par and, as it turned out, his spot in the match play competition.

“It was tough,” Hayden said about the water shot on No. 8. “I just told myself that it was going to be all right. I just tried to stay under control and go to the next hole thinking positive thoughts.”

Nine golfers – including 2008 runner-up Roger Newsom and 44-year-old Tazewell resident Buck Brittain – ended up finishing at 2-over 144 for the two-round stroke play tournament. Jimmy Delp of Arlington was the only golfer to finish at 3-over and just one shot back of making the cut, but a mammoth playoff for the last slots in the match play competition was avoided by that one-shot difference between Delp and the nine-member group at 2-over.

Lane Hite, who just completed his senior season at Radford University, will be the No. 1 seed for match play as he backed up his first-day-best 65 with a 69 Wednesday. He edged  fellow Virginia Beach resident Evan Beck, a Wake Forest University golfer, by one stroke for the top spot.

“My mindset today didn’t change,” Hite said. “I went out there and I was still aggressive, going out there trying to make birdies and shoot a low number.”

Hite had failed to qualify for the match play portion of the competition in his previous three State Ams, which he said made earning the top seed that much more surprising – and special.

“I definitely would like to be at the top at the end of the tournament, but it’s nice to be at the top,” he said. “It means I played well and it just gives you confidence.”

Although winning the stroke play portion of the tournament may give Hite’s psyche a boost heading into match play, seeds tend not to matter much in head-to-head State Am competition.

The last No. 1 seed to win it all was Billy Hurley in 2004, while the last No. 32 seed to claim the title was Pat Tallent just four year ago. Brittain will take on Hite in the first round of match play from the No. 32 slot in the bracket after tiebreaker draws following Wednesday’s competition.  

Two other Virginian members will join Hayden in match play today as Garland Green and Jay Vandeventer each shot a 70 in round two to finish stroke play at 4 under and in a tie for fifth, the same standing they had after the opening round.

Green, who has lost in the semifinals of the State Am the past two years to three-time defending champion Brinson Paolini, said his work – and the pressure – is just beginning.

“It’s still on,” Green said.

Paolini also cruised into the final 32 with a 68 Wednesday to join Green and Vandeventer in a tie for fifth. Paolini will take on rising Virginia Tech junior Mikey Moyers in a high-powered pairing this morning.

Another Virginian member, Bristol’s Chris Crockett, was unable to build on his opening-round 71, getting off to a rough start Wednesday and finishing in a tie for 59^th with a two-day total of 150. Mike Kirby, the 2010 State Am runner-up, also saw his tournament end after stroke play as he shot 2 over in the second round to finish 9 over and in a tie for 63^rd.

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