THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 6, 1996 TAG: 9607060516
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HOT SPRINGS, VA. LENGTH: 74 lines
There was a symmetry to Friday's final of the Virginia State Amateur golf championship that did not bode well for Norfolk's Troy Ferris.
Twenty-six years ago on The Homestead's Upper Cascades course, Richmond's Lanny Wadkins of Meadowbrook Country Club won the championship. Wadkins happened to show up at the Cascades Friday morning, unaware the finals were taking place - or that Ferris's opponent, John Rollins, was a fellow Meadowbrook member.
By mid-afternoon, they were chatting like old buddies, Wadkins having presented Rollins with the champion's cup after his 8-and-6 victory in the 36-hole final.
``I've never been beaten that badly in match play,'' said Ferris, who will return to Campbell College this fall to finish his degree, but not play golf. ``The whole week, I was never down by more than one hole. Today, I didn't win a hole until 13 - and that was with a chip-in.
``I didn't make a putt all day and John didn't make a mistake all day.''
It was new territory for Rollins. Match play hadn't been kind to the Virginia Commonwealth University rising senior and Colonial Athletic Association champion in the past, and he'd played a lot of it.
``Until this week, I don't think I've ever won more than two or three matches,'' Rollins said. ``What a time to finally break the ice.''
Rollins did so on the front nine of the opening 18 holes, playing them in 3-under par. Ferris made nine consecutive pars - generally enough to hold at least a one- or two-hole lead in this event. Instead, he trailed by three, and finished the morning 4-down.
``I was playing pretty steady golf, solid,'' Rollins said. ``Troy was playing well, but couldn't get any momentum. Getting out there in three-under took a lot of pressure off of me.''
Ferris had several chances to get back into the match at the start of the afternoon round. But he lipped out a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 1 and halved the hole when Rollins rolled in a 5-footer for par.
Ferris won the second hole with a par 4 and hit his approach shot on the par-4 third to 6 feet of the cup. Rollins, whose tee shot hit a tree and fell straight into the fairway, hit his approach to 13 feet and two-putted for par.
Ferris then slid his birdie attempt past the cup to halve a hole he should have taken.
Rollins began pulling away two holes later. Ferris hit his second shot on the par-5 under the guardrail that separates the course from US Route 220. He got relief, but came up short of the green rom there, chipped on to 20 feet, then two-putted for bogey.
Rollins, hitting first, slapped his second shot under a tree, scuffed his third into the deep rough, but then hit a pitching wedge to 5 feet and saved par to win the hole and regain a four-hole advantage.
``If I had known that he was in the trees, I wouldn't have hit a 3-wood second shot,'' Ferris said. ``I was trying to be aggressive and it came back to cost me.''
Rollins then won the next three holes before Ferris won No. 9 to make the turn 6-down. He conceded Rollins a birdie 2 after losing his tee shot in a bed of rocks 20 yards behind the 11th green and Rollins closed out the match by making par from the greenside rough left of the 12th green while Ferris made bogey.
Wadkins was asked by the Virginia State Golf Association to hand out the champion's trophy before they knew who would get it. The former PGA champion had kind words for both players and encouraged Ferris not to get too down on himself.
``I've been on both sides,'' Wadkins told Ferris. ``I've lost in the state finals and I've won. I know how you feel, and I can appreciate much more how he feels.''
``I'm going to chalk this up as great experience,'' Ferris said. ``I beat two former champions to get here. I feel I can win this thing . . . you've got to jog before you can run.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Norfolk's Troy Ferris parred the first nine holes Friday, but found
himself
3-down to John Rollins. by CNB