THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610180280
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES C. BLACK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 85 lines
On another day against another golfer, Southampton High's Zach Pfingst probably would have been finished.
``Dead meat,'' Pfingst's dad thought after his son's sudden-death playoff tee shot at the Region I tournament Tuesday.
Pfingst (pronounced FINX) had been on his way to a regulation victory until York's Tyler Otten chipped in on the last hole for a birdie and tied the Southampton golfer at 74.
``Zach could hear a roar and then he knew something happened,'' Hal Pfingst said of the crowd at Hampton's Woodlands Golf Course. ``It was incredible. It was like television.''
So back to the drawing board Pfingst went. To begin the playoff, he came out with a 3-iron and sent his tee shot 240 yards - into the woods.
Using a 4-iron, Otten's tee shot hit a tree and landed in front of the green.
Figuring he had about an 80 percent chance of making the green, Pfingst used an 8-iron. He hit a hook shot that went around a tree, rolled through the green and into a sand trap beyond the green.
With victory at his grasp, Otten hit a chip shot that fell 8 feet short of the hole. That turned out to be Otten's last chance at victory.
Using a sand wedge, Pfingst put the ball right into the cup from some 30 feet away.
``He (Pfingst) exploded from the sand bunker,'' Southampton coach Bob Woulf said.
``Zach just played the perfect bunker shot,'' Pfingst's anxious dad said. ``It was just perfect.''
The dramatic birdie enabled Pfingst, a sophomore, to become the first Indian to ever win medalist honors in a region tournament. Pfingst also qualified for the state Group AA tournament, which will be held Monday and Tuesday at Falling River Country Club in Appomattox.
His play at the region tournament was a big turnaround from his performance on the first day of the Bay Rivers District tournament.
On the first hole, Pfingst drove the ball to the left. The next thing he knew, he could not find his ball.
``I think a guy with a lawn mower ran over it,'' Pfingst said. ``I ended up with a seven on that hole.''
And a 78 on the day. But being the golfer he is, Pfingst struck back the following day and finished with a 70.
``I thought I was going to shoot 65,'' Pfingst said of the round that helped place him third in the tournament. ``I was real excited. That was the first time I was that excited in a long time.''
Finishing near the top of the district gave Pfingst an opportunity he had not had before - competing in regional play. Not that the young man wasn't good enough previously. He hit his first hole-in-one at the age of 11 and broke 80 at the age of 12. Yet, circumstances prevented the young golfer from going to the next level.
Pfingst attended Southampton Academy before this year. While the private school with 40 high school students did offer golf, there were no tournaments after the Virginia Commonwealth Conference championship.
``That was it,'' Pfingst said. ``It was like, `Thank you very much.' ''
According to Pfingst and his father, the school's other sports have regional or state championships after the VCC tournaments. The Raiders' football team, which plays eight-man football, competes in state tournament play with their North Carolina competitors.
Deciding that attending a bigger school would be better for several reasons besides golf, Pfingst made the switch and became an Indian this season.
Thus ended a long and illustrious career at Academy. Pfingst began playing golf at the school when he was in the fifth grade.
``He was the youngest person on the team by a long shot,'' Hal Pfingst said.
When Pfingst expressed an interest in joining Academy's golf team, Coach Emmett Babb set a prerequisite. Babb told Pfingst he had to shoot 50 in nine holes to join the team.
``He played every second of the daylight and he broke 48,'' said Hal Pfingst, as both father and son shared smiles.
Academy won consecutive conference titles while Pfingst was in the sixth and seventh grades. He shot 79 at last year's tournament and won by one shot.
During the summer, the championships continued. He's a four-time defending champion of the junior tournament at Franklin's Cypress Cove Golf Course, his place of employment.
With all the success he's having, Pfingst can't help but look ahead.
``It would be nice to go to college and play golf,'' Pfingst said.
At the rate he's going, it's just a matter of time. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Southampton High's Zach Pfingst
KEYWORDS: HIGH SCHOOL GOLF by CNB