From the VSGA:

MIDLOTHIAN –– Three competitors – professional Ted Brown, 33, of Richmond as well as collegians Jake Mondy, 19, of Blacksburg and Weston Eklund, 22, of Charlottesville – headline a bunched leader board entering Saturday's third round of the SunTrust State Open of Virginia being conducted at the 7,033-yard, par 72 Independence Golf Club.

 

Brown, the overnight leader after day one following a 7-under 65, returned 1-over 73 in the second round. He is joined at 6-under 138 by Mondy, a rising sophomore at Auburn University, and Eklund, a rising senior at Radford University. Mondy won the VSGA Amateur Championship in late June.

 

Altogether, 19 players are within five shots of the lead entering the weekend. Brown, Eklund and Mondy will be in the same group of three at 10:40 a.m. off No. 1 in Saturday's third round.

 

Amateur Jon Hurst, 42 of Fredericksburg (matched a day-two best score of 5-under 67) and local developmental tour player in professional Jay Woodson, 30, of Richmond (4-under 68) are a stroke off the pace at 5-under 139. PGA professional Jeffrey Thomas, 39, of Lynchburg and the head men's golf coach at Liberty University, professional Steven Pierce, 26, of Centreville and fellow Centreville resident in amateur Ji Soo Park, a 19-year-old rising sophomore at the University of Virginia, are two shots back at 4-under 140. Park was the runner-up at last year's VSGA Amateur.

Amateur Buck Brittain (Tazewell) matched Hurst's day-two best 67 before lunch and is among five competitors at 3-under 141. The group also includes amateurs Josh Apple, 22, of Lansdowne (1-under 71), Richmond's Bryce Chalkley, a 19-year-old rising junior at Virginia Tech (even-par 72), and Jack Adkins (Martinsville), a 20-year-old rising sophomore at Elon (N.C.) University (2-under 70) as well as PGA professional Chip Sullivan of Troutville (1-under 71).

 

Brown shot two under on the outward half to get to nine under for the championship, but was three over on the inward nine. The reason for the five-stroke difference?

 

"I just hit it some worse spots and made some bad decisions – I kind of did on the front [nine], but got away with it," Brown said. "I don't know what it was. I just had a little bit of a lack of focus and I made some poor decisions. I just couldn't get a ball to the hole. I hit some putts on line. I just couldn't get them there – theme of the day."

 

Brown has only played in a few tournaments this season and the SunTrust State Open is his first four-round event. He shot 60 in Monday's Open qualifier before opening with an eight birdie, one bogey round on Thursday. Despite the disappointment of shooting one over on the second day, he knows there is plenty of golf still to be played.

 

"I'm not going to worry about what I did today, just try to be a little smarter about things and hope the putts keep continuing to roll," Brown said. "I'm not going to let golf define me like it used to."

 

Mondy recorded six birdies against two bogeys and kept his round in red numbers thanks to some key par saves, including converting an up and down at the par-5 17th, his next-to-last hole of the day in the two-tee start format.

 

"Yesterday, I hit it better than I did today," Mondy said. "I kind of kept the round together when I could've lost it at a couple of points."

 

It's a safe bet Eklund knows the feeling. Starting his round on No. 10, he ran off three straight birdies, knocking in putts of 25 feet and 15 feet to cap the early surge before turning in four under. Eklund's chipping and putting on his second nine helped him stay at six under for the championship.

 

"I'm giving myself looks for the most part," said Eklund, who won the Cannon Cup at Spring Creek Golf Club in June. "The front nine (his inward half) was a huge scramble. My misses were where I could get them up and down. The short game is really working for me right now."

 

Hurst birdied four of six holes on the second nine to equal the low round of the morning session, matching Brittain's total. During that stretch, Hurst seemingly cured his self-described recent bunker woes, lipping out for eagle from the greenside bunker at the par-5 13th before tapping in for birdie. Hurst didn't require the use of his putter at the par-3 14th where he holed out from the greenside bunker on the right. So much for struggling from the sand.

"That's really been my Achilles heel all summer – bunker play," said Hurst, who added another birdie at the par-5 17th. "I've been joking around saying I have the ‘bunker yips.' It has really cost me a couple shots every round. That makes a difference when you're holing them out or getting them up and down rather than making bogeys."

 

Woodson birdied both par 5s on the second nine, Nos. 13 and 17, and sandwiched in another from close range at the par-3 14th. The central Virginian finished birdie-eagle-birdie to shoot a first round 1-under 71 on Thursday and collected five birdies against a bogey on day two.

 

Woodson knows something about chasing Brown. They both played in tournaments together dating back 10 years when Brown was a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University and Woodson was a sophomore at James Madison University. When Brown won the Colonial Athletic Association Golf Championship in 2002, Woodson finished in second place, five strokes back. Both were named to the conference's silver anniversary golf team in 1999.

 

On Friday, Woodson played in the morning and had to wait to see what Brown shot as a part of the afternoon wave.

 

"I'm just going to try to keep doing what I've been doing. I've been playing well the last two months," said Woodson, who won an NGA Hooters Tour event earlier this year. "I'm just going to try to keep the pedal to the metal and try to make as birdies as I can. I know Ted can make a lot of birdies ... I know I have to make a lot of birdies, play well and stay after it."

 

Brittain, playing in the same group of three with Woodson and Sullivan, 47, the PGA director of golf at Salem's Hanging Rock Golf Club, shot the low score of the trio. Brittain played bogey-free with five birdies and continues his strong play since being the runner-up at the VSGA Amateur in late June.

 

"Playing with guys that I know are good players makes you feel like you can play," said Brittain, ranked second among VSGA points' leaders entering the event. "My [grouping] the first two days with Chip [Sullivan] and Jay [Woodson] – I know they're good players. I'm thinking, ‘I don't want to embarrass myself,' so it feels good to play well."

 

Following Friday's second round, the field was cut to the low 70 competitors and ties, with 79 golfers at 6-over 150 or better advancing to the final two rounds, set for Saturday and Sunday, July 21-22.

 

MIDLOTHIAN –– Results following the second round of the 2012 SunTrust State Open of Virginia at Independence Golf Club (7,033 yards, par 36-36—72) on Friday, July 20.

 

(a – denotes amateur)

(a) – Jake Mondy (Blacksburg), 70-68—138

(a) – Weston Eklund (Charlottesville), 70-68—138

Ted Brown (Glen Allen), 65-73—138

(a) – Jon Hurst (Fredericksburg), 72-67—139

Jay Woodson (Richmond), 71-68—139

(a) – Ji Soo Park (Centreville), 70-70—140

Steven Pierce (Centreville), 69-71—140

Jeffrey Thomas, PGA (Lynchburg), 67-73—140

(a) – Bryce Chalkley (Richmond), 69-72—141

(a) – Jack Adkins (Martinsville), 71-70—141

(a) – Josh Apple (Lansdowne), 70-71—141

(a) – Buck Brittain (Tazewell), 74-67—141

Chip Sullivan, PGA (Troutville), 70-71—141

(a) – Jimmy Delp (Arlington), 73-69—142

(a) – Maxwell Wyndorf (Richmond), 71-71—142

Tim Crumrine (Richmond), 72-70—142

John O'Leary, PGA (Reston), 69-73—142

Phillip Collier (Sutherland), 71-71—142

(a) – Roger Newsom (Virginia Beach), 72-71—143

(a) – Jeremy Wells (Hopewell), 70-73—143

(a) – Dylan Jensen (Ridgeway), 74-69—143

Adam Decker, PGA (Mechanicsville), 73-70—143

Jimmy Flippen (Danville), 71-72—143

(a) – Michael Wade (Floyd), 73-71—144

Patrick Hawkins, PGA (Richmond), 69-75—144

Rick Schuller, PGA (Chester), 74-70—144

(a) – Keith Decker (Martinsville), 74-71—145

(a) – Mikey Moyers (Stanardsville), 75-70—145

(a) – Aaron Eckstein (Salem), 75-70—145

(a) – Matthew Ball Jr. (Richmond), 71-74—145

(a) – Andrew Tilley (Ringgold), 71-74—145

(a) – Chase Duffy (Virginia Beach), 71-74—145

Jay Lindell (Fairfax), 74-71—145

Ricky Touma, PGA (Olney), 70-75—145

Ryan Zylstra (Richmond), 74-71—145

Peter Badawy (McLean), 71-74—145

(a) – Ian Hildebrand (Purcellville), 71-75—146

(a) – Robert Bradshaw (Virginia Beach), 77-69—146

(a) – Ross Sumner (Callao), 73-73—146

(a) – Tim Osterbind (Midlothian), 75-71—146

Sean English, PGA (Westminster, Md.), 73-73—146

(a) – Scott Shingler (Haymarket), 73-74—147

(a) – Scott Davidson (Round Hill), 72-75—147

(a) – James Gallagher (Yorktown), 74-73—147

(a) – Kevin Yerks (Ashburn), 74-73—147

(a) – Spence Andrews (Glen Allen), 76-71—147

(a) – Steve Serrao (Midlothian), 77-70—147

(a) – Jerry Burton (Gordonsville), 73-74—147

John Francisco, PGA (Westminster, Md.), 73-74—147

Brendan McGrath, PGA (Centreville), 78-69—147

Jody Rokisky, PGA (New Market), 76-71—147

Jeff Long (Centreville), 77-70—147

(a) – Marshall Tinsley (Amherst), 71-77—148

(a) – Joe Morton (Virginia Beach), 72-76—148

(a) – Neel Williams (Richmond), 74-74—148

Eric Cobb, PGA (Verona), 71-77—148

Troy Thorne (Warsaw), 77-71—148

(a) – Alex Sleeker (Richmond), 74-75—149

(a) – Connor Walters (Salem), 75-74—149

Ben Hogan, PGA (Fairfax), 74-75—149

Bryan Jackson, PGA (Palmyra), 76-73—149

Faber Jamerson, PGA (Appomattox), 74-75—149

Justin Martin (Williamsburg), 77-72—149

Jason Toryk, PGA (Winchester), 78-71—149

(a) – Ryan Rettberg (Front Royal), 77-72—149

(a) – Philip Mahone (Charlottesville), 74-76—150

(a) – Tom Adrounie (Fairfax Station), 75-75—150

(a) – John David Sanderson (Suffolk), 76-74—150

(a) – Ben Campbell (Cleveland), 75-75—150

(a) – Bowen Sargent (Charlottesville), 76-74—150

(a) – Ryan Douglass (Leesburg), 77-73—150

Randolph Darden, PGA (Blacksburg), 78-72—150

Michael Ferguson, PGA (Glen Allen), 75-75—150

Mike Gooden, PGA (McGaheysville), 74-76—150

Billy Hoffman, PGA (Bethesda, Md.), 76-74—150

Tommy Joyce, PGA (Salem), 77-73—150

Tim Lewis, PGA (Hampton), 77-73—150

Cameron Yancey (Blackstone), 77-73—150

Josh Speight, PGA (West Point), 75-75—150

 

-DID NOT QUALIFY FOR THE FINAL 36 HOLES-

(a) – Mike Redwood (Virginia Beach), 76-75—151

(a) – Zack Henry (Front Royal), 75-76—151

(a) – Jerry Morelli (Williamsburg), 75-76—151

(a) – Christopher Kapsak (Richmond), 78-73—151

(a) – Sam Williams (Midlothian), 75-76—151

(a) – Conner Hayden (Chilhowie), 77-74—151

Chad Moseley, PGA (Reston), 76-75—151

(a) – Mike Minicucci (Richmond), 75-76—151

(a) – Kyle Hart (Midlothian), 77-75—152

Dave Ambrose, PGA (Chevy Chase, Md.), 77-75—152

Steve Bogdanoff, PGA (Fairfax), 77-75—152

Jon Corliss, PGA (Virginia Beach), 77-75—152

(a) – Brantley Kushner (Leesburg), 75-78—153

(a) – Alec Kormanec (Vienna), 78-75—153

(a) – Brian Hood (Stafford), 78-75—153

(a) – Wes Smith (Virginia Beach), 75-78—153

Mark Guttenberg, PGA (Aldie), 81-72—153

Pleasant Hughes, PGA (Chevy Chase, Md.), 79-74—153

(a) – David Peters (Richmond), 78-75—153

Gray Thouron, PGA (Richmond), 77-76—153

(a) – Dan DeRisio (Springfield), 74-80—154

(a) – Chas Bassing (Great Falls), 78-76—154

Mike Gebhard, PGA (Glen Allen), 77-77—154

Brett Robertson, PGA (Midlothian), 80-74—154

Dean Sumner, PGA (Callao), 77-77—154

(a) – Garrett Whitmore (Midlothian), 76-79—155

(a) – Jack Wilkes (Roanoke), 76-79—155

(a) – Mike Brennan (Leesburg), 80-75—155

Paul Gooden, PGA (Harrisonburg), 78-77—155

Mike Morrone, PGA (Glen Allen), 76-79—155

Geoff Redgrave, PGA (Crozet), 79-76—155

(a) – Chris Slonaker (Harrisonburg), 78-78—156

(a) – Harrison Vance (Richmond), 82-74—156

(a) – Alex Elmore (Reston), 83-73—156

Scott Graber, PGA (Chesterfield), 74-82—156

Ryan Nebera, PGA (Midlothian), 81-75—156

Robert Schultz, PGA (Zion Crossroads), 78-78—156

Andy Weissinger, PGA (Portsmouth), 77-79—156

Tim White, PGA (Midlothian), 77-79—156

(a) – Greg Pappas (Warrenton), 79-78—157

(a) – Hunter Weaver (Orange), 79-78—157

(a) – Scott Cornwell (Marshall), 77-80—157

(a) – Gary Cicatiello (Providence Forge), 80-77—157

(a) – Trey Treadwell (Haymarket), 82-75—157

(a) – Chris Tuttle (Virginia Beach), 78-79—157

Ed Collins, PGA (Virginia Beach), 80-77—157

Michael Farewell, PGA (Manassas), 77-80—157

Mark Lambert, PGA (Suffolk), 80-77—157

Joey Beeler (Virginia Beach), 81-77—158

Sam Boyd (Bethesda, Md.), 79-79—158

Joseph Lussier (Lovettsville), 80-78—158

Tim Butler, PGA (Windsor Mill), 79-79—158

Greg Scott, PGA (Arlington), 80-78—158

(a) – Steve Castro (Chantilly), 78-81—159

(a) – Sean Bowers (Richmond), 80-79—159

Bob Dolan, PGA (Chevy Chase, Md.), 81-78—159

Steve Miller, PGA (Ranson), 81-78—159

Steve WenPetren, PGA (Herndon), 83-77—160

(a) – Justin Nichols (Roanoke), 85-76—161

(a) – Casey Wadkins (Manakin-Sabot), 80-81—161

(a) – Ian Sikes (Henrico), 84-78—162

Glenn Brown, PGA (Vienna), 82-80—162

David Newsom, PGA (Leesburg), 81-81—162

Mike Thompson, PGA (Gordonsville), 79-83—162

(a) – Rich Buckner (Centreville), 82-81—163

(a) – Christian Grundeman (McLean), 85-78—163

Steve Danielson, PGA (Alexandria), 82-81—163

Peter Mazza, PGA (Richmond), 80-83—163

(a) – Brian Johnson (Spotsylvania), 84-79—163

Geoff Montross, PGA (Fairfax), 80-84—164

Brian Poniatowski (Leesburg), 81-83—164

Ryan Robertson (Roanoke), 85-80—165

Dan Baker, PGA (Midlothian), 83-82—165

Gary Anderson, PGA (Hampton), 87-79—166

Roger Hatcher, PGA (Manassas), 84-82—166

(a) – Aaron Bryant (Prince George), 88-79—167

Kevin Haney, PGA (Charlottesville), 86-81—167

Robert Weinerth, PGA (Martinsville), 86-81—167

(a) – Edward Cutler (Leesburg), 89-79—168

Michael Bell, PGA (Gainesville), 86-82—168

Keith Hageman (Henrico), 86-82—168

Rocky Fryar, PGA (Richmond), 88-85—173

Edward Armentrout, PGA (Greenville), 84-WD

Jerry Donahue, PGA (Purcellville), 84-WD

Jim Fitzgerald, PGA (Chevy Chase), 87-WD

(a) – Jeff Hunter (Ashburn), NC
(a) – Kyle Lemish (Harrisonburg), DQ

(a) – Nick Austin (Midlothian), DQ

MIDLOTHIAN –– Groupings and starting times for the third round of the 2012 SunTrust State Open of Virginia at Independence Golf Club (7,033 yards, par 36-36—72) on Saturday, July 21.

 

(a – denotes amateur)

 

All Times EDT

Saturday (July 21), hole No. 1

8:30 a.m. – Sean English, PGA (Westminster, Md.); (a) – Ross Sumner (Callao); Jody Rokisky, PGA (New Market)

8:40 a.m. – (a) – Ian Hildebrand (Purcellville); (a) – Robert Bradshaw (Virginia Beach); (a) – Tim Osterbind (Midlothian)

8:50 a.m. – Jay Lindell (Fairfax); Ricky Touma, PGA (Olney); Ryan Zylstra (Richmond)

9 a.m. – (a) – Aaron Eckstein (Salem); (a) – Andrew Tilley (Ringgold); (a) – Mikey Moyers (Stanardsville)

9:10 a.m. – (a) – Keith Decker (Martinsville); Peter Badawy (McLean); (a) – Matthew Ball Jr. (Richmond)

9:20 a.m. – Patrick Hawkins, PGA (Richmond); (a) – Michael Wade (Floyd); (a) – Chase Duffy (Virginia Beach)

9:30 a.m. – Adam Decker, PGA (Mechanicsville); (a) – Jeremy Wells (Hopewell); Rick Schuller, PGA (Chester)

9:40 a.m. – Jimmy Flippen (Danville); (a) – Dylan Jensen (Ridgeway); (a) – Roger Newsom (Virginia Beach)

9:50 a.m. – (a) – Maxwell Wyndorf (Richmond); John O'Leary, PGA (Reston); Phillip Collier (Sutherland)

10 a.m. – (a) – Jack Adkins (Martinsville); (a) – Jimmy Delp (Arlington); Tim Crumrine (Richmond)

10:10 a.m. – Chip Sullivan, PGA (Troutville); (a) – Buck Brittain (Tazewell); (a) – Josh Apple (Lansdowne)

10:20 a.m. – Steven Pierce (Centreville); (a) – Ji Soo Park (Centreville); (a) – Bryce Chalkley (Richmond)

10:30 a.m. – (a) – Jon Hurst (Fredericksburg); Jay Woodson (Richmond); Jeffrey Thomas, PGA (Lynchburg)

10:40 a.m. – (a) – Jake Mondy (Blacksburg); (a) – Weston Eklund (Charlottesville); Ted Brown (Glen Allen)

Saturday (July 21), hole No. 10

8:30 a.m. – (a) – Spence Andrews (Glen Allen); (a) – Steve Serrao (Midlothian); (a) – Kevin Yerks (Ashburn)

8:40 a.m. – (a) – Scott Davidson (Round Hill); Brendan McGrath, PGA (Centreville); Jeff Long (Centreville)

8:50 a.m. – (a) – James Gallagher (Yorktown); John Francisco, PGA (Westminster, Md.); (a) – Scott Shingler (Haymarket)

9 a.m. – (a) – Jerry Burton (Gordonsville); (a) – Marshall Tinsley (Amherst); Eric Cobb, PGA (Verona)

9:10 a.m. – (a) – Neel Williams (Richmond); (a) – Joe Morton (Virginia Beach); Troy Thorne (Warsaw)

9:20 a.m. – (a) – Alex Sleeker (Richmond); (a) – Ryan Rettberg (Front Royal); Justin Martin (Williamsburg)

9:30 a.m. – Ben Hogan, PGA (Fairfax); Bryan Jackson, PGA (Palmyra); Faber Jamerson, PGA (Appomattox)

9:40 a.m. – Jason Toryk, PGA (Winchester); (a) – Connor Walters (Salem); (a) – Philip Mahone (Charlottesville)

9:50 a.m. – (a) – Ben Campbell (Cleveland); Michael Ferguson, PGA (Glen Allen); Josh Speight, PGA (West Point)

10 a.m. – (a) – John David Sanderson (Suffolk); Mike Gooden, PGA (McGaheysville); Randolph Darden, PGA (Blacksburg)

10:10 a.m. – (a) –Ryan Douglass (Leesburg); Tommy Joyce, PGA (Salem); Billy Hoffman, PGA (Bethesda, Md.)

10:20 a.m. – (a) – Bowen Sargent (Charlottesville); (a) – Tom Adrounie (Fairfax Station)
10:30 a.m. – Cameron Yancey (Blackstone); Tim Lewis, PGA (Hampton)