Virginia wins inaugural Lewis Chitengwa Memorial

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia men’s golf team built up as much as a six-stroke advantage during the final round of the inaugural Lewis Chitengwa Memorial and then held off Tennessee by a single stroke to claim the team title. The event was held at UVA’s Birdwood Golf Course.

“It was a lot of fun to host and this was what we needed at this point of our season,” said Virginia head coach Bowen Sargent. “The ability to come out and win at home hopefully will serve as a springboard going into the ACCs next week and the postseason. I hope our team’s confidence will grow from this and they’ll continue to get better.”

The Cavaliers shot 4-under 280 during Tuesday’s final round for a 54-hole total of 15-under 837. No. 20 Tennessee was second at 838 while No. 39 North Florida was third at 841 and No. 26 Charlotte was fourth at 842.

Virginia, which also fielded a B-Team, had five players among the top 14 finishers. Sophomore George Duangmanee led that group by tying for third at 7-under 206. He had rounds of 67, 68 and 71 on the par-71 setup. It was the best tournament finish for Duangmanee as a collegiate player and his low 54-hole score. His first-round 67 matched his low 18-hole outing as a Cavalier.

Junior Pietro Bovari and sophomore Chris Fosdick tied for sixth place at 4-under 209. Rounding out the scoring for the Cavaliers was Devel Patel, who was 25th at even par 213 and Grayson Wotnosky, who placed 71st at 227. Bovari’s finish was the seventh top-10 outing of his career and the fifth of the season. Fosdick’s 209 equaled his best tournament score at UVA.

“George had a great week for us,” Sargent said. “Chris also played really well and Pietro shot 68 today in the final round and that was critical in our win. Top to bottom, everyone really played solid and we needed that. Coming into this tournament, we were really on the bubble for regionals and we needed a win and we got it.”

Seniors Sam Jung and Jimmie Massie led the B-Team’s effort. Jung was ninth at 210 while Massie was one shot behind him in 14th place. Senior Jack Montague placed 25th at 213, Jaron Leasure was 65th at 224 and Liam Powderly was 73rd at 228. The UVA B-Team placed ninth overall with a team score of 6-over 858.

Jung’s three-round total matched his best collegiate tournament score and Montague’s 213 was a career best as well as his second-round score of 66.

The tournament was named for former UVA standout Lewis Chitengwa. He was a two-time All-American at Virginia (1995, 1996) and earned All-ACC honors in 1995 when he was named the league’s rookie of the year. He finished seventh at the 1996 NCAA Championships.

Chitengwa turned professional in 1998 and played on the Tear Drop, Buy.com and Canadian Tours in addition to competing at the PGA’s St. Jude Memphis Classic. At the age of 26, he passed away as a result of meningitis. At the time, he was competing in the Canadian Tour’s Edmonton Open. In 2015, he was recognized posthumously for his immense contribution to golf by being inducted into Mercedes-Benz Southern African Golf Hall of Fame.

Tennessee head coach Brennan Webb, was Chitengwa’s tour roommate when he passed away. He embraced his senior, Spencer Cross, after he walked off the 18th green as the tournament medalist. Cross won with a score of 12-under 201, four shots ahead of runner-up Robbie Higgins of North Florida.

Webb told the UVA coaches afterwards, “This is exactly how this tournament should have ended.”

Virginia will compete at the ACC Championships April 22-25 at Shark’s Tooth Golf Club in Panama City Beach, Fla.

Lewis Chitengwa Memorial

Birdwood Golf Course

Charlottesville, Va.

Par 71, 7,116 yards

Final Results

Team Results

1. Virginia          279-278-280-837
2. Tennessee         278-278-282-838
3. North Florida     277-282-282-841
4. Charlotte         277-281-284-842
5. Kentucky          284-278-282-844
6. Liberty           285-279-282-846
7. Virginia Tech     286-284-281-851
8. Coastal Carolina  282-292-278-852
9. Virginia-B        289-278-291-858
10. Maryland          287-286-293-866
11. St. Mary’s        286-287-294-867
12. East Carolina     284-287-299-870
13. Texas State       290-289-292-871
14. Loyola (Md.)      286-301-297-884

Individual Leaders

1. Spencer Cross, Tennessee       68-66-67-201
2. Robbie Higgins, North Florida  69-67-69-205
3. George Duangmanee, Virginia    67-68-71-206
4. Kiernan Vincent, Liberty       72-64-70-206

Virginia Results

1. George Duangmanee  67-68-71-206
2. Pietro Bovari      70-71-68-209
3. Chris Fosdick      70-70-69-209
4. Deven Patel        72-69-72-213
5. Grayson Wotnosky   72-78-77-227

Virginia B-Team

9. Sam Jung           69-69-72-210
10. Jimmie Massie      72-69-70-211
11. Jack Montague      72-66-75-213
12. Jaron Leasure      76-74-74-224
13. Liam Powderly      76-77-75-228