Brennan outduels Zhang to win VSGA Amateur
Posted on Monday, Jul. 29, 2019, 6:33 pm
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By Jerry Ratcliffe
Under a burning Virginia sun, the two youngest finalists in 89 years battled to the end in the 106th VSGA Amateur Championship at Keswick Hall’s Full Cry golf course.
17-year-old Michael Brennan of Leesburg outlasted 18-year-old Christopher Zhang of Blacksburg, 1-up, in a 36-hole classic in 90-degree temperatures. It was the first time in five years that the State Am championship went the distance. It was also the first time two teenagers slugged it out for the Schwarzschild Trophy since 1930 when 16-year-old Chandler Harper defeated 18-year-old Billy Howell at The Homestead.
Brennan had been under such pressure before, having stepped onto the Virginia Amateur stage as a 15-year-old two years ago, medaling in this very event at Creighton Farms, then leading the first round of the Delta Dental State Open of Virginia at Ballyhack in the same summer. He also won the state Junior Match Play title that year, and has since qualified for both the U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur.
For Zhang, this week had to have been magical. In his very first try at the State Am, the kid gave Brennan all he wanted, fighting from behind all day long and taking it down to the last putt on the very last hole.
After taking a 2-up lead from the morning’s 18-hole round and lunch break, Brennan continued to cling to his cushion in the afternoon, building it to 3-up after a birdie on the 10th hole.
Zhang, who will play at Northwestern, wasn’t about to relent. He could have been steamrolled by a more experienced Brennan at that point, but no deal.
Brennan, who has committed to Wake Forest but has another year to go at Tuscarora High School, opened the door with back-to-back bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes as an opportunistic Zhang cut the lead to 1-up heading into the short, par-4, 13th, which was likely the deciding hole in the championship.
While Zhang’s drive was short and to the right of the driveable, uphill hole, Brennan’s tee shot drifted well left of the cart path, behind several trees and heather. That was a far contrast from his driving the 13th green earlier in the day, yet three-putting for a par.
“I couldn’t see the hole,” Brennan said of his second time around at 13. “I was actually lucky I found a gap between some of the trees. I had to keep the chip down and I had to trust the yardage, but I hit it really good distance-wise.”
Somehow he managed to thread the needle with his wedge, landing the ball on the back of the green to a back pin. From there he sank his most impressive birdie putt of the day to win the hole, a 12-footer that dramatically changed the match. Instead of what potentially was an all-square contest at that point, Brennan went 2-up. He would need every bit of that lead down the home stretch.
“The birdie on 13 was really big,” Brennan said. “There was a lot of moment coming from that.”
Still, Zhang wasn’t about to give.
“Christopher made some good putts on 15, 16, and 17 to keep the match going,” Brennan said. “That was really impressive.”
After they halved the 14th hole, Zhang won the par-4, 15th hole that cut Brennan’s lead to 1-up. The duo halved the 16th and then both birdied the par-5, 17th to halve that hole, setting up the drama on Full Cry’s challenging, par-4, 18th.
Both players were on the green in regulation, and Brennan was away. He was facing a testy putt that started uphill, but then would flow downhill. He knew all he had to do was halve the hole to take home the trophy, and lagged his putt just short of the cup.
All the pressure was on Zhang, who was faced with converting a 20-foot slider for birdie in order to extend the match.
“I hit it a little firm and it barely missed the left edge,” Zhang said after the match.
Zhang conceded Brennan’s par to end the match.
“I made quite a few putts to keep myself in it,” Zhang said. “[Brennan] just hit more good shots than I did. It was hard to keep up. Overall, there was still some good positives to be taken from this week.”
Brennan said his experience in qualifying for the U.S. and British Ams were crucial in his preparation for the Virginia State Am.
“The two biggest tournaments that have helped coming down the stretch were the U.S. Am last year and the British Am last week,” he said. “That’s where I learned the most. I had really difficult losses where I didn’t make the match play in either of them, but it’s the same feeling from there to here, learning to stay calm and be a little more patient. That really helped.”
This week’s State Am experience at Keswick should add to his confidence and momentum heading into the upcoming U.S. Am qualifier and the U.S. Junior Championships in July.
Maybe that’s what Wake Forest saw in him in that storied program’s decision to present him with the Arnold Palmer scholarship.
“They liked that I was able to close the deal in tournaments,” Brennan said. “They said they liked winners on their team.”
Certainly Brennan fits the bill and should continue to do so going forward, even though he realizes he still has a lot to learn.
“Even though I won today, I messed up a lot,” Brennan said. “I need to learn from those mistakes.”
That’s what 17-year-olds do.
