Brittain goes back-to-back at VSGA’s Senior Am at Birdwood

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Buck Brittain didn’t enter Friday morning’s 74th VSGA Senior Championship thinking that he must repeat, but that didn’t stop the Tazewell judge from getting the job done.

Brittain, who won the title in 2020, slugged it out in muggy conditions against 2019 champion Steve Sarrao from Midlothian, and captured a 1-up victory to become only the fourth player in the tournament’s history to claim back-to-back championships.

“I tried not to think about it all week, about how I was defending,” Brittain said after his seventh round in five days over the Birdwood Golf at Boar’s Head Resort layout. “I didn’t feel like I could go in with the mindset of, ‘I’ve got to repeat.’ I just tried to play. Now I’ve got it done, I can enjoy it.”

Brittain joined Keith Decker, Jamie Gough and Richard B Payne as back-to-back champions. The title was Brittain’s six on the VSGA circuit, including two State Am’s, two Senior Opens, a Senior Four-Ball and a Mid-Am.

Serrao, who plays out of Willow Oaks CC, battled Brittain (The Virginian GC) for 15 holes before the defending champ drained a birdie putt on the short par-4 16th hole to take a 1-up lead that he held onto.

“I putted well and I didn’t really miss anything that I should have made,” Brittain said. “And I didn’t give Steve many opportunities. He didn’t give me many either. He didn’t mess anything up. He hit a couple of bad shots, but everything ended up being OK.”

Serrao, a former UVA golfer, had no regrets.

“I love being here,” Serrao said. “[Birdwood] is a whole new course for me, but I love it. Lots of good memories. I got to see some friends, even at some Bellair Market sandwiches. I was really looking forward to this. I’m happy to get to the finals. The problem with a golf tournament is only one guy leaves happy.”