WILLIAMSBURG -- Everyone's heard of the Bermuda Triangle: Ships and planes go in, they don't come out. It's one of the more enduring travel myths of our time.

But the one about Bermuda grass making good golf scores disappear isn't mysterious lore. During Monday's Group AA golf tournament, Timesland golfers, most of whom have limited experience playing on it, had to confront it all around the par-72 Williamsburg National Golf Club course.

Still, they held up as well as could be expected. Region IV champ Blacksburg remained in contention for its fourth straight state team title. The Bruins carded a 293, two shots behind host Jamestown, the Region I champion playing on its home course. Lord Botetourt is third with a 296, and Cave Spring is fourth with 300.

"The ball doesn't go out as easily," said Jake Mondy, who shot a 73 for the Bruins. "With this grass, it's hard to chip out of it."

Added the Cavaliers' Kevin Foster, whose 68 was the top score among Timesland golfers: "I've never played out of it. You just hope and pray. It's a lot easier at Lord Botetourt."

Timesland golfers also experienced playing at a lower elevation than back home, which meant many had to use one more club than usual. At the same time, they had to be mindful of the tough grass waiting for them should they stray from the fairway.

"The elevation change forces you to make a lot of adjustments," said Blacksburg's Stephen Duetsch, who had a 73. "You have to be really careful with your second shot."

"It's a lot different than anything I've played," added Cave Spring's Jack Wilkes, whose 70 tied him with Region IV individual champ Matt Harman for the top score among the Knights. "Getting up and down was a real struggle."

The Bruins are still in contention thanks to consistency among their top six golfers, five of which shot 77 or lower. Michael Bekken (72) and Ryan Mondy (75) joined Jake Mondy and Duetsch to comprise the team score.

"I'm satisfied we're only a couple strokes behind," Blacksburg coach Rick Mattox said, "but we could have been a little better. We had a good practice round [Sunday] ... but we missed a lot of birdie putts."

Region III team champion Lord Botetourt obviously got a boost from Foster, but also greatly aiding the team was Clay O'Connor, who scored a 71. O'Connor, Foster, Wilkes and Harman were the only Timesland golfers to break par Monday.

Foster followed a front-nine 36 with a 32 on the back nine to put him two behind individual leader Hannah Pierce of King George. He had four straight birdies on the back nine and two one-putt pars to become one of just four golfers to shoot a 32 on any half of the course.

"I was hoping to keep the ball in play and keep a tempo with my swing," Foster said. "I was able to hit a lot of fairways and then a lot of greens, and put it all together on the back nine."

Once he got to the greens, Foster sealed the deal, his 27 putts for the 18 holes well below his quoted average of 32-33 per round.

"I'm not the best putter," Foster said, "but once I get some confidence, I can pull putts out."

Pierce is familiar with Williamsburg National. She played the course during last season's state girls tournament. Temperatures hovering around 60 degrees and a threat of rain didn't faze her, either.

William Byrd's Brandon Bailey shot a 72, while Region III individual champion Ben Firebaugh shot a 32 on the back nine to finish with a 74.

Today's final round starts at 9 a.m. with the first wave of golfers coming from teams with the highest scores in their region. Thus, Cave Spring will be on the course before Blacksburg and Lord Botetourt.

That's not a big deal, Wilkes said.

"If we get to a good start, then Jamestown and Blacksburg will hear about it and we'll feed off that," Wilkes said.

The Bruins don't plan to be psyched out by going for their fourth straight title, Jake Mondy said.

"If we play to our abilities, and if everyone improves by one or two strokes, we should be fine," he said.

VHSL Group AA Championship

At Williamsburg National Golf Club

Team scores

1. Jamestown 291, 2. Blacksburg 293, 3. Lord Botetourt 296, 4. Cave Spring 300, 5. Western Albemarle 301, Loudoun County 311, 6. Lafayette 320, 7. Jefferson Forest 327

Individual scores

Hannah Pierce, King George 34-32--66

Royce Kim, Grafton 34-33--67

Kevin Foster, L.Botetourt 36-32--68

Seth Nooe, Jamestown 34-35--69

Matt Harman, C.Spring 36-34--70

Jack Wilkes, C.Spring 35-35--70

Ben Meadows, Jamestown 39-32--71

Clay O'Connor, L.Botetourt 36-35--71

Nick Shedd, Lafayette 36-35--71

Brandon Bailey, W.Byrd 36-36--72

Michael Bekken, Blacksburg 37-35--72

Landon Weis, W.Albemarle 39-33--72

Stephen Duetsch, Blacksburg 38-35--73

Jake Mondy, Blacksburg 38-35--73

Ben Firebaugh, W.Byrd 42-32--74

George McDaniel, J.Forest 35-39--74

Victoria Newbery, Jamestown 38-36--74

Ryan Rettberg, Skyline 35-39--74

Brett Engle, W.Albemarle 37-38--75

Ryan Mondy, Blacksburg 38-37--75

Greg Pappas, Fauquier 37-38--75

Jordan Patrick, Abingdon 37-38--75

Mike Barber, Tabb 38-38--76

Blake Carter, Bassett 38-38--76

Zach Henry, Skyline 39-37--76

Michael Linville, Loudoun Co. 38-38--76

Robert Stallard, Abingdon 39-37--76

Andrew Brenneman, Loudoun Co. 39-38--77

Austin Broyles, L.Botetourt 38-39--77

Ethan Lohr, W.Albemarle 39-38--77

Bruce Crodelli, Jamestown 39-38--77

Brandon Grogan, M.Vista 40-37--77

Brantley Kushner, Loudoun Co. 38-39--77

Alex O'Dell, W.Albemarle 38-39--77

Jack Prater, Blacksburg 40-37--77

Tommy Price, Lee-Staunton 39-38--77

Ryan Davis, Salem 40-38--78

Robbie Failes, Spotswood 38-40--78

Patrick Leisure, W.Albemarle 39-39--78

Nick Brediger, C.Spring 39-40--79

Nate Buhler, E.C. Glass 41-38--79

Ben Kayton, Charlottesville 36-43--79

Harrison Scharf, E.C. Glass 42-37--79

Jimmy Hewitt, Jamestown 41-39--80

Matt Johnston, Powhatan 39-41--80

Ben Matthias, L.Botetourt 40-40--80

Sean Williams, Grafton 42-38--80

Jon Youst, Loudoun Co. 40-40--80

Josh Hunt, Jamestown 39-42--81

James Kasza, C.Spring 44-37--81

Mitch Mellon, Lafayette 42-39--81

Christian Moore, Poquoson 40-41--81

Matt Tomasone, Loudoun Co. 42-39--81

Zach Warring, Lafayette 43-38--81

Kevin Cook, Loudoun Co. 44-38--82

Nick Garfield, J.Forest 42-40--82

Max Hinders, Lafayette 43-39--82

Mikey Toy, Fluvanna 40-42--82

Evan Childress, Monticello 46-37--83

Scott Wakely, W.Albemarle 41-42--83

Dillion Craig, Magna Vista 39-45--84

Jon Lively, J.Forest 45-40--85

Rob Haney, J.Forest 44-42--86

Michael Phlegar, C.Spring 45-41--86

Chris Bernitt, C.Spring 47-40--87

Kevin Yoon, Blacksburg 42-45--87

Logan Smith, J.Forest 43-45--88

Zach Weaver, Lafayette 44-44--88

Marin Warring, Lafayette 42-46--88

Ryan DeHeer, L.Botetourt 46-43--89

Justin Nichols, L.Botetourt 43-46--89

Ricky Buford, J.Forest 42-48--90