Monday, October 19, 2009
Short trip to course for Eagle qualifier
Franklin Co.'s Josh Neal had set a goal this year to be in the field today at The Waterfront.
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Ever since he learned that the VHSL Group AAA golf championship would be held this fall a few miles down the road at The Waterfront Country Club, Franklin County's Josh Neal expected to make the trip.
And not as a spectator.
Neal will be carrying his clubs today and Tuesday in the 36-hole event as the Franklin County senior was the lone Timesland player to qualify for the state tournament.
Had Neal not made it out of a three-way playoff for the final two at-large berths available in last week's Northwest Region tourney, he knows where he would be today.
"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be going," said Neal, who has an 8:30 a.m. tee time on hole No. 7. "I have a lot of school to make up."
Neal's only ticket to The Waterfront was through the playoff at Piedmont Golf Club. Franklin County's fourth-place team finish meant the Eagles would not qualify, leaving Neal to duel Forest Park's Mitch O'Shell and Osbourn Park's Zack Lauzon for the final two individual spots after a 9-over-par 81.
Neal matched a birdie by O'Shell on the first playoff hole, but not after a few anxious moments.
"I was pretty nervous, especially after my drive went way right," Neal said. "On my second shot, I punched it through the fairway a little too hard and I was almost in the hazard. I thought it was pretty much over then."
Neal credited Franklin County coach Charles Jamison for helping him re-focus.
"My ball was sitting down in the rough, and my coach came by and told me just to get it up on the green," Neal said. "It aimed for the middle of the green. It kept rolling, and I ended up with about a 14-foot putt."
O'Shell put on some pressure by nailing a 20-footer for a birdie 4. Neal drained his putt, then watched as Lauzon lipped out.
Neal knows he must shoot two low rounds today and Tuesday to have any hope of contending for the Group AAA title, last won by a Timesland player when Franklin County's Matt Chandler took the crown in 1999.
Today, Neal will be in a foursome that includes Northern Region champion Ji Soo Park of Chantilly, who finished third last year.
"I'm glad I'm playing with Ji Soo," Neal said. "He's a great player. If I can keep up with him, then I should have a good chance."
A state title wouldn't be the first in Neal's family. His father, Mike, a Narrows native, won a Virginia small-college tennis doubles title in 1977 for Emory & Henry after transferring from Ferrum.
Most of Mike Neal's recreational time is spent now on the golf course with his son.
"I've gone out and played tennis a few times with him," Josh Neal said. "I know he used to play a lot, but when he got older he pretty much just played golf."
