RADFORD, Va. – The threat of inclement weather forced an early start to the final round of the 74th Virginia State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play Championship, but the schedule adjustment allowed the tournament to conclude without interruption.
George Wythe graduate David Goode capped his tournament with a final-round 75. Goode narrowly missed a birdie on the 18th hole before tapping in for par, finishing tied for 17th at 9-over par.
Blacksburg’s Cameron Sharp also finished in a four-way tie for 17th at 9 over after carding a final-round 77. Sharp played his front nine stronger than his back nine, closing with two bogeys and a double bogey.
Floyd’s Isaiah Cantrell entered the final round tied for second and remained in contention throughout much of the day. With his brother serving as his caddie, Cantrell opened the back nine with a birdie followed by four consecutive pars before running into trouble on the 15th hole. He recovered to make par on the 17th and finished tied for seventh at 3 over for the tournament.
Fairfax Station’s Ethan Evans pulled away from the field with a dominant final round. Evans recorded four birdies over a five-hole stretch on the back nine and overcame his only bogey of the day on the 17th hole. He fired a final-round 65 to finish at 14-under par, capturing the 74th VSGA Junior Stroke Play Championship.
“My main thing was, because I had a three-shot lead going into today, is I just wanted to, you know,play good golf, and the person in second just wanted to kind of keep beating him on each hole,” Evans said. “I got hot in the middle of the round. I had five straight birdies and then from there, just had no bogeys, except for one on 17, and just kind of kept making birdies. So, I wasn’t really keeping score. I didn’t know what I was at, just kind of kept one shot at a time. Just kept making birdies, and yeah, it ended up being a good number.”
Evans’ final round score of 65 proved to be a course record and with the win, he receives exemption to play in the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
For a look at complete results, click here.