Colonial Hills wreaks havoc

By Chris Lang
Sports writer
Published: June 14, 2008

FOREST — Chris Boswell parked his cart near the 17th green at Colonial Hills Saturday during the second round of the Central Virginia Invitational Golf Tournament, obviously disgusted with what had transpired in the previous four hours.

He got up, shook his head and muttered, “Colonial thrills.”

The word thrill was used in a metaphorical sense. Hit the ball, watch it carom off a dead spot in the hardpan fairway and steel yourself to go find the ball in the woods.

Wheeeeee!

Boswell, who shot 81 Saturday after a 69 Friday at Winton, wasn’t alone in his grumbling about Colonial’s quirks. Eric Davenport remained in the lead with a 72, but he had to grind like mad to post that 1-over par score. Only one player — Liberty University’s Jacob Singleton — broke par, shooting a 69. Only five players managed to shoot better than 75.

Players cruised to a 78.47 scoring average Friday, and seven players shot 70 or better. Saturday, the average rose to 83 and only Singleton posted the best score by three strokes.

“Bee-rutal,” said Forest’s Brian Horning, who shot 74 to stay within eight strokes of Davenport at 147.

The main complaints Saturday:

ä The greens were so firm that they weren’t holding many approach shots. They also lacked consistency in speed. “None of them putted the same, I thought,” Horning said.

ä The pin placements were, in some cases, pure evil.

ä Those without intimate knowledge of the course had little chance of posting a decent score. Shots that appeared to be safe in the middle of the fairway hit dead spots and took ugly bounces. On a course fringed by trees on nearly every hole, that was a recipe for disaster.

“I know where to miss, so that helped,” said Donnie Toney, a Colonial member who shot a 74 to move into second place, four strokes behind Davenport.

Davenport, who friends call “The Big Easy” because of a passing resemblance to Ernie Els in both stature and smooth swing, again made to sure stay away from major trouble. On a day where several players posted really crooked numbers (there were some nines and even a 10), Davenport made sure to keep par in sight.

“I wasn’t hitting the ball that well,” said Davenport, whose accent is more Central Virginia than South Africa, unlike Mr. Els. “I was just trying not to shoot a big number. It was a grind. I was just trying to survive.”

Davenport is a member at Colonial, but he spent five years as a member at Ivy Hill, the site of today’s final round. He’ll tee off at 12:40 p.m. with Toney and Bert Allen, whose 74 put him alone in third at 144.

“It’s going to take someone shooting a substantial number (today), which can be done at Ivy,” said Horning, who is a member at Ivy and Poplar Grove in Amherst.

Allen, a member at London Downs and Boonsboro, recently contended in the VSGA Senior Stroke Play Championship at Poplar Grove, shooting a 73 on the first day before fading on the second.

“I’m struggling off the tee a little bit,” Allen said. “I’ve been fighting my tee ball, but other than that, I feel like I’ve been putting and chipping pretty well.”

Allen finished tied for fourth in last year’s championship flight. Toney has never finished higher than fifth. Davenport’s top CVIGT finish is fourth.

Pat Corbett followed a first-round 69 with a 76 Saturday and is six strokes back at 145. Bobby Hurt, Horning and Singleton are at 147.

Chuck Brewer, the 2006 CVIGT champion, slumped to an 80 Saturday after opening with a 68. He eagled the par-4 third hole and birdied the par-4 10th, but those were the only highlights. He also had six bogeys, a double bogey and a disastrous quadruple bogey on the par-5 16th.

Rick Bendall, another former CVIGT champ, might have been right in the mix today had it not been for one awful hole. He lost two balls in the woods on the par-4 12th and took a nine. Had he simply made par on the hole, he would have shot 70 and been within seven strokes of the lead.

Gary Preston shot the low senior score Saturday, posting a 74 for a two-round total of 145, five strokes better than Dick Douthat.