ROANOKE, Va. – As John Hatcher Ferguson approached the first tee around 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon, he was cool, calm, collected and loose-- but not too loose. That demeanor translated to his golf game in the final round of the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame tournament.
The Franklin County native, who was representing his home course The Westlake, entered the day with a comfortable lead. He started the day shooting 1-over par on the front nine, which included 3 bogeys. But rather than hit the panic button, the Hampden-Sydney golfer bounced back for an eagle on the Par 4 tenth hole in addition to four more birdies on the back nine. He finished with a final round score of 3-under par at 68 and a tournament final score of 10-under par for the championship win.
Ferguson has had quite the calendar year on the greens and fairways. During his freshman season at Hampden-Sydney College, he earned ODAC Rookie of the Year honors after being one of five Tigers to compete in the NCAA D3 Golf Championships. Ferguson also garnered VaSID recognition earlier this year as well.
Blacksburg Country Club had three golfers finish in the top 5 --Aaron Summers, Brandon Linkous and Ben Carroll-- so they secured the team title. In the women’s divison, Ashnoor Kaur and Cassidy Chambers went to a one-hole playoff where Kaur of Roanoke Country Club secured the victory. In the women’s senior division, Dot Bolling of Hidden Valley Country Club won the title, finishing with a 10-stroke lead over Debbie Young of Blue Hills Golf Club.