ROANOKE, Va. – He’s been knocking on the door the past few years and on Saturday, it finally opened up for Mark Lawrence Jr. The Virginia Tech senior closed out the 2020 Delta Dental State Open with a final round score of 3-under 69.
Lawrence finished with a three round total of 200, 16-under par, breaking the tournament record for lowest 54-hole total by four strokes.
“It helps to get off to a good start. I haven’t been able to do that the last few years. So, that was one of my things this year was to try and get off to a hot start. It definitely makes a difference to how you play but I tried not to make it make me play differently. I wanted to still play aggressive and get as many birdies as I could,” said Lawrence.
The next closest finisher was Salem native Justin Young, who finished the tournament with a score of 9-under par. John O’Leary was the highest placing PGA golfer with a score of 7-under par, earning a 4th place finish.
2020 was the seventh and final year the State Open was sponsored by Delta Dental and hosted at Ballyhack Golf Club. Having finished as runner-up twice before, Lawrence said it made this year’s victory that much sweeter.
“It’s a huge honor, glad I was able to win here. This is one of my favorite golf courses and I’m going to miss playing here. It’s an incredible place, it really is special,” Lawrence said.