Five standouts give undefeated Bulldogs hopes for state title
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The Virginia State Golf Association Foundation High School Invitational is only in its third year of existence. But that didn’t make the record-breaking performance of Westfield High any less impressive last week.
Getting below-par rounds from three of its five players in Wednesday’s final round — an almost unheard of feat for a high school team — Westfield ran away with the Richard V. Smith trophy, winning the tournament by a record 19 strokes and shattering the event’s scoring record by 14 shots.
While Wesley Liu fired a 3-under-par 69, fellow seniors Tim Ritter (71) and Jimmy Sanders (71) also sizzled at Independence Country Club in Midlothian.
The performance wasn’t a big surprise. It was the fourth invitational tournament won by Westfield in a span of 16 days.
At the Cougar Classic at International, Ritter (74) was the medalist, followed closely by his four teammates, all of whom shot 78 or better. At the ServPro Invitational at Twin Lakes, Liu (69-69) led the way as Westfield broke the tournament scoring record. None of the Bulldogs’ five players shot a round worse than 76 in the two-day event.
“That’s college-level golf,” said Westfield coach Tim Vigotsky. “For a lot of them, it’s their last chance in their high school career to win a state championship, and you can see the commitment there.”
Making Westfield’s rise all the more impressive is that two of its key contributors are girls. At the Bruin Invitational, junior Shabril Brewer shot an opening-round 69. Last week, senior Sarah Stanley fired an opening-round 72 at Independence.
Ritter, a 17-year-old short game wizard from Russia who moved to the United States in elementary school, is the most consistent Bulldog. He won the Bobby Bowers Memorial in July.
Liu, 17, is the streakiest Bulldog. His 69 last week at Independence came after an opening-round 81. He turned his fortunes around quickly, playing the first six holes in 4-under-par.
“I knew it was going to be a good day after making a 40-footer on the first hole,” said Liu. “I still wasn’t hitting the driver well, but I stepped it up with my iron play.”
