Mozingo finishes Blue Devil career

Much was written this season about the accomplishments of Culpeper's Chad Mozingo, who consistently led the Blue Devils in each of the 14 matches in which he competed.

He was clearly the player this year's team was built around.
And for the second year in a row, he was the team's lone representative at the Group AAA state golf tournament, which concluded this past Wednesday and played at the Dominion Valley Country Club in Haymarket.

A relatively familiar course to Mozingo, he entered with an excellent opportunity for success.

But the two-day tournament turned out a tough test of every golfer's mettle and in the end Mozingo finished with a two-day total of 159, which tied him with Westfield's Wes Lie for a 33rd place finish out of a field of 72 golfers.

"Chad didn't have the sort of tournament he wanted to have," said Culpeper coach Shirley Gray, "but he never gave up and he fought all the way. Things just didn't come his way. He had a lot of birdie putts that nipped out. With golf, you can have all the skill in the world but you have to have some luck, too."

His total of 159 left him at 15-over par. On Day 1 he shot a 7-over 79 and on Day 2 he carded an 8-over 80. Mozingo finished Day 1 with one birdie, 11 pars, four bogeys, and two double bogeys. He came back the next day and finished with two birdies, nine pars, five bogeys, one double bogey, and one triple bogey.

"The course was in excellent condition," said Gray. "The fairways were outstanding and the greens were fast and the pin placements were tough. The course was a true test for champions. Several people remarked on how tough it was to play there and I said, 'it's supposed to be tough. That brings the cream to the top.'"

Individually, Oakton's Danny Kim rose to the top with a 5-under par 139 to claim the state championship. Kim shot a 69 on day 1 and followed up on day 2 with a 70.

Team-wise, Frank Cox High School of Virginia Beach claimed its second straight title with a 5-stroke advantage over runner-up Chantilly. The Falcons finished with a team score of 594, while the Chargers tallied a 599.

Westfield (600) finished third, followed by Hickory (636), Deep Run (641), Clover Hill (642), Loudoun Valley (643) and Franklin County (650). Joining Kim on the All-Group AAA team were Nick Austin (140) of James River, Jake An (142) of Chantilly, and Jason Chun and Brinson Paolini, who both shot a 143, of Cox.

For Gray, it never gets any easier seeing one of his golfers move on.

"It's sad to see him finish up," said Gray of Mozingo. "He was on the team for four years. You hate to see your guys leave but you can't keep him forever. Out of the four years, he advanced to the state tournament both last year and this year. He's one of the most dedicated golfers I've had," said Gray. "He really committed himself to golf and he's only 17. He's going no where but up and I'm sure that he'll play in college next year wherever he chooses to go."

Mozingo finished the season with an 18-hole average of 76 and a 9-hole match average of 36. He was the team's best finisher in all 14 matches in which he played this season and he earned top medalist in nine matches and shared the honor once.

"He was the player our team was built around," said Gray, who's not sure what next year will bring.

"We have just a couple of players with experience coming back," he said. "Tommy Jocz returns with the most experience of any player we have. Next year will really be a rebuilding year. Maybe we'll get lucky."

Lucky is good.

Mark O'Connell can be contacted at