Gaunlet – ELEVATED

The Virginia Capital Amateur Players Tour returned to Gauntlet Golf Club on Saturday, November 7, 2026 in Fredericksburg, Virginia for a premier amateur golf tournament. The chapter’s fall run of Richmond amateur golf tournaments brought a field of 35 players across five divisions to the Gauntlet, with two net games running alongside and an Elevated Event purse of over $1,500 on the line. Players are flighted into divisions based on their APT Tournament Index.

It was a gorgeous fall day in Central Virginia, but a steady 10-15 mph wind blew all afternoon and gave the field plenty to think about. Opened in 1995, the par-72, 6,900-yard P.B. Dye championship design plays over lush zoysia fairways to smooth bentgrass greens set around the lake at Curtis Memorial Park, with the par-4 4th as its signature hole. The course played tough from the first tee, with difficult pin placements and that wind never letting up, and the leaves coming down off the trees punished anything that strayed off line — finding a wayward ball was its own challenge.

In Division 1, Ian Patterson of Hyattsville, Maryland took the title with an 8-over 80, a three-shot win over Keith Berkheimer of Gaithersburg, Maryland, who signed for an 11-over 83. Berkheimer had been two clear of Patterson after six holes, but Patterson turned the race around before the twelfth and the pair were level again with three to play. Patterson went out in 7-over 43 and came home in 1-over 37, making birdies at the par-3 12th and the par-4 17th and playing the last three in 1-under to settle it.

Division 2 produced the low round of the day. Sean Newsom of Fredericksburg posted a 6-over 78 for a three-stroke win, turning in 4-over 40 and coming home in 2-over 38 with birdies at the par-5 10th and the par-4 16th. Newsom and Christopher Denz of Alexandria were level through six before Newsom opened a three-shot cushion by the turn for home; Denz took runner-up honors with a 9-over 81, birdieing the 2nd and closing with a birdie at the par-4 18th, the most generous hole on the card at two birdies and 13 pars on the day. Christopher Wright of Quinton finished third at 11-over 83, with three players inside five shots of the lead.

Anson Smith of Gainesville won Division 3 for the second event in a row, and he had to come from a long way back to do it. Seven strokes behind Joe Renteria after six holes and three back at the twelve-hole mark, Smith kept chipping away, drew level with three to play and got home by a single stroke with a 13-over 85. Renteria, of Lottsburg, took second at 14-over 86, and John Lambert of Fredericksburg — who had also led Smith by two early — was third at 15-over 87. Three players finished within two shots of the title.

Division 4 belonged to a first-timer. Chris Maddox of Fredericksburg won his inaugural debut with the Amateur Players Tour, posting an 11-over 83 that no one in the division came close to matching. Maddox led from the front, was three clear after six and never gave the lead up, going out in 4-over 40 and stacking up ten pars across the round. Rick Muse of Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania claimed runner-up honors at 16-over 88, and he did it the hard way, playing the front in 12-over 48 before turning it around with a 4-over 40 on the inward half. Rolf Granger of North Chesterfield rounded out the top three at 19-over 91.

In Division 5, Dakota Siok of Edgewater, Maryland won by three with a 24-over 96. Elizabeth Massarin of Washington, DC pushed him hardest, drawing level after twelve holes before Siok edged back in front over the closing stretch; she finished second at 27-over 99. George Ross of Fredericksburg finished in third.

Maddox made it a double-dip, adding the Mid-Am Net title to his debut victory with a net 1-under 71. Chad Davis of Mechanicsville matched him through six holes and was still level with three to play before Maddox pulled clear over the closing holes to win by six; Davis took second at net 5-over 77. Dakota Siok was third at net 6-over 78.

Newsom completed a double-dip of his own in Senior Net, adding the senior title to his Division 2 win with a net 1-over 73, two clear of John Lambert, who posted net 3-over 75. Four players tied for third at net 5-over 77 — Anson Smith, Christopher Denz, Joe Renteria and Rick Muse — sharing the points and splitting the purse to round out the money positions. Denz had been level with Newsom through six and was the closest of the chasers with three to play. Two players finished within two of the lead and seven within five.

The closest-to-the-pin contests were the best of the day. Joe Renteria hit it to five inches at the par-3 3rd. Elizabeth Massarin won the par-3 6th with a shot to 9’0″ at a very tough pin — a hole that gave up no birdies all day and played a shot and a half over par. Mike Barton stuck it to 4’3″ at a front pin on the par-3 12th, and Larry Barber won the par-3 15th, the longest par 3 on the golf course, with a shot to 12 feet.

Another $70 was raised for Folds of Honor on the day, from $140 in total sales, bringing the 2026 total to $1,785. Danny Wright won the round of golf for four at the Gauntlet, and Tommy Jackson took the other half of the pot.

The Virginia Capital chapter’s 2027 season continues, with points from the Gauntlet now on the board. Watch the chapter schedule for the next stop.