“I set my alarm for 6:15 a.m., but I didn’t wake up until 6:45,” Mondy laughed. “I think I left home about 7.”

Whether the snooze button had an impact on the 17-year-old shooting a second round best 6-under 65 at the VSGA Junior is a matter for debate. But it’s a safe bet the rising senior at Blacksburg High School was wide-eyed by later in the day, playing his last five holes in four under par to rescue his round from the cobwebs.   

In the process, Mondy (pictured left), who opened with 69, surged to the top of the leaderboard and is tied for the top spot with first round leader Bryce Chalkley, 17, of Richmond at 8-under 134 entering Thursday’s final round. Chalkley followed his first round-best 64 with 1-under 70 on day two. Martinsville’s Jack Adkins, who will be in the final grouping with Mondy and Chalkley, is three strokes back at 5-under 137 (68-69). Alex Lloyd, 16, of Virginia Beach has carded rounds of 70-69 and is five off the pace at 3-under 139.

Mondy was two under after 13 holes, but was quickly rejuvenated by making two eagles at his 14th and 17th holes of the day, Nos. 5 and 8, respectively. The round-changers came via different routes; on the first eagle, Mondy detonated his tee shot that traveled an estimated 360 yards, leaving him only a pitching wedge second that we played from 12 feet before draining the ensuing putt. Not even a bogey one hole later could stop his momentum. On his next-to-last hole, Mondy played a soft-hands chip from a delicate spot over the green that trickled onto the green and fell in the cup. Mondy finished things off by knocking in a 30-footer for birdie on his last hole.   

The long-hitting Mondy is readily familiar with the Roanoke Country Club layout, having played it throughout his prep career. He posted a top-10 finish this spring at the Scott Robertson Memorial, a national junior event held at the club. Even given those factors, Mondy says he battles to get comfortable on the classic course. Not so on Wednesday when the putter cooperated in the late stages.

“[The putts] just started going in at the end,” Mondy said. “That eagle at [No.] 5 really helped. The ball just started going in the hole, which helps my confidence a lot.”

Admittedly another attention-getter came at the VSGA State Amateur earlier this month, where Mondy shot the stroke-play equivalent of three under par in his round of 16 match against Brinson Paolini of Virginia Beach, but still fell 2 and 1. Paolini, a rising sophomore at Duke, went on to become the State Am’s first three-time winner.

“That was a little disappointing. I wanted to go far in that tournament,” said Mondy, who is bound for Auburn University in the fall of 2011. “If it were anybody else – playing three under – I felt I could’ve beaten anyone else in the field.

“But yeah, you do have to take some confidence in that he’s a three-time State Am champion, he plays at Duke. You can’t argue with his résumé. He’s a great champion.”

Paolini has a pair of State Junior titles to his credit. Mondy, Chalkley and Adkins will each look for their first victory in the event on Thursday. They’ll have the benefit of a comfortable grouping – Mondy and Chalkley have competed in the State Junior together since they were pre-teens and the trio have all been regulars in VSGA events in recent years.

Despite struggling early in his round, Chalkley made late birdies at Nos. 15 and 17 to post red numbers. Though his one under round looks tame compared to a day-one 64, Chalkley still takes a measure of satisfaction in regrouping in the late-going to share the top spot.

“It’s always tough to come back from a round like [Tuesday], where everything happens just the way you drew it up. That’s the feeling after you have 64 – you want to do it again,” said Chalkley, a Saint Christopher’s School graduate who is headed to Virginia Tech in the fall. “I struggled a little bit, but feel like I hung in there, made a few putts and kept myself in the golf tournament.

“It definitely gives me confidence going into Thursday after grinding it out early on. I still played really well and am pleased with my round.”

Adkins was a first-hand witness to Chalkley’s scorching opening round score as the two played in the same grouping. For a while on the second day, the Carlisle School graduate looked poised to put on an uncanny display of his own. The 18-year-old Adkins shot three under on the outward half and had it to four under through 12, before making late bogeys at Nos. 16 and 18.     

Both Adkins and Chalkley are competing in the last VSGA Junior for which they are eligible before heading off to college. Adkins has enjoyed some success on the Roanoke Country Club layout, having finished as runner-up at the VSGA Junior Match Play Championship last year. They’d both like nothing better than to ride the wave off a state title to their next destination.      

“We’re both excited for college, but I think I can speak for myself and Bryce – we both want to finish on a high note if we could,” said Adkins, who will be attending North Carolina’s Elon University.

ROANOKE –– Results from the second round of the 58th VSGA Junior Amateur Championship at Roanoke Country Club (6,480 yards, par 36-35—71) on Wednesday, July 28.

Jake Mondy (Blacksburg), 69-65—134

Bryce Chalkley (Richmond), 64-70—134

Jack Adkins (Martinsville), 68-69—137

Alex Lloyd (Virginia Beach), 70-69—139

Trey Smith (Virginia Beach), 73-67—140

Ashton Newsom (Chesapeake), 71-70—141

Jack Wilkes (Roanoke), 72-70—142

Adam Ball (Richmond), 72-71—143

Mason Stutler (Fredericksburg), 68-75—143

Chris O'Neill (Glen Allen), 71-72—143

Justin Roberto (Williamsburg), 72-71—143

Tim Ritter (Centreville), 70-74—144

Matthew Ball Jr. (Richmond), 69-76—145

Nick Shedd (Williamsburg), 72-73—145

Jason Schumacher (Glen Allen), 75-70—145

Christopher Kapsak (Richmond), 69-76—145

Preston Leigh (Suffolk), 72-73—145

Zack Henry (Front Royal), 76-70—146

Tanner Carbaugh (Pearisburg), 70-76—146

Wesley Liu (Herndon), 72-75—147

Korey Watts (Buchanan), 72-75—147

Adam Ochs (Ashburn), 75-72—147

Brandon Deleonardis (Paeonian Springs), 76-71—147

Andrew Butts (Salem), 70-77—147

Kent Miller (Charlottesville), 74-73—147

Trip Bose (Norfolk), 77-70—147

Rick O'Connell (Goochland), 74-73—147

Greg Pappas (Warrenton), 75-73—148

Bryce Cope (Virginia Beach), 75-73—148

John Dawson (Chesapeake), 73-75—148

Scott Davidson (Round Hill), 74-75—149

Dawson Hobbs (Midlothian), 74-75—149

Zack Bosse (Round Hill), 77-72—149

Zeke Shaffer (Radford), 74-76—150

Cameron Young (Richmond), 73-77—150

Dylan Jensen (Ridgeway), 80-70—150

Blake Carter (Bassett), 77-74—151

Griffin Clark (Colonial Heights), 78-73—151

Tanner Foutz (Mechanicsville), 78-74—152

Brendan Pastor (Haymarket), 76-76—152

Tyler Satorius (Annandale), 75-77—152

Addison Coll (Arlington), 80-73—153

Ryan Douglass (Leesburg), 78-75—153

Landon Weis (Charlottesville), 74-79—153

John Dozier III (Manakin-Sabot), 82-71—153

Connor Walters (Salem), 81-72—153

Garrett Sweeney (Salem), 76-77—153

Alex O’Dell (Crozet), 68-85—153

Ben Leon (Virginia Beach), 79-74—153

Michael Barber (Newport News), 76-77—153

Ryan Rettberg (Front Royal), 80-74—154

Max Ruge (Mclean), 76-78—154

Bandar Alsaif (Great Falls), 79-75—154

Brad Elder (Roanoke), 78-76—154

Matt Morgan (Bluefield), 76-78—154

Trevor Times (Williamsburg), 76-78—154

Clay O'Connor (Troutville), 82-72—154

Joey Lane (Great Falls), 77-78—155

Jordan Patrick (Abingdon), 76-79—155

Ben Taylor (Bluefield), 77-78—155

Erik Ruce (Arlington), 81-75—156

Oliver Vannairn (Leesburg), 78-78—156

Jason Park (Midlothian), 76-80—156

Seth Nooe (Williamsburg), 83-73—156

Maclain Huge (Lovettsville), 74-83—157

Clint Lowe (Gate City), 78-79—157

Tyler Weeks (Bassett), 79-78—157

Mark Lawrence Jr. (Richmond), 79-78—157

Zack Lauzon (Woodbridge), 80-78—158

Landon Francisco (Keysville), 82-76—158

Drew Lagan (Roanoke), 79-79—158

John Bryant (Galax), 80-79—159

Christian Rivera (Norfolk), 83-76—159

John David Sanderson (Suffolk), 81-79—160

Thomas Prominski (Arlington), 81-79—160

Samuel Jones (Blacksburg), 85-75—160

Christian Moore (Poquoson), 81-79—160

Matthew Disalvo (Great Falls), 79-82—161

Taylor Walker (Roanoke), 75-86—161

Scott Welch (Henrico), 82-79—161

Brian Therrien (Fredericksburg), 85-77—162

Drew Arnold (Danville), 82-81—163

George McDaniel (Goode), 86-78—164

Andrew Becraft (Virginia Beach), 80-84—164

Trey Cully (Ashland), 82-84—166

Patrick Franklin (Spout Spring), 83-85—168

Bryan Carter (Yorktown), 86-82—168

Ryan Hatcher (Chesapeake), 86-87—173

Trent Thomas (Ashland), 74-DQ

Branson Bowman (Marion), 85-DNS

ROANOKE –– Groupings and starting times for the final round of the 58th VSGA Junior  Amateur Championship at Roanoke Country Club (6,480 yards, par 36-35—71) on Thursday, July 29.

Thursday (July 29), Tee No. 1

8 a.m. – Addison Coll (Arlington); Ben Leon (Virginia Beach); Landon Weis (Charlottesville)

8:09 a.m. – Tanner Foutz (Mechanicsville); Tyler Satorius (Annandale); Ryan Douglass (Leesburg)

8:18 a.m. – Blake Carter (Bassett); Griffin Clark (Colonial Heights); Brendan Pastor (Haymarket)

8:27 a.m. – Zeke Shaffer (Radford); Dylan Jensen (Ridgeway); Cameron Young (Richmond)

8:36 a.m. – Scott Davidson (Round Hill); Zack Bosse (Round Hill); Dawson Hobbs (Midlothian)

8:45 a.m. – Bryce Cope (Virginia Beach); Greg Pappas (Warrenton); John Dawson (Chesapeake)

8:54 a.m. – Rick O'Connell (Goochland); Brandon Deleonardis (Paeonian Springs); Trip Bose (Norfolk)

9:03 a.m. – Adam Ochs (Ashburn); Andrew Butts (Salem); Korey Watts (Buchanan)

9:12 a.m. – Tanner Carbaugh (Pearisburg); Kent Miller (Charlottesville); Wesley Liu (Herndon)

9:21 a.m. – Preston Leigh (Suffolk); Christopher Kapsak (Richmond); Zack Henry (Front Royal)

9:30 a.m. – Jason Schumacher (Glen Allen); Nick Shedd (Williamsburg); Matthew Ball Jr. (Richmond)

9:39 a.m. – Adam Ball (Richmond); Chris O'Neill (Glen Allen); Tim Ritter (Centreville)

9:48 a.m. – Jack Wilkes (Roanoke); Mason Stutler (Fredericksburg); Justin Roberto (Williamsburg)

9:57 a.m. – Alex Lloyd (Virginia Beach); Trey Smith (Virginia Beach); Ashton Newsom (Chesapeake)

10:06 a.m. – Bryce Chalkley (Richmond); Jake Mondy (Blacksburg); Jack Adkins (Martinsville)

Thursday (July 29), Tee No. 10

8 a.m. – Alex O'Dell (Crozet); Garrett Sweeney (Salem); Michael Barber (Newport News)

8:09 a.m. – Connor Walters (Salem); John Dozier III (Manakin-Sabot); Ryan Rettberg (Front Royal)

8:18 a.m. – Brad Elder (Roanoke); Trevor Times (Williamsburg); Clay O'Connor (Troutville)

8:27 a.m. – Bandar Alsaif (Great Falls); Matt Morgan (Bluefield); Max Ruge (Mclean)

8:36 a.m. – Jordan Patrick (Abingdon); Joey Lane (Great Falls); Ben Taylor (Bluefield)

8:45 a.m. – Erik Ruce (Arlington); Oliver Vannairn (Leesburg); Jason Park (Midlothian)

8:54 a.m. – Seth Nooe (Williamsburg); Mark Lawrence Jr. (Richmond); Maclain Huge (Lovettsville)

9:03 a.m. – Tyler Weeks (Bassett); Clint Lowe (Gate City); Landon Francisco (Keysville)

9:12 a.m. – Drew Lagan (Roanoke); Zack Lauzon (Woodbridge); John Bryant (Galax)

9:21 a.m. – Christian Rivera (Norfolk); Samuel Jones (Blacksburg); John David Sanderson (Suffolk)

9:30 a.m. – Thomas Prominski (Arlington); Christian Moore (Poquoson); Taylor Walker (Roanoke)

9:39 a.m. – Scott Welch (Henrico); Matthew Disalvo (Great Falls); Brian Therrien (Fredericksburg)

9:48 a.m. – Drew Arnold (Danville); Andrew Becraft (Virginia Beach); George McDaniel (Goode)

9:57 a.m. – Trey Cully (Ashland); Bryan Carter (Yorktown)