WILLIAMSBURG - Hours before his qualifying round for the VSGA Amateur Championship, Nick Austin was back in Richmond switching clubs.

Austin, who golfs at James River High School, didn't like the way his driver felt on Monday, and yesterday morning a golf shop pro advised him to make a switch.

After a couple hours of practice, Austin headed to Williamsburg for a few hours of golf, logging one of the day's best scores and qualifying for the match play portion of the tournament, which begins today.

"I switched from a Cobra driver, which was lofting the ball, to a Bridgestone driver, which is heavy and hits the ball low," Austin said.

The result was that his already-long drives bounced across the dry and low-cut fairways, allowing him to pick up extra distance on every shot.

Austin will be joined by four other Richmond-area golfers this morning as the top 32 scores from qualifying compete in a match-play format. In the afternoon, the top 16 will face off, leaving eight golfers at the end of the day.

While the qualifying format encouraged conservative play, the match-play rounds will allow the players to get aggressive.

"There will be a little more driver and 3-wood off the tee, as opposed to a three-iron," University of Richmond sophomore Sam Beach said. "You just try to make as many birdies as you can."

Beach and Austin had the low scores among Richmonders, shooting a 3-under 139 during the two-day qualifying event. Beach stayed around after his round to cheer on D.J. Dougherty, a Glen Allen native who is a freshman golfer at High Point University.

Dougherty advanced after winning a playoff hole among players who were tied with a 2-over 144.

Rounding out the local field is Jordan Utley, who just graduated from U of R and shot a 2-under 140, and Tom Vlahakis of Glen Allen, who registered a 1-under 141.

Midlothian's Glenn Mullian and Powhatan's Paul Woodson missed the cut by one shot, while tournament champion Pat Tallent will not repeat this year after withdrawing eight holes into his round because of back pain.

The medalist, or low scorer during qualifying, was Daniel Hurley of Leesburg, who shot a 7-under 135 and qualified for match play for the first time in four tries. Hurley's brother Billy won the tournament in 2004 and 2005. He's currently stationed in Pearl Harbor with the Navy.

Before his playing days, Daniel caddied for his older brother.

"No matter what club, he was going to go for the flag," Daniel said, "He had no fear. I learned a lot from him."

Hurley edged out Dustin Groves and A.J. Gerlach for medalist status.

Gerlach came out of nowhere to end up in third place, though with good reason.

After a practice round in Williamsburg on Sunday, he drove to Harrisburg, Pa., to compete in a 36-hole U.S. Public Links qualifier. After qualifying there, he drove back to Williamsburg, arriving at 3 a.m. on Monday and shooting a 1-under 70. Yesterday his score, and his drive time, was considerably lower.

"It's just easier when you have a one-minute commute to the golf course," he said with a laugh.

(6,831 yards, par 71 at Williamsburg)
*-qualified in playoff
Daniel Hurley (Leesburg)-------------------------69-66-135
Dustin Groves (Keswick)-------------------------68-68-136
A.J. Gerlach (Falls Church)-------------------------70-67-137
Garland Green (Tazewell)-------------------------66-73-139
Vincent Nadeau (Penhook)-------------------------69-70-139
Roger W. Newsom (Virginia Beach)------------------68-71-139
Nick Austin (Midlothian)-------------------------72-67-139
Sam Beach (Glen Allen)-------------------------72-67-139
Tim Driver (Penn Laird)-------------------------69-71-140
Ben Lasso (Falls Church)-------------------------72-68-140
Brent Daughtrey (Troy)-------------------------70-70-140
Keith Decker (Martinsville)-------------------------71-69-140
Jordan Utley (Richmond)-------------------------71-69-140
Garrison Fowler (Williamsburg)-------------------------68-72-140
Lanto Griffin (Blacksburg)-------------------------70-71-141
Brinson Paolini (Virginia Beach)-------------------------71-70-141
Tom Vlahakis (Ashland)-------------------------71-70-141
Jason Copeland (Norfolk)-------------------------68-73-141
Chris Tuttle (Virginia Beach)-------------------------72-69-141
Adam Webb (Ridgeway)-------------------------71-71-142
Forrest Shuford IV (Williamsburg)-------------------------73-69-142
Jason C. Chun (Virginia Beach)-------------------------72-70-142
Wes Smith (Virginia Beach)-------------------------71-71-142
Chris Derby (Alexandria)-------------------------71-71-142
Scott Marino (Fairfax)-------------------------72-70-142
Derek Easter (Jetersville)-------------------------73-70-143
Buck Brittain (Tazewell)-------------------------70-73-143
*-D.J. Dougherty (Glen Allen)-------------------------72-72-144
*-Patrick Scheil (Williamsburg)-------------------------70-74-144
*-Hampton Ballard (Pearisburg)-------------------------69-75-144
*-Nick Little (Crozet)-------------------------73-71-144
*-Jon Zampedro (Centreville)-------------------------70-74-144
Failed to qualify
Glenn Mullian (Richmond)-------------------------75-70-145
Paul Woodson (Powhatan)-------------------------72-73-145
David Partridge (Manakin-Sabot)-------------------------74-73-147
Bryce Chalkley (Richmond)-------------------------75-72-147
Tony Good (Glen Allen)-------------------------75-72-147
Tim Kelley (Ashland)-------------------------75-72-147
Clark Taylor (Richmond)-------------------------75-76-151
Jim Woodson (Powhatan)-------------------------75-76-151
Mark Teachey (Richmond)-------------------------75-77-152
Paras Pandya (Midlothian)-------------------------78-75-153
Scott Bemberis (Richmond)-------------------------77-76-153
Greg Bales (Glen Allen)-------------------------75-79-154
Jeff Newman (Midlothian)-------------------------79-76-155
Jay Livingston (Glen Allen)-------------------------77-81-158
Steve Firkins (Midlothian)-------------------------80-78-158
Timmy Osterbind (Midlothian)-------------------------77-83-160
Mike Dowd (Richmond)-------------------------81-86-167
Matt Teachey (Richmond)-------------------------89-87-176
Alec Sorrel (Glen Allen)-------------------------82-WD