For decades, Bill Caldwell was the man to beat in the Vicksburg Country Club Championship. His grandson has happily picked up that mantle and seems poised to carry the family’s dominance through another generation.

John Halpin Caldwell won his second consecutive VCC Championship last weekend, shooting a three-day total of 218 for a two-shot victory over Jake Dornbusch.

Todd Boolos finished third, three strokes behind Caldwell.

John Halpin Caldwell’s victories continue the family tradition — Bill Caldwell, who is now 87 and still plays at the Country Club three times a week, won the tournament 12 times.

“A lot of it can be attributed to hard work. My grandfather has been my coach since I was 5 years old,” said the 31-year-old John Halpin Caldwell. “We spent a lot of time together over a lot of years. It’s great to have a hobby like that in common.”

The younger Caldwell brought home the trophy with three rounds of steady play. While every other person in the championship flight had at least one bad round, Caldwell shot 73, 73 and 72.

That helped him make up a two-shot deficit against Dornbusch in Sunday’s final round. Dornbusch had the lowest round of the tournament, a 70 on Saturday, but shot 76 on Sunday.

Caldwell did have a hiccup late in Sunday’s final round when he triple-bogeyed the 17th hole. He’d made birdie on 16 to give himself a cushion, though, then made par on the 18th and was never seriously challenged down the stretch.

“Consistency,” Caldwell said of the key to victory. “I had one bad hole (Sunday). I was just trying to make as many pars as I could. I chipped and putted well all weekend.”

Caldwell added that he was happy to repeat as champion.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “There’s some good competition out there, and I really enjoy being in the mix. It feels good. It was a good experience.”