Go low or go home. That’s a motto often heard at PGA Tour events, but it also applies for the 7th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at the Country Club of Birmingham.
Following 36 holes of stroke play on the club’s East and West courses, a score of 8-under-par 133 was required to qualify for match play, a championship record by two shots. In all, 95 of the 128 sides posted under-par totals for 36 holes.
A trio of sides led the scoring assault to share medalist honors at 13-under-par 128.
Carter Loflin and Wells Williams, the 18-hole leaders who are headed to the University of Georgia and Vanderbilt University, respectively, this fall; Wake Forest alums Davis Womble and Chad Wilfong; and Torey Edwards and Bret Parker each came within two strokes of the 36-hole championship record owned by Brandon Matthews and Patrick Ross in 2016 at Winged Foot Golf Club.
Loflin and Williams followed their 18-hole championship-record 61 on the 6,611-yard, par-71 East Course on Saturday with a 4-under 67 on the 7,166-yard, par-71 West Course on Sunday. Wilfong and Womble made consecutive birdies on 17 and 18 to post an 8-under 63, the best score of the weekend on the West Course. Edwards and Parker closed with two birdies over their final three holes on the East for a 7-under 63.
“It validates everything we’ve been doing,” said Williams, 18, of West Point, Miss., a three-time American Junior Golf Association All-American who was a member of the 2021 USA Junior Ryder Cup Team. “Even though we played insane [on Saturday], there was still a lot out there for us today, which just shows how well we’ve been playing.”
As Womble was walking down the 17th fairway, the 28-year-old from Winston-Salem, N.C., quickly glanced at the online leaderboard to see where his side stood in terms of the cut. He quickly noticed he and Wilfong, 41, of Charlotte, N.C., were only two off the lead.
“More importantly, we were one back of our close friends, Dan Walters and Evan Beck,” said Womble. “We wanted to take them down. I played with Evan one year [at Wake Forest] and Dan was my assistant coach.”
Womble rolled in a 25-footer for birdie on 17 and Wilfong drained a 30-footer on 18 to close with a 5-under 31 on the inward nine.
“You can make some putts,” said Womble, who grew up at the same club in Thomasville, N.C. (Colonial C.C.) as Wilfong, 13 years apart. “The greens are perfect.”
Parker, 42, of Alpine, Utah, birdied Nos. 16 and 17 to pull him and Edwards, a 40-year-old left-hander from Long Beach, Calif., into a share of medalist honors. He barely missed a 25-foot birdie bid on 18 that would have given the side medalist honors outright. Both Edwards-Parker and Wilfong-Womble completed stroke play without a bogey.
“The key was to keep a clean card,” said Edwards. “Bret played great and I was just plodding along. The goal for me was to make as many easy pars as possible while he was on that heater.”
Three sides were one stroke back of the medalists at 12-under 129. That group included Beck, the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up, and Walters; former Southern Methodist University teammates Zach Kingsland and William Sides; and ex-University of Michigan teammates Matthew McLaughlin and Christian Vozza.
What's Next
A 10-side playoff for the final nine spots in the match-play draw will commence at 7 a.m. CDT on Monday off No. 1 of the East Course and will continue on No. 9, if necessary. The same holes will be played should the playoff extend past two holes. Round-of-64 matches will begin at 8 a.m. on the West Course. Match play continues on Tuesday with the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals and 18-hole final on Wednesday. Spectators are welcome and admission is free.
Notable
The 18-hole championship scoring record of 61 set on Saturday by Carter Loflin and Wells Williams was matched on Sunday on the East Course by Texans Jace Moore, 36, of Keller, and Jordan Woolf, 35, of Fort Worth. They had a chance to shoot 60, but Woolf missed a 25-footer for birdie on No. 18, then missed a 2-footer for par. Moore, a University of Texas graduate, made six birdies, none longer than 12 feet, and two-putt 3 after driving the green on the 312-yard second. Moore, a Texas Christian grad, made four birdies. On the West Course Saturday, the duo posted a 1-under 70.
The two past-champion sides in the field failed to qualify for match play. Scott Harvey and Todd Mitchell (2019) missed the cut for the first time in seven starts (3-under 138). Nathan Smith and Todd White, the inaugural winners in 2015, posted 7-under 134 to miss the playoff by one. Their lone previous missed cut came three years ago at Bandon Dunes.
Both father/son tandems failed to advance. Mesa, Ariz., residents Brad Wayment and his 24-year-old son, Cooper, who just earned his undergraduate degree from Utah State, shot 6-under 135 to miss by three strokes. This was Cooper’s first USGA championship, while Brad qualified for the 2018 U.S. Senior Open and 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur. Nebraska natives John and Andrew Sajevic posted 137. This was their first missed cut in three U.S. Amateur Four-Ball starts. They have competed in a combined 22 USGA championships.
Of the six brother tandems, only Trey and Terry Diehl have a chance to make match play. They are in Monday’s 11-for-10 playoff.
Recently retired USGA Executive Committee member and 1988 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Martha Lang, who resides in nearby Shoal Creek, served as the first-tee starter on the West Course during stroke play. Lang also is a past USA Curtis Cup player and captain. Andy Priest, the executive director of the Alabama Golf Association, did the honors at the East Course.
Quotable
“We could have shot 57…We just got off to a quick start and got some momentum.” – Jace Moore on matching the championship 18-hole scoring mark of 61 with partner Jordan Woolf
“The seed next to your name is super cool but other than that, you’re just starting completely over.” – Carter Loflin on match play
“On the front nine, my body was feeling awesome. I could turn really well and was striking it well. I got on a good run … and Torey did a great job supporting me. But then halfway through the round my body got tired. I’m not used to playing this much golf. Torey really stepped up and carried me in the afternoon.” – Bret Parker on his performance with partner Torey Edwards
“It’s soft enough to stop decently long approach shots into the green. I fully expect [the West Course] to get firmer later in the week. And if it does, the golf course will change quickly. Other than like three holes for us today, we haven’t had any wind and the rough… you can absolutely play out of it.” – Chad Wilfong on why the scoring has been so good
“We were just trying to keep pace with them. A lot of positive vibes out there… It kind of rubs off on you.” – Charlie Palmer on shooting 11-under 130 with partner Inigo Izuzquiza while playing alongside Matthew McLaughlin and Christopher Vozza who shot 12 under par.
“Gosh, it’d be nice to get one [USGA title] and add that feather to my cap, too. It’d be great to have as a reference point while we’re on air.” – Drew Stoltz (11-under 130 with 2008 U.S. Amateur runner-up Drew Kittleson) when asked about his Siriux/XM podcast partner Colt Knost, who won the 2007 U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links titles
Results from Sunday's second round of stroke play at the 2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, played at the Country Club of Birmingham
Torey Edwards, Long Beach, Calif. & Bret Parker, Alpine, Utah 65 W-63 E--128
Chad Wilfong, Charlotte, N.C. & Davis Womble, Winston-Salem, N.C. 65 E-63 W--128
Carter Loflin, Duluth, Ga. & Wells Williams, West Point, Miss. 61 E-67 W--128
Matthew McLaughlin, Barrington, Ill. & Christian Vozza, Orlando, Fla. 64 E-65 W--129
Evan Beck, Virginia Beach, Va. & Dan Walters, Winston-Salem, N.C. 62 E-67 W--129
Zach Kingsland, Austin, Texas & William Sides, Tulsa, Okla. 64 E-65 W--129
Inigo Izuzquiza, Coronado, Calif. & Charlie Palmer, Phoenix, Ariz. 65 E-65 W--130
AJ Ferries, San Antonio, Texas & Justin Kaplan, Houston, Texas 65 E-65 W--130
Drew Kittleson, Scottsdale, Ariz. & Drew Stoltz, Scottsdale, Ariz. 63 E-67 W--130
Aaron Pounds, The Woodlands, Texas & Jack Usner, The Woodlands, Texas 67 W-64 E--131
Jace Moore, Keller, Texas & Jordan Woolf, Fort Worth, Texas 70 W-61 E--131
Frank Alafoginis, Arlington, Va. & Charles Winegardner, Lothian, Md. 67 W-64 E--131
Ty Gingerich, Carmel, Ind. & Cole Harris, Carmel, Ind. 66 E-65 W--131
Brad Monroe, Syracuse, N.Y. & Kevin Vandenberg, Pulaski, N.Y. 65 E-66 W--131
Mike Calef, West Bridgewater, Mass. & Nicholas Maccario, Haverhill, Mass. 68 W-64 E--132
Casey Carnes, San Antonio, Texas & Terrence Miskell, New Braunfels, Texas 69 W-63 E--132
Jeffrey Castle, Baltimore, Md. & William Wingerd, Nottingham, Md. 64 E-68 W--132
Chris Eassy, Greenville, S.C. & Jeremy Revis, Greenville, S.C. 63 E-69 W--132
Sean Langham, Australia & Andrew Von Lossow, Spokane, Wash. 62 E-70 W--132
Blake Humbles, Alta Loma, Calif. & Connor Reis, Claremont, Calif. 64 E-68 W--132
Olof Bengtsson, Sweden & Matthew Kilgo, Charlotte, N.C. 68 W-64 E--132
Andrew Medley, Scottsdale, Ariz. & Taylor Wood, Coto De Caza, Calif. 66 E-66 W--132
Joseph Lenane, Dedham, Mass. & Aidan O'Donovan, Somerville, Mass. 66 E-66 W--132
Andrew Sullivan, Louisville, Ky. & Davis Woodliff, Tulsa, Okla. 66 W-67 E--133
Aaron Ingalls, Jackson, Tenn. & Jeff Reuter, Humboldt, Tenn. 67 W-66 E--133
Tim McKenney, Minnetonka, Minn. & Will Strickler, Dallas, Texas 70 W-63 E--133
Kevin Koerbel, Pittsburgh, Pa. & Matt Vogt, Indianapolis, Ind. 67 W-66 E--133
Chip Brooke, Altamonte Springs, Fla. & Marc Dull, Lakeland, Fla. 70 W-63 E--133
Blanton Farmer, Bradenton, Fla. & Ryan Terry, Nashville, Tenn. 62 E-71 W--133
Trey Diehl, Las Cruces, N.M. & Tyler Diehl, Las Cruces, N.M. 64 E-69 W--133
John Ramsey, Glenview, Ill. & Chadd Slutzky, Deer Park, Ill. 65 E-68 W--133
Joseph Lloyd, Scottsdale, Ariz. & Drew Mabrey, Tulsa, Okla. 64 E-69 W--133
Chad Branton, Cartersville, Ga. & Kyle Hosick, Calhoun, Ga. 65 E-68 W--133
Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. & Todd White, Spartanburg, S.C. 67 W-67 E--134
Rij Patel, Hunt Valley, Md. & Nick Smearman, Baltimore, Md. 69 W-65 E--134
Ben Cooley, Phoenixville, Pa. & Patrick O'Leary, Milton, Mass. 66 E-68 W--134
Kory Bowman, Springfield, Mo. & Jason Schultz, Allen, Texas 66 W-68 E--134
Reid Buzby, San Francisco, Calif. & Daniel Connolly, San Francisco, Calif. 65 E-69 W--134
Garland Ferrell, Greenville, S.C. & Matthew Hayes, Marietta, Ga. 70 W-64 E--134
Ryan Conn, Minneapolis, Minn. & Josh Persons, Fargo, N.D. 67 W-67 E--134
Dean Greyserman, Boca Raton, Fla. & Reed Greyserman, Boca Raton, Fla. 68 E-66 W--134
Ward Harris, Vestavia Hills, Ala. & Jackson Mitchell, Athens, Ala. 67 E-67 W--134
Zach Foushee, Lake Oswego, Ore. & Robbie Ziegler, Tualatin, Ore. 69 W-65 E--134
Brandon Cigna, Alexandria, Va. & Ben Warnquist, Gaithersburg, Md. 66 W-69 E--135
Brad Wayment, Mesa, Ariz. & Cooper Wayment, Mesa, Ariz. 66 W-69 E--135
Matt Broome, Mountain Brook, Ala. & Jack Lessing, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 68 W-67 E--135
Christian Castillo, Plano, Texas & Jared Harvey, Allen, Texas 67 W-68 E--135
Paul Becker, San Diego, Calif. & Tim Tiel, San Diego, Calif. 62 E-73 W--135
Payne Denman, Murfreesboro, Tenn. & Brett Patterson, McMinnville, Tenn. 66 E-69 W--135
Luke Crapo, North Salt Lake, Utah & Reed Nielsen, Layton, Utah 65 E-70 W--135
Charles Sahlman, Denver, Colo. & Charles Soule, Denver, Colo. 65 E-70 W--135
Joshua Davenport, England & Gerry Jones Jr., Suffolk, Va. 68 E-67 W--135
Will Davenport, Palm City, Fla. & Mike Smith, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. 66 E-69 W--135
Bowen Ballis, Shenandoah, Texas & Daniel Zou, The Woodlands, Texas 68 E-68 W--136
Dennis Bull, Norwalk, Iowa & Andrew Price, Lake Bluff, Ill. 67 W-69 E--136
Whitten Meares, Charleston, S.C. & John Pitt, Raleigh, N.C. 69 W-67 E--136
Brent Delahoussaye, Greenville, S.C. & Charles Warren, Greenville, S.C. 67 W-69 E--136
David Griffin, Saint Gabriel, La. & Mike Stackus, Zachary, La. 73 W-63 E--136
Dane Burkhart, Aiken, S.C. & Scott Usher, Charleston, S.C. 64 E-72 W--136
Jason Johnstone, Scottsdale, Ariz. & Nick Obie, Bozeman, Mont. 67 E-69 W--136
Creighton Honeck, Bee Cave, Texas & Riley Pumphrey, Austin, Texas 67 E-69 W--136
Jesse Galvon, Canada & Domingo Jojola, Albuquerque, N.M. 69 E-67 W--136
Bryan Rusin, Denver, Colo. & Chris Thayer, Golden, Colo. 69 W-68 E--137
Kevin Grady, Catonsville, Md. & Andrew Sovero, Catonsville, Md. 68 W-69 E--137
Alex Finke, Rock Hill, S.C. & Damon Postal, Charlotte, N.C. 67 W-70 E--137
Steven Groover, Birmingham, Ala. & M. Tyler McKeever, Atlanta, Ga. 66 E-71 W--137
Timothy Driver, Holly Springs, N.C. & Joe Scheffres, North Potomac, Md. 72 W-65 E--137
Andrew Sajevic, Omaha, Neb. & John Sajevic, Fremont, Neb. 70 W-67 E--137
Kevin Gately, Pembroke, Mass. & Sam Jenkins, Charlotte, N.C. 69 E-68 W--137
Charlie Jacobson, Sioux Falls, S.D. & Ryan Trasamar, Sioux Falls, S.D. 65 E-72 W--137
Dylan Block, Mission Viejo, Calif. & Zac Stout, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. 67 E-71 W--138
Ty Cole, Albertville, Ala. & Clay Guerin, Hoover, Ala. 70 W-68 E--138
Jon Brown, Adel, Iowa & Ethan Mechling, Des Moines, Iowa 69 W-69 E--138
Kenny Cook, Noblesville, Ind. & Sean Rowen, Greenwood, Ind. 72 W-66 E--138
Steve Colnitis, Chicago, Ill. & Steve Ratay, Lake Forest, Ill. 70 W-68 E--138
Jay Woodward, Bridgeport, W.Va. & Woody Woodward, Bridgeport, W.Va. 71 W-67 E--138
Brandon Parker, Worcester, Mass. & Kyle Tibbetts, Boston, Mass. 69 W-69 E--138
Scott Harvey, Greensboro, N.C. & Todd Mitchell, Bloomington, Ill. 70 W-68 E--138
Jack Anderson, Brookfield, Wis. & Adam Garski, Wauwatosa, Wis. 70 W-68 E--138
Sam Bernstein, New York, N.Y. & Will Bernstein, New York, N.Y. 71 W-67 E--138
Blas Ayesa, Argentina & Juan Diego Sanchez Pillot Castillo, Mexico 68 E-71 W--139
Tyler Bishop, Frederick, Colo. & Ryan Burke, Longmont, Colo. 68 E-71 W--139
G. Davis Boland, Louisville, Ky. & Joshua Rhodes, Paducah, Ky. 72 W-67 E--139
Kenny Ebalo, Las Vegas, Nev. & Shane Sigsbee, Las Vegas, Nev. 69 E-70 W--139
Bradley Bastion, Shelby Township, Mich. & Anthony Sorentino, Rochester Hills, Mich. 68 W-71 E--139
Ben Carpenter, Darien, Conn. & Robert You, Las Vegas, Nev. 65 E-74 W--139
Aaron Ahrendsen, Riverside, Iowa & Joshua Manske, Algona, Iowa 69 W-70 E--139
Francis Catalano, Camarillo, Calif. & Ramie Sprinkling, Camarillo, Calif. 72 E-67 W--139
Johnny Bush, Cranford, N.J. & Blake McGovern, Newbury Park, Calif. 74 W-66 E--140
John Hafdal, Prior Lake, Minn. & Danny Menton, Hutchinson, Minn. 70 W-70 E--140
Evan Russell, St. Albans, Vt. & Travis Russell, Washington, D.C. 71 E-69 W--140
Jayce Barber, High Springs, Fla. & Toby Ragland, Jacksonville, Fla. 71 E-69 W--140
Brandon Gillis, Nashua, N.H. & Mike Walker, Hollis, N.H. 70 E-70 W--140
Bradley Sawka, Ellington, Conn. & Jack Snyder, Manchester, Conn. 72 W-68 E--140
Michael Chaney, Fayetteville, Ark. & Creighton Parker, Lowell, Ark. 68 W-72 E--140
Nate Dunn, Cedar Rapids, Iowa & Marc Gladson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 69 E-72 W--141
Tyler Anderson, Mundelein, Ill. & Devin Johnson, Elburn, Ill. 67 E-74 W--141
Forbes Collins II, Lake Forest, Calif. & Tony Riva, Costa Mesa, Calif. 69 E-72 W--141
Joe Mahurin, Noblesville, Ind. & Brian Spacey, Noblesville, Ind. 73 W-68 E--141
Liam Gill, Wayland, Mass. & Federico Gutierrez, Mexico 70 E-71 W--141
Todd Albert, Katy, Texas & Kevin Liberto, Cypress, Texas 75 W-67 E--142
Blake Johnson, Winnetka, Ill. & Nicholas Smith, Chicago, Ill. 69 W-73 E--142
Matthew Scozzari, Kinnelon, N.J. & Todd Wiggins, River Edge, N.J. 74 W-68 E--142
Alex Sleeker, Richmond, Va. & Tom Vlahakis, Ashland, Va. 69 E-73 W--142
Kevin Hodes, Bend, Ore. & Tyler Kanda, Olympia, Wash. 71 E-71 W--142
Mark Daniel, Cincinnati, Ohio & Eric Fuldner, Alexandria, Ky. 70 W-72 E--142
Sean Niles, Troy, Mich. & Max O'Rourke, West Bloomfield, Mich. 71 E-72 W--143
Daniel Murphy, Fairfield, Conn. & Timothy Murphy, Fairfield, Conn. 70 E-73 W--143
Kazuki Osawa, Japan & Ryan Tall, Collegeville, Pa. 71 W-72 E--143
Scott Kegerreis, Chambersburg, Pa. & Calvin Mentzer, Chambersburg, Pa. 75 W-68 E--143
Zack Amole, Downingtown, Pa. & Sam Varano, Philadelphia, Pa. 74 W-69 E--143
Ben Carter, Plano, Texas & Kyle Kelley, Rowlett, Texas 71 E-72 W--143
Jeremy Gautreaux, Prairieville, La. & Eric Hoffmann, Baton Rouge, La. 70 E-73 W--143
John Angelo, Mayfield Heights, Ohio & Marcus Carano, Columbus, Ohio 73 W-71 E--144
Daniel Koerner, Pepperell, Mass. & Michael Mottola, Andover, Mass. 71 W-73 E--144
Philip Lee, Nashville, Tenn. & Chase Myers, Nashville, Tenn. 75 W-70 E--145
Matt Dold, La Mirada, Calif. & R.C. Orr, Las Vegas, Nev. 70 E-75 W--145
Nathan Cogswell, Kent, Wash. & Colt Sherrell, Maple Valley, Wash. 73 W-73 E--146
Ben Johnson, Chicago, Ill. & Skylar Le Vine, Morton Grove, Ill. 76 W-70 E--146
John Dimler, Allentown, Pa. & Zach Fischl, Northampton, Pa. 69 E-77 W--146
Cameron Besaw, New Canaan, Conn. & Peter Tomlinson, Seymour, Conn. 74 E-74 W--148
Ryan Cass, Lawnside, N.J. & Joe Zulli, Bellmawr, N.J. 73 E-75 W--148
Chris Vandette, Canada & Jared Wilson, Columbiana, Ohio 74 E-75 W--149
Thomas Steinhoff, Arbuckle, Calif. & Derick Strain, Arbuckle, Calif. 76 E-73 W--149
Cameron Huss, Kenosha, Wis. & Ryan Smith, Eatonton, Ga. 75 W-75 E--150
Matthew Martin, Morehead, Ky. & Greg Turcotte, Lexington, Ky. 74 W-77 E--151
Stephen Reed, Lakewood, Colo. & Michael Urbatchka, Louisville, Colo. 79 W-77 E--156
Peter Bourdon, South Kingstown, R.I. & Matthew Virtue, Rye, N.Y. 92 W-71 E--163
Pairings and tee times for Monday's Round of 32 matches at the 2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, played at the Country Club of Birmingham
8:00 am - Mike Calef, West Bridgewater, Mass. & Nicholas Maccario, Haverhill, Mass. (132) vs. Olof Bengtsson, Sweden & Matthew Kilgo, Charlotte, N.C. (132)
8:12 am - Ty Gingerich, Carmel, Ind. & Cole Harris, Carmel, Ind. (131) vs. Sean Langham, Australia & Andrew Von Lossow, Spokane, Wash. (132)
8:24 am - Frank Alafoginis, Arlington, Va. & Charles Winegardner, Lothian, Md. (131) vs. Chris Eassy, Greenville, S.C. & Jeremy Revis, Greenville, S.C. (132)
8:36 am - Casey Carnes, San Antonio, Texas & Terrence Miskell, New Braunfels, Texas (132) vs. Jeffrey Castle, Baltimore, Md. & William Wingerd, Nottingham, Md. (132)
8:48 am - Aaron Pounds, The Woodlands, Texas & Jack Usner, The Woodlands, Texas (131) vs. Joseph Lenane, Dedham, Mass. & Aidan O'Donovan, Somerville, Mass. (132)
9:00 am - Brad Monroe, Syracuse, N.Y. & Kevin Vandenberg, Pulaski, N.Y. (131) vs. Blake Humbles, Alta Loma, Calif. & Connor Reis, Claremont, Calif. (132)
9:12 am - Jace Moore, Keller, Texas & Jordan Woolf, Fort Worth, Texas (131) vs. Andrew Medley, Scottsdale, Ariz. & Taylor Wood, Coto De Caza, Calif. (132)
9:24 am - Drew Kittleson, Scottsdale, Ariz. & Drew Stoltz, Scottsdale, Ariz. (130) vs. To Be Determined ()
9:36 am - AJ Ferries, San Antonio, Texas & Justin Kaplan, Houston, Texas (130) vs. To Be Determined ()
9:48 am - Inigo Izuzquiza, Coronado, Calif. & Charlie Palmer, Phoenix, Ariz. (130) To Be Determined ()
10:00 am - Zach Kingsland, Austin, Texas & William Sides, Tulsa, Okla. (129) vs. To Be Determined ()
10:12 am - Evan Beck, Virginia Beach, Va. & Dan Walters, Winston-Salem, N.C. (129) vs. To Be Determined ()
10:24 am - Matthew McLaughlin, Barrington, Ill. & Christian Vozza, Orlando, Fla. (129) vs. To Be Determined ()
10:36 am - Chad Wilfong, Charlotte, N.C. & Davis Womble, Winston-Salem, N.C. (128) vs. To Be Determined ()
10:48 am - Carter Loflin, Duluth, Ga. & Wells Williams, West Point, Miss. (128) vs. To Be Determined ()
11:00 am - Torey Edwards, Long Beach, Calif. & Bret Parker, Alpine, Utah (128) vs. To Be Determined ()
No comments:
Post a Comment