(Photo courtesy of Winged Foot Golf Club)
In the most unique USGA qualifying of any of the
association's
amateur or open championships, the U.S. Amateur
Four-Ball
has just nine qualifying locations left on the schedule
before
the field is complete for the second annual event,
being hosted
in May of 2016 at the renowned Winged Foot Golf
Club.
Avondale Golf Club in Palm Desert will host on
November 30,
and is one of three remaining qualifying sites left in
California.
But before we preview what's upcoming, let's look
back at
some of the top best-ball performances by those
punching
their ticket to Winged Foot.
 |
Frank Garber
|
Two teams have come in with rounds of 61,
and at
that number share the honor of lowest qualifying score
thus
far. University of Washington teammates Frank Garber
and
Spencer Weiss, sophomores from the Evergreen
State, were the top qualifiers by two in Kent at
Meridian
Valley
Country Club, beating out golfers from their cross-
state rivals
Washington State — Derek Bayley and Aaron Whalen.
Also firing 61 were the duo of G. Michael
Garcia and Ted Grassi III of Erie, Pa., who posted their
number at Mayfield Sand Ridge Club back
in August.
Whalen's brother Andrew, along with Northwestern
teammate Dylan Wu, qualified at The Glen
Club in Illinois while shooting 64.
 |
Cody
Proveaux
|
Notable names that will dot the field come
next Spring include South Carolina brothers
Cody and Caleb Proveaux. The older brother, Cody,
who played collegaitely for Clemson, and
Caleb, who has committed to play for the University of
South Carolina, shot 62 at The Members
Club in Elgin, S.C. to medal by two over John
Patterson and Rob Simmons.
 |
Brad Nurski
|
Mid-amateur standouts Brad Nurski and Skip
Berkmeyer, both Missouri residents, shot
63 at Quincy Country Club near the Missouri/Illinois
border to earn co-medalist honors. Nurski
and Berkmeyer are no stranger to USGA events, with
Nurski reaching the final of the 2014 U.S.
Mid-Amateur and Berkmeyer reaching the round of 16
in 2007 and grabbing the top seed as
medalist in 2008.
 |
Matt Parziale
|
Massachusetts area mid-amateur players
Herbie Aikens and Matt Parziale medaled with
9-under par 63 at Pinehills Golf Club. Parziale had a
remarkable summer in the Northeast,
winning the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur and earning
the top seed at the U.S. Mid-Amateur,
though he was upset in the first round of match play.
Aikens won the 2013 and 2014
Massachusetts Mid-Amateur and was low amateur at
the 2014 Cape Cod Open.
 |
Vance
Antoniou
|
A pair of senior amateurs finished as top dog
in Illinois at Mistwood Country Club as
Vance Antoniou and Mark Esposito shot 66 and
grabbed a spot at Winged Foot. Antoniou, of
North Barrington, Ill., has a couple top-10 finishes on
the senior amateur circuit in 2015,
including at T7 finish at the Jones Cup Senior and T9
at the Gateway Senior.
Moving ahead to upcoming qualifying tournaments, the
Pebble Beach area will host on December
2 at the home of the Northern California Golf
Association — Poppy Hills Golf Course. Players like
2015 NCGA Stroke Play winner Robert Salomon, 2015
California Amateur medalist Satch
Herrmann, and two-time reigning Stocker Cup champ
Brady Exber will be in the field at Poppy
Hills.
Florida has a couple remaining sites, including one
early next year at Black Diamond Ranch in
Lecanto on January 11. Old Corkscrew Golf Club, site
of the annual Old Corkscrew Senior
Invitational, will host Florida's last site on April 11.
The Golf Club of Dallas will wrap up play two days
later. Texas began this year's qualifying way
back on August 17 at Blackhorse Golf Club where Drew
Allenspach and Matthew Van Zandt
medaled with 63 to be one of two advancing teams,
which also included the group of Eric
Lodge and Greg Pipkin.
View results for U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying
ABOUT THE U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying
Conducted over 18 holes, sectional qualifying
is held at sites across the United States
from late summer to early winter. Handicap limit 2.4.
View Complete Tournament Information