U.S. Four-Ball Update: Buchanan and Baxter turn the tables on Christovich and Rank

5/25/2016 | by Pete Wlodkowski of AmateurGolf.com

SMU teammates Andrew Buchanan (L) & Benjamin Baxter advanced to the finals<br>USGA

In one of the best matches in the tournament's short history, the SMU team overcome a 4-down deficit with birdies on 6 of the last 9 holes

MAMARONECK, New York (May 25, 2016) -- Going four holes down early in an 18-hole match is usually the kiss of death, especially against two of the best Mid-Am players in the country. But the SMU team of Andrew Buchanan and Benjamin Baxter would not be held down, despite watching their opponents Garrett Rank and Patrick Christovich birdie four of the first five holes. (And hey, this is Winged Foot East, not your local muni.) After losing the 5th hole to go 4-down, then tying the next three, Buchanan and Baxter showed some turned on a back nine Mustang stretch that would make Preakness winner Exaggerator proud. They birdied four holes in a row, winning three of them. Now it was a match. After trading off pars on the next two holes, Buchanan and Baxter ran off a trio of birdies that Christovich and Rank couldn't match. But give them credit for being part of one of the best matches in this tournament's history. The match was closed out by a birdie on the 17th hole, a 194 yard par-3. We're looking forward to watching the replay when it comes on Fox Sports 1 at 3:00pm EDT. Buchanan, of Los Altos, Calif. and Baxter, of Flower Mound, Texas will now face Brandon Cigna and Ben Warnquist in the championship match.

About the U.S. Four-Ball

The U.S. Amateur Four-Ball championship was played for the first time in 2015 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif. The event has no age restriction, however, it is only open to individual players with a Handicap Index of 2.4 or lower. It is o...

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