As you can imagine, many Califorians who have never qualified for a USGA event are dreaming that "this could be the one". That's because Four Balls are momentum games in which any two scratch players can run the table with bunches of birdies and post a round in the low 60s. At the same time, a look at the players who have already qualified (see link at bottom of page) shows that the cream does, indeed, rise to the top.

We wish everyone the best of luck December 1st and congratulate all of the teams that have already qualified for the Mens or Womens events, which replace the now defunct USGA Public Links.

Here are some facts about the Monday, December 1 qualifying event, courtesy the USGA:

Total: 100 players (50 sides or teams) … playing for three (3) qualifying spots …

Countries (4): United States (97) – California (71), Georgia (6), Arizona (5), Texas (4), Illinois (2), Nevada (2), Alabama (1), Florida (1), New Mexico (1), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (1), Washington (1), Washington, DC (1) … Canada (1), People’s Republic of China (1), England (1)

Youngest: 15 year-old Perry Xin of Canada (turned 15 on Aug. 15)

Oldest: 59 year-old Ray Kong of San Jose, Calif. (turned 59 on Nov. 17)

Average Age of Field: 36.36 (five players under age 20 … 19 players over age 50)

Player-Team Notes

Jonathan Petke (age 41) & Sam Petke (age 37)
… Jonathan (1993-96) and Sam (1999-2000) are brothers who both played baseball at the University of California-Berkeley … Jonathan spent two years in the Cleveland Indians’ minor league organization … Sam is a member of The Olympic Club …

Steve Roodzant (age 43) & Ryan Roodzant (age 18)
… father-son team … Steve is the general manager for Grimmway Farms, a food production company in the San Joaquin Valley … Ryan is freshman on the golf team at the California State University, Chico …

Randy Haag (age 55) & Jason Anthony (age 31)
… Haag has played in 23 USGA championships … he has reached the U.S. Mid-Amateur quarterfinals five times (1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999), and is a member of The Olympic Club … Anthony tied for fourth individually at the 2014 USGA Men’s State Team Championship …

Tim Mickelson (age 37) & Jake Yount (age 27)
… Mickelson is the head golf coach at Arizona State University and the brother of Phil Mickelson, who won the 1990 U.S. Amateur and is a six-time U.S. Open runner-up … Tim advanced to the U.S. Mid- Amateur quarterfinals in 2007 and 2010 … Yount was coached by Tim Mickelson at the University of San Diego, where he earned 2008 West Coast Conference Player of the Year … Yount advanced to the Round of 32 at the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur, held at The Olympic Club …

Kevin Marsh (age 41) & Brady Exber (age 58)
… Marsh won the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and reached the semifinals the last two years … Marsh has played in 17 USGA championships … Exber won the 2014 Senior British Amateur Championship … Exber has appeared in 17 USGA championships and tied for 41st at the 2007 U.S. Senior Open ...

Casey Boyns (age 58) & Joey Ferrari (age 58)
…Boyns, a caddie at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links, is a member of the California Golf Hall of Fame and has won two state amateurs … Boyns has played in 15 USGA championships, including the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Senior Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public Links and USGA Men’s State Team … Ferrari has appeared in eight USGA championships, including the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club …

Jack Jaffe (age 17) & John Knowles (age 17)
… local high school rivals … Jaffe is a senior on the Henry M. Gunn High team, while Knowles is a senior on the Palo Alto High squad … Jaffe competed in the Champions Tour’s 2014 Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach …

Tianlang Guan (age 16) & Xin Perry (age 15)
… Guan tied for 58th at the 2013 Masters and became the youngest player (14 years, 5 months) to make the cut at a major professional tournament … Guan won the 2012 Asia-Pacific Amateur to earn a spot in the Masters field … Perry, of Canada, is the youngest player in this qualifier …

Kip Yaughn (age 45) & Dale Bouguennec (age 55)