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2021 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball qualifying roundup
After the 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball returns in 2021 and will be played in Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington.

Qualifying is complete at 52 sites around the country. Highlights include:

May 3

The final spot in the 6th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship went to the team of Shane Dobesh and Yaroslav Merkulov of Rochester, New York. The pair had to advance through a playoff, winning on the second extra hole after shooting an 8-under 63 at Springville (N.Y.) Country Club.

April 27

At Connecticut National GC in Putnam, Ct., three teams punched their tickets to Chambers Bay. Alex Jeffers (Needham, Mass.) and Garren Poirier (Killington, Vt.) were the medalists with a score of 65. There was a 5-for-2 playoff for the final spots, which were taken on the second playoff hole by Columbia University teammates Nathan Han (Somers, N.Y.) and Alvin Kwak (Mukilteo, Wash.), and the team of Sam Jenkins (Hingham, Mass.) and Kevin Gately (Pembroke,Mass.).


April 12

Josh Irving (Dallas, Texas) and Will Osborne (Ft. Worth, Texas), two-time winners of both the Texas Four-Ball and Texas North Four-Ball, were the co-medalists at Hackberry Creek CC in Irving, Texas. They shot a 65 to tie the Dallas team of Ben Delarosa and Matthew Foster.

Rhett Anderson and Paul McNamara, also of Dallas, took the final spot in a playoff after a 66.

April 5

As they did when they advanced to the 2018 championship, Brandon Bradosky (Greenville, S.C.) and Raymond Wooten (Clemson, S.C.) traveled west from South Carolina to qualify. At The Canyon Club at Four Hills in Albuquerque, N.M., the duo earned co-medalist honors, shooting a 9-under 63 to tie the local team of Aiden Krafft (the New Mexico 5A high school champion) and Ross Stewart.

The final qualifying spot was decided in a 4-for-1 playoff, with the team of Davis Chung (Las Cruces, N.M.) and Richard Yai (Fremont, Calif.) prevailing.

April 1

At Dornick Hills Golf & Country Club in Ardmore, Okla., the team of Kevin Schultz (Dallas, Texas) and Kevin Schultz (Tulsa, Okla.) medaled by two shots and took the lone qualifying spot with a 7-under 63.

March 1


The all-Roman-numerals team of Thomas Todd III (Laurens, SC) and Frank Wrenn IV (Greenville, SC), along with the team of Ryan Parker (Charlotte, NC) and Jason Rossetti (Charlotte, MO) both qualified at the DeBordieu Club (7,177 yards, Par 72) in Georgetown, SC to play in the 2021 US Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Todd and Wrenn were the qualifying medalists after a 4 under par round of 68.

December 7


The teams of Casey Leebrick and Jonathan Tanihana and Connor Motherway and Scott Rescigno punched their tickets to net year’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

Leebrick and Tanihana, who play at Sacramento State, earned medalist honors in an 18-hole qualifier held Monday at nearby Del Paso CC, shooting a score of 9-under 62. The team of Motherway, who plays at University of Nevada-Reno, and Rescigno, who plays at New Mexico State, were second at 8-under 63.

December 3

Long Beach State senior Hunter Epson and his brother, former LBSU player Ryder Epson, advanced to the U.S. Four-Ball Championship for the second time on three years, shooting an 8-under 64 at Rams Hill GC in Borrego Springs, Calif. to earn medalist honors by one shot.

Karsten Briley (Master's College) and Matt Rafter (Cal State Fullerton) took the other spot with a 65.

December 2

Alex Chin, the 2020 NCGA Player of the Year, and partner Jalen Griffin and the tandem of Curtis DaSilva and Brandon Knight punched are headed to next year’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

Chin and Griffin, teammates at University of San Francisco, and DaSilva and Knight advanced after shooting matching scores of 7-under 64 in an 18-hole qualifier held Wednesday at Poppy Hills Golf Course.

The two teams would defeat the tandems of Owen Calvin-Smith and Andrew Ricci and Elliot Bunyaviroch and Joshua Lim, who also shot 64.

December 1

Competitive golf has all but come to a halt during the coronavirus pandemic, but 12 teams were able to gather at The Dunes at Mauna Lani GC in Kahului to determine the one team that would advance to Chambers Bay. For the third time in five years, University of Hawaii teammates Justin Arcano and Justin Ngan successfully qualified, shooting a 4-under 67.

November 16

Ryan Abuan (Temecula, Calif.) and Phillip Kench (Del Mar, Calif.) shot a 9-under 63 at The Farms GC in Ranch Santa Fe, Calif. to clear the field by two shots. Preston Dembowiak (Kernersville, N.C.) and Chris Watters (San Diego, Calif.) shot a 65 to take the other qualifying spot.

November 9

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Arizona State signee Kiko Francisco Coelho and Central Florida freshman Leopoldo Herrera shot a 5-under 67 at the Golden Ocala (Fla.) Golf & Equestrian Club to earn medalist honors by one shot over the mid-amateur team of Chad Branton and Kyle Hosick, who won a three-way playoff for the final spot after shooting 68.

October 27


Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Marty McGuckin (Valley Forge, Pa.) and Scott Storck (Blue Bell, Pa.) battled their way to medalist honors with a 6-under 65 at Applebrook Golf Club in Malvern, Pa.

Securing the day’s second available position was the team of Cole Berman (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) and Michael Davis, who advanced in a sudden-death playoff.

Just a few weeks back, the eventual medalists didn’t even know they’d be teeing it up in a USGA Qualifier this season, let alone earning the top honors.

“I actually didn’t even realize there would be U.S. Four-Ball Qualifying this year, so I was surprised when I received an email for it,” said Storck, 50. “Right when I got it, I texted Marty and asked him if he was playing in it. We decided, right then and there, we were going to go for it.”

October 26

At Lago Mar Country Club in Plantation, Fla., Marc France and Carl Santos-Ocampo shot a 10-under 62 to earn medalist honors and top the 38-team field. The duo had 10 birdies and no bogeys on the day. Will Davenport and Michael Smith took the other qualifying spot with a 63.

October 19

At Oswego Lake CC qualifier in Lake Oswego, Ore., the duos of Sean Kato / Jackson Lake and Kyle Crawford / Kevin Rei tied for first place at 8-under par and took the two available spots into the championship.


Kato posted five birdies, while Lake registered four, during the 18-hole qualifying event where they recorded par or better on each hole. Kato and Lake alternated their good holes, only once posting birdie on the same hole.

Crawford and Rei each had four birdies, none of which came on the same hole. The lone bogey blemish on the scorecard came on Hole No. 4.

October 15

Brothers Sam and Will Bernstein posted 6-under 65 at GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, NJ to earn medalist honors at their qualifier. After Sam birdied the first hole, Will took over and recorded 7 of his own including a crucial one at the last, which avoided a playoff with three teams that shot 66. John Lamendola and Brad Jordan won that playoff to take the other spot.

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October 12

Former Florida Southern teammates Danny Evelyn (Charlotte, N.C.) and Shelton Smith (Midlothian, Va.) were the medalists at the Country Club of Petersburg (Va.) with a 9-under 63. Another mid-amateur team, Trey Broome (Raleigh, N.C.) and Conner Sock (High Point, N.C.), took the other qualifying spot with a 64.

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Chico State head coach Nick Green and Cal-Berkeley assistant (and Chico native) Chris Massoletti shot a 10-under 62 at Somersett Country Club in Reno, Nev., to take the lone qualifying spot by one shot. The pair shot 8 under on their front nine with two eagles.

October 8

Bradford Tilley (Easton, Ct.) and Timothy Connors (Rye, N.Y.) beat the field by two shots at Westhampton Country Club in Westhampton Beach, N.Y., shooting a 4-under 66. Three teams played off for the other qualifying spot, with Robert And Chris Owen winning the 4th playoff hole to advance.


October 7


Brinson Holder (left), Matthew Gourgeot (middle left), Tory Davis (middle right), Tanner Davis (right)

47 teams played for two spots at Huntsville (Ala.) Country Club. After three teams shot a 10-under 61, they headed to a playoff. Matthew Gourgeot (Decatur, Ala.) and Brinson Holder (Point Clear, Ala.) secured their qualifying spotas did Tanner Davis (Knoxville, Tenn.) and partner Tory Davis (Johnson City, Tenn.).

“We played some great golf and had some ups and downs,” said Davis. “We had to sweat it out until the end, but we ended up making a 3 for 2 playoff. Now, we’re just super excited to qualify for the U.S. Four-Ball!”

October 6

Ethan Evans (Mercer Island, Wash.) and Max Herendeen (Bellevue, Wash.) shot 9-under par 63 to edge three teams by one shot at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Wash.

Herendeen holed out for eagle from the fairway on the par-4 17th and then birdied the par-5 18th, which propelled him and Evans to the top of the leaderboard.

Herendeen, 15, is a sophomore at Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle. He is a two-time Washington State Junior champion, and last year was named Player of the Year for the Metro Conference while just a freshman.

Evans, 16, is a junior at Mercer Island High School. He won the 2019 WIAA 3A High School Individual Championship, and last month won the Washington State Junior title.

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Nick Maccario (Haverhill, Mass.) and Mike Calef (W. Bridgewater, Mass.) won the 2019 Massachusetts Four-Ball, and now they will be heading to Chambers Bay to compete in the U.S. Four-Ball. The pair had to survive a three-way playoff for the lone spot at Berkshire Hills Country Club in Pittsfield, Mass. after the three teams shot 6-under 66. Calef made birdie on three of the final four holes, while Maccario sank his birdie putt in the three-way playoff.

Former Williams College teammates Sam Goldenring (Florham, Park, N.J.) and Will Kannegieser (Minot, Maine) also advanced from the playoff after being knocked out in a three-way playoff at last year's qualifier.

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Jamie Quesnel (Lakeville, Minn.) and Max Tylke (Rosemount, Minn.) shot a 7-under 64 at Victory Links Golf Course in Blaine, Minn. to take medalist honors by one shot over four teams, who all had to play off for the final qualifying spot. Darkness halted play, and so the playoff started the next morning, with Troy Johnson (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Geoff Klein (St. Peter, Minn.) advancing with a birdie on the second playoff hole.


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One of the largest qualifying fields, 68 teams, teed it up at Delaware Country Club in Muncie, Ind., for three qualifying spots. Kenny Cook and Sean Rowen, both state mid-amateur champions who have also won the state mid-amateur team championship together, were the low scorers with an 8-under 62. Kyle Maxwell and Derek Meinhart were next with a 63, while Bennett Cotten and Tate Heintzelman shot 64 and then took the final qualifying spot in a playoff.

October 5

Jake Marek (Westlake Village, Calif.) and Alex Millet (France) shot the lowest score of any U.S. Four-Ball qualifier played so far this fall, firing a 14-under 58 at Soule Park Golf Club in Ojai, Calif. Marek made back-to-back eagles on the par-5 4th and 5th holes, plus six other birdies, while Millet added seven birdies of his own as the pair would have shot 64 and 67 individually.

Joe Greiner (San Diego, Calif.) and Johnny Macarthur (Valencia, Calif.) took the other qualifying spot with a 61.

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University of Tennessee commit Bruce Murphy teamed with University of Georgia commit Maxwell Ford to shoot 9-under 63 at Berkeley Hills Country Club in Duluth, Ga., clearing the field by one shot. Another Georgia commit, Michael (Buck) Brumlow, teamed with Mississippi State freshman Harrison Davis to take the other spot with a 64.


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Reigning Nebraska Match Play champion Luke Kluver (Norfolk, Neb.) and his University of Kansas teammate Hank Lierz (St. Joseph, Mo.) shot a 3-under 68 on a tough day for scoring to lead the field at Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb.

Three teams tied at 69 for the second qualifying spot, went to a playoff. Danny Woodhead (Elkhorn, Neb.) and Michael Wilhelm (Omaha, Neb.) captured the spot on the first playoff hole, when Wilhelm made the only birdie of the six players. Woodhead is a former NFL running back for the Jets, Patriots and Chargers.

“It’s as much fun as I’ve had in a long time,” said Woodhead to Golfweek. “I’ve played amateur events in Nebraska for three years and it’s a thrill unlike anything I’ve done. Golf doesn’t come as easy as football for me. People are going to be like ‘yeah right’ but in some ways it’s almost cooler than some of the stuff I’ve done on the football field.”

“The Super Bowl was awesome to play in, whatever, but this is out of my comfort zone.”

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Danny Fisher and Graham O'Connor-Brooks, both of Lake Forest, Ill., overcame a par-5 bogey to shoot 6-under 66 at Ridgemoor Country Club in Chicago and edge out three team by a shot to take the only qualifying spot.


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Domenic Maricocchi and Joe McCarthy of Cincinnati shot a 7-under 64 to earn medalist honors at Maketewah Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio. But the real battle was for the second qualifying spot, with four teams shooting 66 and playing off. The Cookeville, Tenn., based twam of Wes Korth and Lee Maxwell ultimately emerged victorious.

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Former College of Wooster golfers John Angelo (Mayfield Heights, Ohio) and Marcus Carano (Columbus, Ohio) shot a 10-under 62 at the Mayfield Sand Ridge Club in Chardon, Ohio, to take the lone qualifying spot by one shot over two teams. The key stretch was making 6 birdies in a row from the 4th through 9th holes, but there were several close calls.

“We stared bogey in the face more than a couple of times,” said Carano to Northeast Ohio Golf after the round, referring to the times one of the two would need to make a tough save for par. “We didn’t leave any shots out there,” said Angelo.

October 1


UNC Wilmington teammates Drew Hackett (Charlotte, N.C.) and Christofer Rahm (Sweden) shot a 6-under 66 at River Landing in Wallace, N.C. to share medalist honors with Evan Boyer (Morrisville, N.C.) and Garett Heffner (Apex, N.C.). The leaderboard was tight, with four teams shooting 67 and just missing out.

September 30

Former Penn State University teammates Tommy McDonagh of New York and Brendan Borst of Bryn Mawr, Pa., combined for an eight-under-par 64 to earn medalist honors at Hackensack Golf Club in Oradell, N.J. Also qualifying were Trevor Randolph of Franklin Lakes and Darin Goldstein of New York, who shot 66.

McDonagh and Borst qualified for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in 2018 at Pinehurst, reaching the Round of 16, and in 2020 when it was slated for Philadelphia Cricket Club (Borst’s home course) but cancelled due to the pandemic.

“This is the one time all year that we play together, but we are best friends,” said Borst, who recruited McDonagh to be his best man at his wedding. “We have a lot of history together and we always have fun when we play.”

Randolph and Goldstein are quite familiar with each other’s games, having paired for seven years in a row in the MGA’s International Matches vs. France and Ireland.

“Probably no one here has paired for as many rounds together as we have,” said Randolph, who registered five birdies on Wednesday. Goldstein carded two birdies.

“I play defense and he plays offense,” said Goldstein. “Trevor provides more birdies, but I try to cover us when the wheels fall off a little bit. We play our own games and have different styles out there, but we have such good rapport out there, that we are always playing as a team.”

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At The Legend at Bristlecone in Hartland, Wisc., teams batted the elements for two qualifying spots. Three teams shot 68, with two -- James Dewling & Dan Ellis and Brandon Cloete & Matt Liston -- advancing to the championship.


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The nearly identical situation presented itself at the Stonewall Resort in Roanoke W.V., with three teams shooting 68 and playing off for two spots. Out-of-staters took the two spots, with former Davidson teammates Ralph Blasey (Charlottesville, Va.) and Alex Nianouris (Raleigh, N.C.) and the team of Brad Ferguson (Gordonsville, Va.) and Adam Houck (Richmond, Va.) surviving the playoff and advancing.

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University of Michigan teammates Brent Ito and Patrick Sullivan made nine birdies and an eagle to shoot 11-under 61 at Battle Creek (Mich.) Country Club and take the only qualifying spot by one shot. Sullivan is a junior from Grosse Pointe, Mich., and Ito is a graduate student from Ardsley, N.Y.

September 29


John Sand (left) & Brandon Peterson
Brandon Peterson (Ocean Shores, Wash.) and John Sand (Hoquiam, Wash.) shot an 11-under 61 at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash., but their day was just getting started. The pair went into a playoff with Reid Hatley and Jacob Koppenberg, and it wasn't until 9 holes later that they finally emerged with the lone qualifying spot.

September 28


L: Ryan Burke & Tyler Bishop, R: Braden Gaal & Glenn Walls

The teams of Ryan Burke/Tyler Bishop and Glenn Walls/Braden Gaal had to work overtime in the one and only Colorado-based qualifie, prevailing in a three-team playoff at The Club at Inverness in Englewood.

Burke, a Longmont resident, drained a 14-foot birdie putt on the second hole of sudden death to land the first spot for him and Bishop, who lives in Frederick. Then Castle Rock’s Walls sank an 8-foot birdie on the third extra hole to punch the national championship ticket for him and Gaal, a resident of Waukee, Iowa.

“It’s kind of our life goal to go to a (national) team event together,” said Bishop, who works as the general manager of Burke’s roofing company and is a longtime friend. “We always feel like we have a good chance to compete at any level. I can’t think of a better trip to go on than Chambers Bay and him being my partner.”

“You can’t beat a USGA championship. We were waiting for the stars to align (to qualify together), and they finally did.”

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Tony Gumper & Ryan Eckelkamp
At Crown Pointe Golf Club in Farmington, Mo., Ryan Eckelkamp (Washington, Mo.) and Tony Gumper (St. Charles, Mo.) shot an 8-under 63 to clear the field by one shot. The Alabama-based team of Trent Alexander and Michael Noe shot a 64 to take the other spot.

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The mid-amateur team of Matt Boyd (Richmond, Texas) and Blake Redmond (Sugar Land, Texas), who played college golf together at Virginia Tech, shot a 64 at Pine Forest Country Club in Houston to earn medalist honors by a shot. The Katy, Texas based team of Nathan Coats & Jordan Miller qualified with a 65, as did another mid-am pair, Todd Albert (Katy, Texas) and Kevin Liberto (Cypress, Texas).

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Dustin Dingus (Palm Harbor, Fla.) and Ed Waller (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.) shot a 64 at Ritz-Carlton Members Club in Bradenton, Fla., to take medalist honors. The Puerto Rico team of Erick Morales and Tommy Smith took the other spot with a 66.


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Two teams shot 64 at Willowbrook Country Club in Apollo, Pa., to punch their tickets to Chambers Bay. The brother-in-law team of Andrew Hodge (Oakmont, Pa.) and Evan Ruhling (Pittsburgh, Pa.) will be making their first appearance in the U.S. Four-Ball after Hodge birdied four of the last six holes. John Dimler (Allentown, Pa.) and Zach Fischi (Bethlehem, Pa.) took the other spot.

“We were lucky to have not made a bogey all day, but we made some clutch par saves from 10 feet or so,” said Hodge to Mike Dudurich. “And then I hit some good shots at the end and made three of those birdies from three feet or so. The other one was from 10 feet on 16.”

September 24

Two spots were available at Timberlin GC in Berlin, Conn., but four teams shot the low score of 64. Those four teams played off, and the two that advanced were: UConn teammates Chandler Morris (Hobe Sound, Fla.) & Jared Nelson (Rutland, Vt.), and the team of Ford Bennett (Owings Mills, MD.) & Raymond Gresalfi (Great Neck, N.Y.), who slept through their alarm and arrived at the course with 3 minutes to spare (as detailed in the interview below).


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It took 11 under at Timberstone GC to make a playoff for the lone spot in Boise, Idaho. The Utah team of Thomas Young and Mike Blackham prevailed on the first playoff hole.
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At Las Sendas GC in Mesa, Arizona, the San Diego team of Philip Walker and Ryan Wilkins were co-medalists with the Phoenix team of Jake Chanen and Hayden Sayre.
September 22

Kentucky’s sole qualifier took place at Big Spring Country Club in Louisville with 37 teams seeking a single spot. Andy Roberts and Rob Crockett competed in the event the last time it was held in 2019 when Bandon Dunes played host. Now, the duo is bound for the Pacific Northwest for the second time in three years.

Roberts shot 65 (-7) on his own ball. Had he played by himself, that would have been good enough to tie for first with the teams next closest at 65 (-7). But Crockett shot 67 (-5) on his own ball and when all was said and done, a team score of 61 (-11) gave them medalist honors by four shots.

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Two teams shot 63 to share medalist honors and advance to the championship from the Urbana, Md. qualifier at Worthington Manor Golf Club. Keegan Boone (Bethesda, Md.) & Jon Moles (Frederick, Md.) and Brandon Cigna (Arlington, Va.) & Ben Warnquist (Gaithersburg, Md.) will be each heading to Chambers Bay.

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Steven Groover of Birmingham and Tyler McKeever of Atlanta shot 10-under 62 at Hattiesburg (Miss.) Country Club, ham-and-egging it perfectly with five birdies each and no team bogeys. Carter Loflin (Duluth, Ga.) and Wells Williams (West Point, Miss.) took the other spot with a 63.

September 21

St. Mary's College teammates Blake Hathcoat (Fresno, Calif.) and Michael Slesinski (Fremont, Calif.) shot a 59 at Brookside Country Club in Stockton, Calif., with each player shooting 65 on his own ball. University of Nevada teammates (and Canadians) Brendan Macdougall and Sam Meek won a playoff for the other qualifying spot after shooting a 61.
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Dillon Brown (Halifax, Mass.) and Nicholas Cummings (Weston, Mass.) shot a 64 at Indian Pond CC in Kingston, Mass., to earn medalist honors by one shot. Former U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Matt Parziale (Brockton, Mass.) and Herbie Aikens (KIngston, Mass.), each a winner of the Massachusetts Mid-Am, earned the other spot with a 65.

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Michael Fastert (Wheeling, Ill.) qualified for the U.S. Four-Ball for the third time, but for the first time with partner Dusty Drenth (Davenport, Iowa) after three attempts. Drenth and Fastert shot a 10-under par at Odyssey Golf Foundation Golf Course in Tinley Park, Ill. to clear the field by two shots.

“It was a course that didn't give me a lot of advantage,” said the long-hitting Drenth who saw the course for the first time in a Sunday practice round. “It was a lot of 2-irons off the tee and wedges, so I really didn't get use my length as an advantage. We hit our wedges well and made a lot of putts.”

What's Next

Qualifying continues through May 3, 2021, with the championship taking place May 22-26, 2021 at Chambers Bay.

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.

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