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U.S. AMATEUR FOUR-BALL

Two Sides Fire 62s for First-Round Lead in 6th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball

By David Shefter, USGA

| May 22, 2021 | University Place, Wash.

2017 champions Shuai Ming Wong (hitting) and Frankie Capan opened with a 9-under 63 at Chambers Bay. (Robert Beck/USGA)

U.S. Amateur Four-Ball

What Happened

With little wind, overcast skies that eventually morphed into bright sunshine and comfortable temperatures that reached the mid-60s, the conditions were idyllic for the 128 sides to go low in Saturday’s first round of stroke play in the 6th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

University of Nevada graduating seniors Brendan MacDougall and Sam Meek, both of Canada, matched the championship’s 18-hole scoring record with a 10-under-par 62 at Chambers Bay. At The Home Course, the stroke-play co-host venue in nearby DuPont, Wash., junior All-Americans Kelly Chinn, 18, of Great Falls, Va., and David Ford, 18, of Peachtree Corners, Ga., shot 9-under 62 on the par-71 layout.

Prior to 2021, six sides had posted 62, three of them occurring two years ago on Bandon Dunes Golf Resort’s Pacific Dunes course when the competition was last contested. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19.

A trio of sides carded 63s at Chambers Bay, including two past champions: 2019 winners Scott Harvey, 42, of Greensboro, N.C., and Todd Mitchell, 42, of Bloomington, Ill., and 2017 titlists Frankie Capan, 21, of North Oaks, Minn., and Shuai Ming Wong, 21, of The Woodlands, Texas.

Preston Summerhays, 18, of Scottsdale, Ariz., the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, and Luke Potter, 17, of Encinitas, Calif., also shot 63 at Chambers Bay. Summerhays lipped out a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 18 that would have tied the leaders.

Joe Greiner, 34, of San Diego, Calif., who caddies for two-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa, and his partner Johnny MacArthur, 31, of Valencia, Calif., posted a 7-under 64 at The Home Course, as did Kyle Maxwell, 39, of The Woodlands, Texas, and Derek Meinhart, 43, of Mattoon, Ill.

Columbia University teammates Alvin Kwak, 20, of Mukilteo, Wash., and Nathan Han, 20, of Somers, N.Y., had an 8-under 64 at Chambers Bay

In all, 55 sides posted 67 or better. The sides will switch courses for Day 2 of stroke play on Sunday, with the low 32 sides advancing to match play, starting on Monday.

Meek and MacDougall, whose last competitive four-ball round was the 61 they shot in the qualifier last September at Brookside Country Club in Fresno, Calif., had hoped to be preparing for the upcoming NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz., but Nevada-Reno failed to advance from this past week’s regional in Albuquerque, N.M. So instead of going back to campus, the duo flew directly to the Pacific Northwest, where they spent time preparing for both stroke-play venues. MacDougall, a member of Golf Canada’s National Amateur Team, also was coming off a ninth-place individual finish at regionals.

“Our games have been good,” said Meek, 22, the 2016 Canadian Junior champion whose only previous USGA championship was the 2016 U.S. Junior at The Honors Course. “Brandon has been playing well, so it’s kind of easy to be his partner.”

After a 3-under 34 on the outward nine, the duo played 7-under-par golf over their last seven holes, including an eagle 2 on the 317-yard 12th hole, where Meek drove the green and holed a 15-foot putt. They followed with birdies on 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18.

Their second-nine 28 matches the nine-hole scoring mark by 2018 champions Cole Hammer and Garrett Barber at Jupiter Hills Club.

This fall, Ford, a lefty, will be a chief Atlantic Coast Conference rival of Chinn’s, as the former signed with North Carolina and the latter with Duke. But this week, the longtime junior golf pals look to make a run at the championship.

“I hit it great today and I was rolling it well, so I was able to make some birdies,” said Ford, whose twin brother, Maxwell, is also in the field, playing with fellow Georgian Bruce Ford. “I knew Kelly had my back if I made a bad swing, so that freed me up a lot.”

Harvey, the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, returned to Chambers Bay for the first time since the 2010 U.S. Amateur and both he and Mitchell were impressed with the condition of the course. They carded a front-nine 31 and made a run at a 62 before a bogey on the par-3 17th and two three-putt pars on the par-5 18th.

Mitchell had not played in a competitive event since last November’s East-West Matches at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, and Harvey’s lone event of the year was last month’s Terra Cotta Invitational in Naples, Fla.

“It was a little unexpected,” said Harvey. “Todd got to playing some unbelievable golf there for about 16 holes.”

What’s Next

Each side will switch courses and play an additional round of stroke play on Sunday. Should a playoff be required to determine the final spots in match play, it would take place on Monday morning at Chambers Bay. Match play continues through the 18-hole championship match on Wednesday.

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Todd Mitchell (left) and Scott Harvey opened their title defense with a 9-under-par 63 at Chambers Bay on Saturday. (Jeff Marsh/USGA)

Notable

  • Chambers Bay became the fourth U.S. Open venue to host the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, joining The Olympic Club (2015), Winged Foot (2016) and Pinehurst (2017). All six venues – including Jupiter Hills (2018) and Bandon Dunes (2019) – have hosted at least one U.S. Amateur.

  • The Home Course in DuPont, Wash., which opened in 2007, is a daily-fee facility owned and operated by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association and Washington Golf.

  • Besides the 63s posted by past champions Harvey and Mitchell (2019), and Capan and Wong (2017), the other two champions in the field also bettered par at Chambers Bay. Nathan Smith, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Todd White, of Spartanburg, S.C. (2015), shot 65, while 2016 champs Benjamin Baxter, of Flower Mound, Texas, and Andrew Buchanan, of Los Altos, Calif., carded a 71. All four sides play The Home Course on Sunday.

  • Stewart Hagestad, of Newport Beach, Calif., who has competed in the last three Walker Cups (all USA wins), and his partner Derek Busby, of Ruston, La., opened with a 5-under 66 at The Home Course.

  • Former NFL running back Danny Woodhead, of Elkhorn, Neb., and Michael Wilhelm, of Omaha, Neb., posted an even-par 71 at The Home Course. Woodhead, an undrafted free agent out of Division II Chadron State, played 10 seasons in the league.

  • Three sides featured solo players for various reasons. Sean Kato, of Redmond, Wash., was supposed to partner with fellow Oregon State teammate Jackson Lake, of Clovis, Calif., but the Beavers qualified for the NCAA Championship, which begins Friday in Scottsdale, Ariz. Kato, who won the 2020 Washington State Amateur at Chambers Bay, was not on the five-man postseason roster. Park Ulrich, of Stilwell, Kan., lost his partner, Alex Higgs, of Dallas, Texas, due to the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. Alex caddies for older brother, Harry, who made the cut. Ulrich withdrew after nine holes. Chris Owen, of Manhasset, N.Y., was without his younger brother, Robert, of Boston, Mass., due to a wedding. Robert is scheduled to arrive in time for Sunday’s second round at Chambers Bay, where he made a hole-in-one on the par-4 12th in 2010

  • Metropolitan Golf Association executive director Brian Mahoney is serving as caddie for Trevor Randolph, of Franklin Lakes, N.J., who is competing in his third U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and second with partner Darin Goldstein, of New York, N.Y. The side shot 3-under 69 at Chambers Bay.

  • Kyle Hudelson, of Los Altos, Calif., and Clark Collier, of Dallas, Texas, the runners-up in 2017 at Pinehurst, were disqualified when their card was not certified (signed) by their markers, a violation of Rule 3-3b. This was the final year of their three-year exemption for being finalists.

Quotable

“One of the things in USGA events, especially ones that are stroke play followed by match play is just staying patient out there. Hopefully, it’s going to be a long week.” – 2017 champion Frankie Capan (with Shuai Ming Wong) on the importance of experience

“We made a lot of 10-footers, fortunately. We both hit a bunch of quality shots.” – Kyle Maxwell after he and his partner, Derek Meinhart, shot 7-under 64 at The Home Course

“We’re big Jordan Spieth fans, so about a month ago, I went through and watched the final round [of the 2015 U.S. Open]. It’s a place that I thought would be a good fit for us. Kind of like Bandon [Dunes in 2019], it brings out the imagination. It’s different.” – Logan Shuping on how he and partner, Blake Taylor, prepared for the championship

“My game isn’t as sharp as my brain.” – Joe Greiner, who caddies on the PGA Tour for two-time winner Max Homa, on why he carries a bag for a living versus competing

“I had to be a little more conservative when I was a little out of position and not try to make big numbers. I still made three bogeys, but alone I think I did a pretty good job.” – Sean Kato, who shot 2-under 69 at The Home Course, on playing as a solo side

David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org. Vinny Fiorino, the manager of marketing and communications for Washington Golf (vfiorino@wagolf.org) contributed. 

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