WILLIAMSTOWN, Massachusetts – Early morning fog made Waubeeka Golf Links feel more like the scene of a Halloween movie than U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying. But when the haze finally lifted, the sun shined brightest on the sides of Jon Krick (Scottsdale, AZ) & Christopher Deforest (Kingston, NY) and Daniel Cappucci (Boston GC) & Jeremy Meade (Nashawtuc CC). Krick and Deforest shot 59 (-12) while Cappucci and Meade shot 62 (-9) to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball.
For Krick and Deforest, it was the first time the duo has teamed up since college. Both regained amateur status in 2018 and while they have experience on the national stage, this will be their first national championship since returning to the amateur scene.
After 26 years of trying, Daniel Cappucci and Jeremy Meade will finally get the chance to tee it up in a USGA Championship. With that, the two and half hour ride home will now be filled with phone calls of celebration.
ONLINE: FINAL QUALIFYING RESULTS | U.S. AMATEUR FOUR-BALL HOME
Many wonder what it feels like to advance through qualifying of a USGA event.
“Really excited. Chris was a great player when we were in college. And we’re excited to get these competitive juices firing again.” is how Jon Krick described it.
You would have never known Krick hasn’t played in a competitive event in over five years as he made early birdies on 2, 3 and 4. Part of that was thanks to the strategy put in place by his teammate Christopher Deforest.
“We had a pretty conservative strategy of making sure we were in play on every hole, as funny as that sounds. I was hitting two irons off a lot of holes to make sure we had opportunities because that’s kind of like a downfall in a lot of these events. That’s happened to me where I get too aggressive. I have a pretty good length and I get myself in trouble.”
While Krick put the circles on the card early, it was Deforest who put the birdies on the board in the middle of the round. And once they carded birdies on the first four holes of the back nine, they knew something special was brewing.
“We definitely knew it was for sub-60.” said Krick when describing the tap-in birdie on 17. And with a par on the closing hole, the two can now celebrate both a 59 and a trip to Kiawah Island.
Daniel Cappucci and Jeremy Meade can now breathe a sigh of relief. For the first time in their lives, they can now say they’ve advanced to a USGA Championship.
As the scores were made official, Cappucci immediately said “It took 26 years of trying.” and Meade added “I’ve been around for 41 years, and this is my first one.”
As they made their way to the 16th green, they sat at 7-under with two looks at birdie upcoming. With Meade waiting to give his 10-foot birdie putt a go, Cappucci rammed one home from 25-feet.
“I was trying to lag it down there. But I rammed the thing into the back of the cup. A little unexpected, but it’s kind of how we played all day. Just don’t leave anything short. No apologies. And just try to make birdies.”
Meade added “We’ve played this enough and play enough of this stuff to know that teams are going deep, so you just have to keep the pedal to the metal.”
A birdie on 17 was worthy of one last fist pump. And like the medalists, a closing par was enough to get them through with a final score of 62 (-9).
“Awesome. Awesome.”
Couldn’t describe it better ourselves, Daniel.
Both teams will now tee it up at the Championship Proper in May of 2023 at Kiawah Island.
U.S. AMATEUR FOUR-BALL QUALIFIERS (Names; Cities)
Jon Krick (Scottsdale, AZ) & Christopher Deforest (Kingston, NY); (-12) 59
Daniel Cappucci (Boston, MA) & Jeremy Meade (Wayland, MA); (-9) 62
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Anthony Fagone (Naples, ME) & Ryan Zetterholm (Dover, NH); (-8) 63
Davis Mullany (Great Barrington, MA) & Roberty Henley (New London, NH); (-7) 64*
*Advanced in Playoff
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Sitting in the Berkshires, Waubeeka Golf Links has a unique landscape that showcases views of Massachusetts, New York and Vermont mountains. The course has hosted several Mass Golf events (Amateur Public Links Championship; B, C, D & E Championships; Qualifiers) as well as U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying in 2018.
Waubeeka was built in 1966 by architect Colonel Roland Armacost, making it the youngest 18-hole course in Berkshire County. In 2008 the course was purchased by Jim Goff, son of Taconic Golf Club Professional Rudy Goff. Jim was an avid golfer who graduated from Yale as a member of golf team, latterly as captain. After purchasing the course, Goff renovated the 13th hole, making it an Ode To Yale’s 10th hole.
The par-4 calls for an uphill approach shot to a green protected by two bunkers short. The bunkers are split by a staircase that leads to the extremely undulated green.
Waubeeka GL is known for its setting, on-course art, and familiar golf holes.
The 13th Hole is an ode to the 10th hole at Yale GC. The green sits high above the fairway and has two bunkers short of the green split by a staircase. #MassGolf
📸 1, 3-4: Waubeeka GL
📸 2: Yale GC pic.twitter.com/YjqjdjzaBx— Mass Golf (@PlayMassGolf) September 12, 2022
In 2014, Michael Deep fulfilled his long-time dream to enter the golf business when he purchased the 200 acres from Mr. & Mrs. Goff. Deep learned from his parents the proper way to meet, greet and treat people, and credits his family in his attempt to make Waubeeka GL a golf destination. Sadly, the golf community and the Waubeeka family lost Mike Deep earlier this summer after a long battle with health.
Remembering Mike Deep
(By Stephen Hanjack)
I only met Mike once, but I can honestly say he was one of the most memorable people I’ve ever encountered in my golf travels. He was kind, thoughtful and genuine. He did things fire up the grill at 10 a.m., because you were on a day-long journey and needed a burger. He did things like leave his golf course in the middle of summer, to show you a baseball field you played at in college. Because of this, I was crushed to hear of his turn in health and his passing a few weeks back. And with the club sharing great memories of Mike in their weekly newsletter, and I feel it my duty to do the same.
With our Golf Staycation Series now 9 trips (and 17 courses) in, I feel blessed to have chosen Waubeeka GL as my first course on my first trip. Being that it was a new series, I didn’t know exactly where the writing would take me. My first thought was that I’d take on impossible challenges trying to squeeze in as many holes as humanly possible in day. But then I met Mike Deep.
While I was hustling around the front 9 at Waubeeka, it was Mike Deep who slowed me down. And it was he, that changed the future of the Staycation Series forever.
People didn’t want to hear about how quickly I could play a round of golf…they wanted to hear about the story of the 13th hole. A hole that was completely redesigned by a past owner who graduated from Yale, making it an Ode to the 10th hole at Yale GC. They wanted to hear about the architectural features of a course (Southborough GC) that Brian Silva grew up playing. They wanted to hear about a Volcano Hole (Cape Cod CC) on the Cape. They wanted to hear about all of it. Not how quickly I could get through it.
So that’s what I’ll do. For this, I thank you Mike Deep.
The U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship are among the newest national championships to be conducted by the USGA. The two Four-Ball Championships replaced the now-retired U.S. Amateur Public Links and U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championships, which were conducted for the final time in 2014.
The Championship will be played for the 8th time in May of 2023. It will be held at Kiawah Island Club’s Cassique Course (Tom Watson Design) and River Course (Tom Fazio Design).
Eligibility states that each member of the side cannot have a Handicap Index® exceeding 5.4. Qualifying is being held at 52 sites from August through December of 2022.
At the 2022 Championship, two Massachusetts-based teams were among the top-32 and advanced to Match Play. Nick Maccario (Bradford CC) and Mike Calef (Pine Oaks GC) advanced to the Round of 16 before falling to the top-seeded team. And the duo of Joseph Lenane (KOHR Golf) & Aidan O’Donovan (Cummaquid Golf Club) also won their opening match to advance to the Round of 16 before bowing out.
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