FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts – One day wasn’t enough at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifier at Foxborough Country Club. After 18 holes of play only one of the two available qualifying spots were finalized. The team of Brian Isztwan and Rij Patel shot a 6-under 66 to finish atop the leaderboard. The two are teammates on the Harvard Golf Team and secured their spot in the 2020 U.S. Amateur Four Ball Championship on Wednesday.
ONLINE: RESULTS
Behind Isztwan and Patel on the leaderboard was a crowded group of teams that shot a 5-under 67. In total, seven teams finished in a tie for second place and would advance to a playoff on Thursday morning. In the playoff, Boston College teammates Christian Cavaliere and Mac Webster birdied the first hole along with the team of Zachary Garbacik and Samuel Russell. The two sides then played the par-4 16th hole, where a par from the Cavaliere/Webster team was enough to win the hole and advance the team to the 2020 Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
QUALIFIERS
Brian Isztwan (Huntingdon Valley, PA) and Rij Patel (Hunt Valley, MD) – 66 (-6)
Christian Cavaliere (Katonah, NY) and Mac Webster (Baltimore, MD) – 67* (-5)
*Advanced via playoff
ALTERNATES
Zachary Garbacik (Newton, MA) and Samuel Russell (Boston, MA) – 67 (-5)
Herbie Aikens (Kingston, MA) and Matt Parziale (Brockton, MA) – 67 (-5)
The two qualifying teams from Wednesday will now compete in the 2020 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. The event will be held from May 22-27, 2020 at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Pennsylvania.
The 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship was held back in May at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. The team of Matt Parziale (Brockton, MA) & Herbie Aikens (Kingston, MA) shot 7-under par in the stroke play portion of the event to make the cut. They advanced to the quarterfinals, winning two rounds of match-play before being defeated by the team of Troy Vannucci & Vince Kwon.
FROM STOPPING PUCKS TO MAKING PUTTS
Former NHL Goaltender, Mike Dunham (Concord, MA) was in the field on Wednesday. Dunham played for 5 NHL teams during his 11-year playing career. Dunham also participated in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, helping the United States win a silver medal. Dunham and his teammate, Derek Schug, shot a respectable 1-under 71.
ALREADY QUALIFIED
Another former NHL Player from the Mass Golf family previously qualified for the 2020 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. Ryan Whitney (Milton, MA) did so through the Sectional Qualifying held at Newport National (RI) back on September 10th alongside partner Andrew Diramio (Boston, MA).
WEATHER AT THE QUALIFIER
The sides with morning tee times on Wednesday caught the better end of the draw, getting a warm and sunny start to their round. Later in the day, temperatures dropped 10-15 degrees and a steady rain fell throughout the back nine for many of the later groups.
BACK FROM THE CRUMP CUP
Matt Parziale is back in the Bay State after competing at the 2019 Crump Cup. The George A. Crump Memorial Tournament is arguably the premier Mid-Amateur event in the United States. The invitational field is made up of players from the United States and the UK. Parziale was one of only two competitors to shoot even-par rounds during the stroke play qualifier. He advanced to the Semi-Finals before falling in a playoff to Michael Muehr, who went on to win the event.
TOP-10 FINISHERS FROM MID-AM
Some of the top competitors from last week’s Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship competed at the Four-Ball Qualifier on Wednesday. In total, four of the top-10 finishers teed it up in the Qualifier.
(T2) Herbie Aikens
(4) Jordan Burke
(T5) Ryan Riley
(T9) Alex Jeffers
TRI-STATE TEAM ANNOUNCED
Teams from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut compete each fall for the regional title. Individual amateur golfers are selected each year by each golf association. Earlier this week, the Massachusetts Tri-State Team was announced. Five of the Massachusetts team members participated on Wednesday, including the team of Matt Parziale & Herbie Aikens, the team of Ryan Riley & Jordan Burke, and Steve Tasho who teamed up with his son.
For complete coverage of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifier, visit MassGolf.org or follow @PlayMassGolf on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
