If the USGA was looking to add first-time participants to its U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship field, the Colorado qualifying site wasn’t the place to go this year.

Three teams qualified on Tuesday at The Broadlands Golf Course in Broomfield, and all three have participated in the best-ball national championship previously, even though it’s only been held since 2015.

Kyle Danford and David Johnson from Fort Collins, Alex Kephart and Kurtis Lucas from Colorado Springs, and Greg Carlin from Denver and University of Colorado golfer Wilson Belk all will advance to the U.S. Four Ball — and all have competed in the event at least once before. (Pictured from left are two of the qualifying teams from Tuesday: Danford and Johnson, and Kephart and Lucas.)

Danford and Johnson went in 2016, and Kephart and Lucas and Belk and Carlin both in 2017. In addition, Kephart also played in 2015 with a different partner.

But somehow it never gets old.

“It’s just special to play in USGA events,” said Danford, who will be going to his fourth overall. “If you think how many people try to qualify around the country or world, to get in there is an honor in itself. Hopefully we make (match play at the national championship) and then you never know what can happen. It’ll be a lot of fun.

“My wife is happy because the other three USGA events I’ve qualified for, she’s been pregnant. Now we’ve broken that little schneid so she doesn’t have to get pregnant any more for me to go to a USGA event.”

Danford/Johnson and Kephart/Lucas shared qualifying medalist honors Tuesday at The Broadlands with 10-under-par 62s, while Belk/Carlin posted a 64 despite never having seen the course before. The rewards are trips to the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, with the championship set for May 25-29.

The U.S. Four-Ball has been contested at some of the most prestigious courses in the country, with previous hosts including The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Winged Foot in New York and Pinehurst in North Carolina.

And 2019’s venue isn’t half bad either.

“Bandon Dunes, that’s pretty sweet,” Carlin said. “We saw that on the schedule and signed up.”

Johnson’s one previous USGA championship was the Four-Ball at Winged Foot, which is scheduled to host the 2020 U.S. Open.

“You’re just treated great (at the national championship),” he said. “Winged Foot was just absolutely brutal — in a great way. I think on 20 of the 36 holes I hit 5-iron or more into greens. I know I’m not long, but I’m not that short.”

And the Four-Ball is also about the camaraderie involved. For some teams, both the qualifying tournaments and, ideally, the national championship are about spending some time with good buddies.

“We’re best friends,” Kephart, a five-time USGA qualifier, said of himself and Lucas, with whom he attended high school and now plays about 50 rounds of golf a year. “We’ve played golf together since we were 8 years old. It’s the highlight of the year getting to play in this (qualifier) and it’s a bonus going to the tournament.”

Said Lucas, a Marine veteran: “You get to travel with your best friend. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.”

Noted Belk, regarding himself and Carlin: “I think it’s fun for us — his brother and my other brother in law caddied for us (previously in the U.S. Four-Ball) and Greg is my brother in law. It was just super fun to go. We couldn’t even try to qualify last year because I had a college tournament. It’ll be really fun to go back.”

On Tuesday, Lucas and Kephart highlighted their round with two eagles — one each — as did Belk and Carlin. Both teams played the four par-5s in 6 under par. Danford and Johnson, meanwhile, sprinkled 10 best-ball birdies through their round. Lucas shot a 66 with his own ball — including a 31 on the front nine — on Tuesday.

In all, 56 two-man teams were in the field on Tuesday.

Among the people on hand for the Four-Ball qualifier on Tuesday were two two-time Colorado Open champions. Brian Guetz competed with partner Alex Buecking, and Derek Tolan was caddying for the team of Jonathan Marsico and Tommy Hart, who have qualified for this event twice previously. Marsico and Hart shot a 65 on Tuesday, while Guetz and Buecking carded a 66. (Pictured above are Tolan, in red, and Hart.)
 

U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying
At Par-72 The Broadlands GC in Broomfield
ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Alex Kephart/Kurtis Lucas, Colorado Springs 30-32–62
Kyle Danford/David Johnson, Fort Collins 31-31–62
Wilson Belk, Greg Carlin, Denver 32-32–64
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Matt Call/Norton Rainey, Parker 32-33–65
Richard Bradsby/Brian Dorfman, Denver 31-34–65

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

Qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship is now in its fourth year, and on Thursday, three two-man teams went where no one had gone before in Colorado.

The three squads each posted best-ball scores of 61, the lowest rounds in the history of Colorado-based qualifying for the event, though relative to par, two other teams likewise fired 9-under-par totals — in their case for 62s — last year at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.

Tom Hart of Denver and Jonathan Marsico of Cherry Hills Village, Nick Engen of Denver and John Jarmul of Greenwood Village, and Ben Klaus of Oklahoma City and Riley Pumphrey of Austin, Texas shared medalist honors out of a field of 56 twosomes by carding 9-under-par 61s at Lake Valley Golf Club in Niwot.

All three teams thereby landed berths in the U.S. Four-Ball, set for May 19-23 at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla. (The qualifiers are pictured: back row from left, Jarmul and Engen, Hart and Marsico, and kneeling Klaus and Pumphrey.)

It will be the second national U.S. Four-Ball for Hart and Marsico, who advanced to the round of 32 in match play in the 2016 championship, as well as for Pumphrey. It’ll be the first for Engen and Jarmul, and for Klaus. In fact, it’ll be the first USGA national championship of any sort for Jarmul.

Hart, who won the Trans-Mississippi Four-Ball championship with John Elway at Cherry Hills Country Club in 2009, shot a 6-under 64 on his own ball on Thursday. He pitched in for eagle from 45 yards on the par-5 ninth and added six birdies. Overall, Hart and Marsico (left) as a team finished with an eagle and seven birdies.

“We’re thrilled with the score, and we both played solidly, but Tommy played phenomenal,” said Marsico, the 2008 CGA Amateur champion who will depart on Friday for the U.S. Mid-Amateur in Atlanta. “He hits it to 2 feet on No. 1 and misses it, and subsequently shoots 30 on his own ball on the front. He pitches in for eagle on 9 and comes back and makes a nice birdie on 10.”

Hart finished the round with an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys, while Marsico had two birdies and three bogeys.

“We play so good together all the time and have a lot of fun,” Hart said. “Neither one of us is much for quitting, so we’ve always got a good chance in these events.”

After making match play in the 2016 U.S. Four-Ball, Marsico and Hart were in a two-team playoff at the qualifier last year, but finished as the odd team out.

“There’s nothing better (than going back this time),” Marsico said. “Going to play a USGA championship with one of your best buddies at a great venue … It’s nice to have a good friend and a great player next to you.”

Like Hart and Marsico, Engen and Jarmul went bogey-free on Thursday, in their case with nine birdies. It was quite a performance for two players from Colorado Golf Club who were attempting to qualify for this event for the first time, and who hadn’t seen Lake Valley in 20 years (in the case of Jarmul) or ever (in the case of Engen).

“Nick came out of the gate firing,” said Jarmul, who grew up in nearby Boulder. “He had four birdies in a row on 2, 3, 4 and 5. Then I birdied four of nine. And we made a gnarly little par putt on 18 (from 5 feet) to go bogey-free. It was a good round. We both played solid.

“I thought we had a pretty good handle on the greens for as much undulation as they have. We did a pretty good job figuring out where the putts were going. Most of the putts, we were burning edges. But probably half our birdies were from inside of 5 feet.”

Engen has played in one USGA championship before — the now-defunct U.S. Amateur Public Links — and he knows how big a deal it is.

“It’s huge,” said the 31-year-old. “Anytime you qualify for a USGA event, that’s pretty special. They’re hard to do. That’s kind of the cream of the crop there.”

Klaus and Pumphrey, former University of Oklahoma teammates, posted an eagle, eight birdies and a bogey on Thursday, with Klaus rolling in a 30-foot putt on No. 9 for the eagle.

“We had one hot streak in the middle of the round (going 8 under in nine holes) that got us through a lot of it,” said Klaus, a former professional who regained his amateur status in 2015. “We didn’t finish like we’d like to, but we’d had done enough earlier that it worked out.”

It will be the first USGA championship for Klaus, who qualified for the 2008 U.S. Amateur but didn’t get to compete as he suffered a pre-tournament injury.

For Pumphrey, it will be his fifth USGA championship.

Five teams finished at 64 on Thursday and played off as the sun set for the two alternate spots. Earning the first alternate position were Ryan Burke of Longmont and Dylan Wonnacott of Fort Collins — two former teammates who won a state high school team title together at Silver Creek — who birdied the third extra hole.

The other teams to shoot 64 were Colorado State University golfers Jake Staiano and Colton Yates, Nick Burns of Denver and Chris Strouse of Greenwood Village, Jeff Chapman of Centennial and Michael Harrington of Colorado Springs, and Marcus Tait and Michael Tait of Littleton.
 

U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying
At Par-70 Lake Valley GC in Niwot
ADVANCE TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Nick Engen, Denver/John Jarmul, Greenwood Village 29-32–61
Jonathan Marsico, Cherry Hills Village/Tom Hart, Denver 29-32–61
Ben Klaus, Oklahoma City/Riley Pumphrey, Austin, Texas 31-30–61

ALTERNATES (In Order)
Ryan Burke, Longmont/Dylan Wonnacott, Fort Collins 32-32–64
Jeff Chapman, Centennial/Michael Harrington, Colorado Springs 33-31–64

OTHERS WHO SHARED FOURTH PLACE
Jake Staiano, Cherry Hills Village/Colton Yates, Scottsdale, Ariz. 31-33–64
Nick Burns, Denver/Chris Strouse, Greenwood Village 34-30–64
Marcus Tait/Michael Tait, Littleton 34-30–64

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

When Lake Valley Golf Club (left) in Niwot hosts the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifier on Thursday (Oct. 5), the contestants will include:

— Brian Guetz, a two-time Colorado Open champion and one of just two amateurs to win that event (along with Gary Longfellow). Guetz, now an assistant men’s golf coach at the University of Denver, will partner in the Four-Ball Qualifier with fellow Columbine Country Club member Alex Buecking, who last year advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Four-Ball with Jason Enloe.

— Matt Call, who has the distinction of having been both the CGA (2000) and Colorado PGA (2006 and ’07) Player of the Year. Call, a former University of Colorado golfer who has regained his amateur status, will team up with fellow former Buff teammate Norton Rainey for the Four-Ball Qualifer.

In all, 56 two-man teams will compete at Lake Valley, with the top three earning spots in the national U.S. Four-Ball, which will be contested May 19-23 at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla.

Several former contestants in this national championship will be playing at Lake Valley — Alex Kephart and Kurtis Lucas (at nationals in 2017; Kephart also went with a different partner in 2015); Tom Hart and Jonathan Marsico (went to match play round of 32 in 2016); Kyle Danford and Davis Johnson (2016); and Jeff Chapman (2015), Zach Fowlds (2016), and Buecking (2016), all of whom have new partners this time around. In Chapman’s case, he’s joining with 2014 CGA Player of the Year Michael Harrington.

Others in Thursday’s field are Colorado State University teammates Jake Staiano and Colton Yates, who will try to follow on the heels of CSU golfers Katrina Prendergast and Ellen Secor qualifying this week for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball; and recent CGA “major” winners Chris Korte and Nick Nosewicz.

For Thursday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

That attraction is likely primarily twofold — it’s a two-person team event, which has proven a popular format; and so far it’s been scheduled at some great venues. It’s already been held at the Olympic Club (2015) and Winged Foot (2016), and upcoming are Pinehurst (2017), Jupiter Hills (2018), Chambers Bay (2019) and Philadelphia Cricket Club (2020).

Given the spring dates for the national championship, qualifying is currently taking place for the 2017 tournament, which will be held May 27-31 at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.

In Colorado, qualifying for the event will occur Tuesday (Aug. 30) at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora. There, 60 two-man teams will compete for three berths in the national championship.

Four intact teams that have already competed in the U.S. Four-Ball will be in the field at CommonGround: Jonathan Marsico and Tom Hart (2016), Zach Fowlds and Ben Sherlund (2016), Bill Fowler and Robert Polk (2015), and Jeff Chapman and Andrew Tapia (2015). In addition, Alex Kephart (2015) and Alex Buecking (2016) are qualifiers who are competing with different teammates this time around (Kephart with Kurtis Lucas, and Buecking with Jon Lindstrom). In fact, Buecking went to the quarterfinals of the national championship in May while pairing up with Jason Enloe of Dallas.

Also competing at CommonGround will be Chris Korte and Nick Nosewicz, who each won major CGA championships in 2015 at CommonGround — Korte the CGA Amateur and Nosewicz the CGA Match Play.

For Tuesday’s pairings, CLICK HERE.
 

Denver residents Jonathan Marsico, Tom Hart and Ben Sherlund are fortunate enough to have played at historic Winged Foot Golf Club, which only whet their appetite all the more to earn a return trip.

Kyle Danford, David Johnson and Zach Fowlds haven’t had the pleasure, but they’ve certainly heard and seen enough to eagerly await what’s in store in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

And if Winged Foot is good enough to have hosted five U.S. Opens, two U.S. Women’s Opens and two U.S. Amateurs, that’s a pretty good indication it isn’t just your run of the mill track.

All six of the Coloradans assured themselves of the treat of competing at Winged Foot thanks to their performances Monday at a U.S. Amateur Four-Ball qualifying tournament held at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen. The 2016 Four-Ball is set for May 21-25 at Winged Foot.

“It’s everything you’ve read about,” Marsico, the 2008 CGA Stroke Play champion, said of Winged Foot. “We had a great experience on the golf course. It’s a great club with great people.”

Indeed, Marsico and Hart were stroke-play medalists at Winged Foot in 2011 at the Anderson Memorial, a prominent amateur four-ball tournament the club hosts yearly. And the fact that the two lost in the first round of match play didn’t diminish the experience any.

Sherlund likewise has played Winged Food, and won’t soon forget it.

“It means a lot” to qualify to play there, he said. “I think Winged Foot is probably my favorite golf club in America. I’ve always wanted to play in a USGA event. I grew up in New Jersey (home of the USGA). I love that place (Winged Foot) with its history. It’s just an incredible golf club.”

Added Danford: “Winged Foot is one of the courses that shaped the game.”

On Monday — a day when no team finished better than 2 under par at formidable Hiwan — three Colorado twosomes qualified for the second U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship: Marsico and Hart; Danford and Johnson, both of Fort Collins; and teammates Fowlds of Lone Tree and Sherlund. (Those who advanced are pictured above, from left: Fowlds, Sherlund, Johnson, Danford, Marsico and Hart.)

The three twosomes shared medalist honors by shooting 2-under-par 68 at Hiwan, the home of the Colorado Open from 1964-91. To put the scores into perspective, the three teams which qualified in Colorado last year for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball posted rounds of either 7 under par or 6 under at Colorado Golf Club, which has hosted the 2010 Senior PGA Championship and the 2013 Solheim Cup.

It will be the third USGA championship for Danford (two U.S. Amateurs) and Marsico (2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur and USGA Men’s State Team), the second for Hart (2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur) and the first for Johnson, Sherlund and Fowlds.

“It means everything” to qualify for a USGA championship, said the 45-year-old Johnson, like Danford a member at Fort Collins Country Club. “I’m getting up there in age. I got to thinking my first USGA event might be a senior thing.”

And while this won’t be the first rodeo for Hart and Marsico, they relish another opportunity to compete on a big stage.

“Going to represent Colorado is a big deal,” said Hart, who won the 2009 Trans-Mississippi Four-Ball with John Elway at Cherry Hills Country Club. “We were talking today about how good the history of Colorado golf is. Traveling with the Colorado guys is a lot of fun.”

Added Marsico (left): “Anytime you can qualify for a USGA event, especially the second annual USGA Four-Ball, it’s special.”

On Monday, when birdies weren’t very easy to come by, Danford and Johnson played their last seven holes in 4 under par after making a double bogey on No. 11.

“It didn’t look like people were going to be making a lot of birdies, and bogeys and doubles were in play pretty easily with where the pin placements were,” Danford reported.

As for Marsico and Hart, they birdied three of their last five holes and Hart got up and down for par from a precarious position over the green on their final hole.

“Tough pins and firms greens; you just couldn’t get the ball close,” Marsico said. “Not only couldn’t you hit it close, you had a lot of long lag putts and you had a whole lot of 4- and 5-footers for par. Even hitting good shots in there you couldn’t get it close. It was just a challenge.”

Meanwhile, Sherlund drained a 30-foot downhill birdie putt on his 17th hole for the third “2” on the team’s scorecard. Earlier in the day, he holed a 50-foot downhill birdie putt.

“We played two practice rounds,” noted Fowlds, a former Regis Jesuit High School golfer. “It helped a lot, but it’s one of those golf courses that you can play it a lot of times and still not know where to hit it.”

Sherlund is just happy to have the opportunity he has after what he went through this summer. Near the end of July, Sherlund was involved in a bad golf-cart accident which resulted in a fractured skull and an epidural hematoma. He was hospitalized for about five days and didn’t touch a club for a month.

“I’m fine now — very, very lucky to be alive and able to still walk and talk and play golf,” the 26-year-old from Colorado Golf Club reported. “I’m happy to be here.”

And going to Winged Foot for his first USGA championship is icing on the cake.

In all, 52 teams teed it up at Hiwan, where there was no shortage of wildlife (left).

And for the second time in a month, Boulder Country Club general manager Michael Larson finished as the first alternate in a USGA championship qualifier. It happened last month in U.S. Mid-Am qualifying at Valley Country Club, where he lost out in a playoff. And Monday, he and fellow Longmont resident Guy Mertz won a playoff to earn the first alternate spot after posting a 69 in regulation.

U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying
At Par-70 Hiwan GC in Evergreen

QUALIFIED FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Benjamin Sherlund, Denver, CO /Zach Fowlds, Lone Tree, CO 33-35–68
Tom Hart, Denver, CO /Jonathan Marsico, Denver, CO 34-34–68
Kyle Danford, Fort Collins, CO /David Johnson, Fort Collins, CO 35-33–68

ALTERNATES (in order)
Michael Larson, Longmont, CO /Guy Mertz, Longmont, CO 33-36–69
Chase Chaldekas, Lakewood, CO /Will Logsdon, Denver, CO 35-34–69

FAILED TO QUALIFY

Richard Bradsby, Denver, CO /Brian Dorfman, Denver, CO 35-34–69
Ken Cosper, Fort Collins, CO /Dean Siskowski, Johnstown, CO 36-34–70
Christopher Thayer, Denver, CO /Jadon Wiens, Denver, CO 34-36–70
Jeff Chapman, Centennial, CO /Andrew Tapia, Castle Rock, NM 37-33–70
Rocky Ariano, Denver, CO /Jason Coffin, Denver, CO 36-35–71
Seth Berliner, Kalamazoo, MI /Tom Krystyn, Denver, CO 33-38–71
Alex Kephart, Colo. Springs, CO /Nicholas Tarasiewicz, Colo. Springs, CO 36-35–71
Brad Dinkel, Lone Tree, CO /Arnold Hoy, Castle Rock, CO 34-37–71
Chris Holway, Portland, OR /Greg Kirkpatrick, Aurora, CO 35-36–71
Brandon Davison, Casper, WY /Jeff Tyrrell, Casper, WY 36-36–72
Steven Irwin, Arvada, CO /Jon Lindstrom, Broomfield, CO 35-37–72
Matt Call, Castle Rock, CO /Norton Rainey, Parker, CO 34-38–72
James Richardson, Centennial, CO /Matt Livingston, Littleton, CO 35-37–72
Brian McCloy, Castle Rock, CO /Nick Vanetten, Colorado Springs, CO 35-37–72
Mark Zbrzeznj, Edwards, CO /David Harris, Avon, CO 36-36–72
Ryan Barauskas, Olathe, KS /Michael Greene, Overland Park, KS 37-36–73
Trent Isgrig, Denver, CO /Christopher Ellis, Denver, CO 36-37–73
Chris Carlson, Highlands Ranch, CO /Michael Love, Castle Rock, AR 37-36–73
Ryan Burke, Longmont, CO /Dylan Wonnacott, Longmont, CO 37-36–73
Brad Delman, Eagle, CO /Kevin Denton, Vail, CO 35-38–73
Zack Neiditz, Snowmass Village, CO /Josh Whitney, Aspen, CO 37-36–73
Brad Rowe, Berthoud, CO /Kyle Moore, Lavista, NE 35-38–73
Brad Moody, Lewisville, TX /Chuck Moore, Overland Park, MO 36-37–73
Lamar Carlile, Denver, CO /Randy Ray, Littleton, CO 38-36–74
Ryan Aweida, Scottsdale, AZ /Erik Helton, Brighton, CO 37-37–74
Jarrod Deloach, Denver, CO /Brent Modak, Denver, CO 40-35–75
Tom Abell, Oregon, WI /Keith Humerickhouse, Eagle, CO 36-39–75
Pete Mangold, Denver, CO /Danny Riskam, Broomfield, CO 34-41–75
Kyle Koelbel, Centennial, CO /Kevin Koelbel, Centennial, CO 37-38–75
Tim Long, Fountain, CO /Frank Vigil, Colorado Springs, CO 38-37–75
Brodie Hullinger, Denver, SD /Tristan Sanders, Denver, CO 37-38–75
James Sisneros, Colorado Springs, CO /Greg Turner, Colorado Springs, CO 39-37–76
John Ingram, Evergreen, CO /Donnie Elliott, San Jose, CA 36-40–76
Jake Saliba, Colorado Springs, CO /Joe Saliba, Colorado Springs, CO 37-40–77
Andy Brooks, Denver, CO /Sam Solomon, Brighton, CO 38-39–77
Jeff Oneth, Greenwood Village, CO /Charlie Post, Castle Rock, CO 38-39–77
Jay Orris, Boulder, CO /Bryan Pieper, Louisville, CO 35-42–77
Trey Kidd, Honolulu, HI /Pierce Trumper, Fort Collins, CO 38-39–77
Tim Kratz, Denver, CO /Wesley Martin, Denver, CO 40-37–77
Mark Flisek, Denver, CO /Adam Nelson, Denver 40-38–78
Nick Burns, Denver, CO /Chris Strouse, Greenwood Village, CO 39-40–79
Robert Korosec, Golden, CO /John McLain, Golden, CO 38-41–79
Robert Beiersdorf, Castle Pines, CO /Richard Kelly, Golden, CO 37-43–80
Joel Michor, Aurora, CO /Jeremy Michor, Western Springs, IL 39-42–81
Colin Fatti, Denver, CO /Dan Costello, Denver, CO 40-44–84
Sean Keefe, Denver, CO /Ryan Keefe, Denver, CO WD
David Delich, Colorado Springs, CO /Bruce Hogg, Colorado Springs, CO WD