PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (November 22, 2014) --
On
December 1st, one of the most important
qualifiers
for the USGA Four Ball takes place, at Poppy
Hills in
Pebble Beach. That's because it's one of the
"local" editions of the ongoing series of
one day events that will determine who gets into
the
field next May at the Olympic Club in San
Francisco.
As you can imagine, many Califorians who
have
never qualified for a USGA event are dreaming
that
"this could be the one". That's because
Four Balls are momentum games in which any
two
scratch players can run the table with bunches of
birdies and post a round in the low 60s. At the
same
time, a look at the players who have already
qualified (see link at bottom of page) shows that
the
cream does, indeed, rise to the top.
We wish everyone the best of luck
December 1st
and congratulate all of the teams that have
already
qualified for the Mens or Womens events, which
replace the now defunct USGA Public Links.
Here are some facts about the Monday,
December 1 qualifying event, courtesy the
USGA:
Total: 100 players (50
sides
or teams) … playing for three (3) qualifying
spots …
Countries (4): United
States
(97) – California (71), Georgia (6), Arizona (5),
Texas (4), Illinois (2), Nevada (2), Alabama (1),
Florida (1), New Mexico (1), Oklahoma (1),
Oregon
(1), Washington (1), Washington, DC (1) …
Canada
(1), People’s Republic of China (1), England (1)
Youngest: 15 year-old
Perry
Xin of Canada (turned 15 on Aug. 15)
Oldest: 59 year-old Ray
Kong of San Jose, Calif. (turned 59 on Nov. 17)
Average Age of Field:
36.36
(five players under age 20 … 19 players over
age
50)
Player-Team Notes
Jonathan Petke (age 41)
& Sam Petke (age 37)
… Jonathan (1993-96) and Sam (1999-2000)
are
brothers who both played baseball at the
University
of California-Berkeley … Jonathan spent two
years in
the Cleveland Indians’ minor league organization
…
Sam is a member of The Olympic Club …
Steve Roodzant (age 43)
& Ryan Roodzant (age 18)
… father-son team … Steve is the general
manager
for Grimmway Farms, a food production
company in
the San Joaquin Valley … Ryan is freshman on
the
golf team at the California State University,
Chico …
Randy Haag (age 55) &
Jason Anthony (age 31)
… Haag has played in 23 USGA championships
… he
has reached the U.S. Mid-Amateur quarterfinals
five
times (1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999), and is a
member of The Olympic Club … Anthony tied for
fourth individually at the 2014 USGA Men’s
State
Team Championship …
Tim Mickelson (age 37)
& Jake Yount (age 27)
… Mickelson is the head golf coach at Arizona
State
University and the brother of Phil Mickelson, who
won the 1990 U.S. Amateur and is a six-time
U.S.
Open runner-up … Tim advanced to the U.S. Mid-
Amateur quarterfinals in 2007 and 2010 … Yount
was coached by Tim Mickelson at the University
of
San Diego, where he earned 2008 West Coast
Conference Player of the Year … Yount
advanced to
the Round of 32 at the 2004 U.S. Junior
Amateur,
held at The Olympic Club …
Kevin Marsh (age 41) &
Brady Exber (age 58)
… Marsh won the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur
Championship and reached the semifinals the
last
two years … Marsh has played in 17 USGA
championships … Exber won the 2014 Senior
British
Amateur Championship … Exber has appeared in
17
USGA championships and tied for 41st at the
2007
U.S. Senior Open ...
Casey Boyns (age 58)
& Joey Ferrari (age 58)
…Boyns, a caddie at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf
Links, is a member of the California Golf Hall of
Fame and has won two state amateurs … Boyns
has
played in 15 USGA championships, including the
U.S.
Amateur, U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Senior
Amateur,
U.S. Mid-Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public Links
and
USGA Men’s State Team … Ferrari has appeared
in
eight USGA championships, including the 1994
U.S.
Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club …
Jack Jaffe (age 17) &
John Knowles (age 17)
… local high school rivals … Jaffe is a senior on
the
Henry M. Gunn High team, while Knowles is a
senior
on the Palo Alto High squad … Jaffe competed in
the
Champions Tour’s 2014 Nature Valley First Tee
Open
at Pebble Beach …
Tianlang Guan (age 16)
& Xin Perry (age 15)
… Guan tied for 58th at the 2013 Masters and
became the youngest player (14 years, 5
months)
to make the cut at a major professional
tournament
… Guan won the 2012 Asia-Pacific Amateur to
earn a
spot in the Masters field … Perry, of Canada, is
the
youngest player in this qualifier …
Kip Yaughn (age 45) &
Dale Bouguennec (age 55)
… Yaughn was selected in the 13th round of the
Major League Baseball Draft by the Baltimore
Orioles and rose to the Class AAA level as a
right-
handed pitcher … Bouguennec has played in two
U.S.
Senior Opens (2011, 2012)