Overview
The 2017 tournament begins with qualifying on April 30. See below for a recap of prior Four-Ball Tournaments.
2016 Tournament:
The defending champions were exempt from qualifying this year, so 18 teams set out to qualify for 15 spots. After a one-year layoff due to injury, the combo of Sigona and Gramolini led the way through the qualifying round, shooting a net 64.
Qualifying Results
First Round
16. Acuti/Vogel over 1. Hertz/Leopold, 1-up: The defending champions jumped out to a 2-hole lead, but were unseated by Acuti's natural birdies on 14 and 16.
2. Sigona/T. Gramolini over 15. Smith/Smith, 4 & 3: A slow start by the father/son pair led to their demise, as the top qualifiers jumped out to a six hole lead at the turn and held on to win on 15.
3. Higgins/Brennan over 14. Herschenfeld/Young, 3 & 2: It's never easy trying to win a four-ball match on your own, and Graham put up quite the fight. Wins on 12 and 13 brought him to 1-down, but Josh and Frank put it away by winning 15 and 16.
4. Greenberg/Eisenberg over 13. Ennis/Burroni, 2 & 1: Net birdies on 1, 5, 6, and 10 gave Andy and Bruce a three-hole lead after 10 holes, and halves on the next 4 holes kept the match there through 14. Back-to-back net pars from Woody and Pete brought the match to 1 with 2 to play, but Andy's par on 17 put it away.
12. Zimmermann/Fricchione over 5. Hastings/Sanossian, 4 & 2: Al and Ed won the first 3 holes, and had a 4 hole lead at the turn. Rich and Ron won 11, 12, and 13 to bring the match back to 1, but they dropped the next 3 and the match.
11. McGaley/P. Power over 6. Hahn/Cook, 4 & 3: The match status could easily be determined by the look of both groups coming up 13, as Conor practically danced his way to his second shot.
7. Valenti/Gramolini over 10. Fish/Oppenheimer, 5 & 3: Ham and egging works well in four-ball, but only if your partner helps out. Neal did not give Rob much help in this one, and Joe's 4 straight pars to open the match set the tone early.
9. J. Power/O’Connor over 8. Finneran/Shearman, tiebreaker: Neither side led by more than one in this match, and a natural par by John on 18 brought this match to all-square. The last 3 holes of the match were even, so we had to go to the last 6 to find a winner. A natural par on 13 was the decider, and the young guns take down the match.
Quarterfinals
9. J. Power/O'Connor over 16. Acuti/Vogel: Both sides ham and egged their way through the front and Mike and Mark had a 2-hole lead after 10 holes. After havles on the 6 of the next seven holes, the match was dormie going into 18. John's birdie on 18 was the difference maker.
2. Sigona/Gramolini over 7. Valenti/Gramolini: A 39 on the front gave Anthony and Tom an early lead, but a strong showing on the back by the younger Gramolini got the match back to even with 3 holes to play. The match was decided by a matter of inches, as Tom came within inches of winning 16 with a birdie, Joe came within inches of halving 17, and Brian came within inches of holing out for par on 18.
3. Higgins/Brennan over 11. McGaley/Power: A match of runs to start, as both teams traded back to back wins through the first 10 holes. A half on 16 brought the match to dormie, but Frank finished par-par to tie the match and win on the tiebreaker.
4. Greenberg/Eisenberg over 12. Zimmermann/Fricchione: The teams traded net birdies to open the match, then halved the next 3 holes with net pars. Bruce and Andy took a two-hole lead into the turn, before Andy was force to carry the side. Ed and Al won the first two holes of the back, but Bruce finally showed up again on 16 with a birdie to take the lead. Al and Ed tied it on 17, but Andy's par on the finishing hole won the match.
Semifinals
2. Sigona/Gramolini over 3. Higgins/Brennan, 4 & 3: Anthony and Tom jumped out to an early lead again, taking 3 of the first 5 holes. Frank and Josh won holes 6 and 7 to get the match to -1, but it was enough, as the steady play of the top qualifying team closed it out on 15.
4. Greenberg/Eisenberg over 9. J. Power/O'Connor, 3 & 2: Similar to the other semi, the higher seed jumped out to a 3-hole lead after 5, but John and Chris were able to cut the lead to 1 at the turn. Andy's 8 par and 1 bogey on the back nine made the difference, as the match ended with a win on 16.
Championship
2. Sigona/Gramolini over 4. Greenberg/Eisenberg, 6 & 4: The qualifying round medalists took home the championship on consistent play and quality shots. The team had 3 natural birdies during the match (and one more on 16 after the match was decided). Congrats guys!
See the finals card
2016 Results
2015 Four-Ball Champions: Hertz
& Leopold
Nineteen teams attempted to qualify
for this
year's tournament, with the top 16 teams moving into braket play. The
bar was set high in the qualifying rounds, as 10 teams broke 70, with
Fish and Oppenheimer leading the way. Seeding wouldn't mean
much
in the first round, as the lower seed was victorious in 7 of the first
8 matches.
The pair of Brandwene and Klimmerman blazed thier way into the semifinals, beating McGaley and Power 7 & 6. Their semifinal win was a little more difficult, needing the tiebreaker to decide the match. Hertz and Leopold dispatched McEvoy and DiFiore in the quarterfinals before taking down Gramolini and Valenti on 16 in the semis.
Hertz and Leopold took a 1 hole lead going into 18. Brandwene and Klimmermasn could force the match to go on to a 19th hole with a win, but failed to do so. Congrats to Steve Hertz and Jonathan Leopold, winners of the 2015 Saxony Four-Ball Tournament.
See 2015 Draw
The pair of Brandwene and Klimmerman blazed thier way into the semifinals, beating McGaley and Power 7 & 6. Their semifinal win was a little more difficult, needing the tiebreaker to decide the match. Hertz and Leopold dispatched McEvoy and DiFiore in the quarterfinals before taking down Gramolini and Valenti on 16 in the semis.
Hertz and Leopold took a 1 hole lead going into 18. Brandwene and Klimmermasn could force the match to go on to a 19th hole with a win, but failed to do so. Congrats to Steve Hertz and Jonathan Leopold, winners of the 2015 Saxony Four-Ball Tournament.
See 2015 Draw
2014 Four-Ball Champions: Ed Ryan & James Walsh
With the course in prime condition
and the weather not
far behind the 2014 PBB Finals couldn't have had a better day.
The
Ryan/Walsh combo, known for their uncanny ability to make par from
anywhere, faced off against the steadier Hertz/Vogel team - who keep
the ball down the middle and the pressure on their opponents.
Plus - remember who finished one/two in last week's
Best
Back Nine. Scramblers vs Skill; Hit 'n Hope vs Fairways 'n
Greens. Sounded like a great matchup.
But as we planned to bring our beers to #18 for a dramatic conclusion - Ed and James had other plans. They weren't going to let it go to the back nine. True to type Hertz/Vogel opened with a regulation par - and Ed chipped it in for a birdie/win. On #3 Ed was out of it, so Walsh took over getting par and a stroke for another win over Hertz's regulation par. And so it went until the turn when Ryan/Walsh were 7Up. Hertz/Vogel won #11, but without last week's miracle on the back the best they could do was hang on until it was over. An all-par push on #13 and they'd run out of room. Match ended 6 and 5.
Congratulations to Partners Best Ball Champions Ed Ryan and James Walsh. They repeat their major championship win from 2010.
But as we planned to bring our beers to #18 for a dramatic conclusion - Ed and James had other plans. They weren't going to let it go to the back nine. True to type Hertz/Vogel opened with a regulation par - and Ed chipped it in for a birdie/win. On #3 Ed was out of it, so Walsh took over getting par and a stroke for another win over Hertz's regulation par. And so it went until the turn when Ryan/Walsh were 7Up. Hertz/Vogel won #11, but without last week's miracle on the back the best they could do was hang on until it was over. An all-par push on #13 and they'd run out of room. Match ended 6 and 5.
Congratulations to Partners Best Ball Champions Ed Ryan and James Walsh. They repeat their major championship win from 2010.
