Lifelong friends Josh Lundmark and Mac McClear teamed up to claim the 6th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
Day Three: Wednesday, Aug. 11
Their friendship took them to Green Meadows Golf Club to work on their games, before the pair helped Hinsdale Central High School capture multiple state championships. Although Lundmark and McClear, juniors on the Cornell and Iowa golf teams respectively, now play their rounds elsewhere, the friendship has remained.
The formidable duo came back together for the first time in a CDGA-administered event, and added another memory to the list in capturing the 6th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Flossmoor Golf Club Wednesday, besting back-to-back Illinois State Amateur champion Ethan Farnam (Crystal Lake / Crystal Lake CC) and Michael Fastert (Wheeling / The Sanctuary GC), 1 up.
“It’s always been fun to play golf with Josh and even more special to get a win with him,” said McClear of the triumph. “So many memories on the course together, it was a lot of fun today.
Related Links: (Full Recap) / (Match Play Tree) / (Photo Gallery)
Day Two: Tuesday, Aug. 10
Headlining the quartet of teams remaining is the duo of Michael Natale (Burr Ridge / Edgewood Valley CC) and Steve Sawtell (Northfield / Merit Club). The two-time event winners(2016 and 2018) bested Scott Cassin (Chicago / CDGA Member’s Club) and Dan Gilligan (Wheaton / Village Links of Glen Ellyn) in the morning Quarterfinal tilt, 4 and 3, to set up a showdown with medalists and 2019 champions Scott Dunsire, Jr. (New Buffalo, Mich/ Medinah CC) and Tommy Dunsire (Naperville / Medinah CC). Natale/Sawtell never trailed, closing out the match with birdies on the par-4 15th and 16th holes.
Awaiting Natale/Sawtell is a duo of former high school teammates and state champions at Hinsdale Central. Josh Lundmark (Hinsdale / Edgewood Valley CC), who is entering his third year in the Cornell program, and Mac McClear (Hinsdale / Hinsdale GC), who claimed the individual Big Ten title in May as a sophomore at Iowa, trailed by three holes with four to play in their morning match against Patrick Murphy (Chicago / Flossmoor GC) and Ben Sieg (Chicago / Flossmoor GC). The collegiate stalwarts rallied to claim the match by winning the final four holes, before defeating Peter Flory (Glencoe / Glencoe GC) and Peter Slaven (Chicago / Olympia Fields in less dramatic fashion, 4 and 3.
The father-son duo of Mike Karney (Crystal Lake / Crystal Lake CC) and Kevin Karney (Chicago / Crystal Lake CC) clinched their Semifinal spot in dramatic fashion, as Kevin got up and down to birdie the par-5 18th and best Grant Goltz (DeKalb / Black Sheep GC) and Jack Paeglow (DeKalb / Kishwaukee CC) 1 up. The Karneys will square off with the winners of the final Quarterfinal match featuring Kevin Huberty (Mt. Prospect / Mt. Prospect GC) and Steven Ratay (Lake Forest / Conway Farms GC) and Ethan Farnam (Crystal Lake / Crystal Lake CC) and Michael Fastert (Wheeling / The Sanctuary GC). Play was suspended through 20 holes due to inclement weather.
The final Quarterfinal will resume at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, with the Semifinals following at 8 a.m. The Championship Match will take place Wednesday afternoon.
Day One: Monday, Aug. 9
FLOSSMOOR, Ill. - The sixth playing of the CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship commenced Monday at Flossmoor Golf Club as 44 tandems vied for a spot in Tuesday morning’s Round of 16. Brothers Tommy (Naperville / Medinah CC) and Scott Dunsire, Jr. (New Buffalo, Michigan / Medinah CC), champions of the 2019 iteration at Oak Park Country Club, earned medalist honors with a 7-under 65.
Related Links: (Qualifying Scores) / (Match Play Tree) / (Photo Gallery)The Dunsire duo roared out of the gates carding birdies on each of the first four holes. A clean scorecard with red figures also on Nos. 9, 10 and 18 ascended the brothers one shot ahead of the teams of Steven Ratay (Lake Forest / Conway Farms GC) and Kevin Huberty (Mt. Prospect / Mt. Prospect GC) and Cole Taylor (Oakland / CDGA Member’s Club) and Matt Hussong (Bloomington / CDGA Member’s Club) who combined to card 13 birdies on the day.
Joining the top pairs in match play is the venerable squad of Steve Sawtell (Northfield / Merit Club) and Michael Natale (Burr Ridge / Edgewood Valley CC), champions of the 2016 and 2018 CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championships. Their 3-under 69 earned the duo the No. 9 seed.
Back-to-back Illinois State Amateur champion Ethan Farnam (Crystal Lake / Crystal Lake CC), alongside Michael Fastert (Wheeling / Sanctuary GC), and 2021 State Am runner-up Mac McClear (Hinsdale / Hinsdale GC), with Josh Lundmark (Hinsdale / Edgewood Valley CC), also advanced with rounds of 69 and 67, respectively.
Reigning and two-time champions Chadd Slutzky (Deer Park / Royal Fox CC) and John Ramsey (Glenview / North Shore CC) found themselves on the losing end of a nine-for-six playoff and will not be defending their crown.
Tuesday morning will feature the Round of 16 matches beginning at 8 a.m. with the Quarterfinal round to follow in the afternoon. The Semifinals and Finals are set for Wednesday.
Preview
LEMONT, Ill. - The first of two team events on the 2021 CDGA Championship schedule gets under way with the playing of the 6th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship, Aug. 9-11 at Flossmoor Golf Club. The historic south suburban club welcomes its eighth CDGA-administered championship and first since 2016.
FORMAT
Forty six duos will compete in 18 holes of stroke-play qualifying on Monday, Aug. 9 to determine the low 16 teams for match play. The Round of 16 and Quarterfinal matches will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 10, with the Semifinal and Championship matches following on Wednesday, Aug. 11.
The event debuted in 2016 and was created to emulate the exceedingly popular U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Each competitor plays their own ball, with the lowest gross score from each hole counting as the team’s score.
ABOUT THE FIELD
Ninety three pairs attempted to qualify for the championship via two qualifiers at Heritage Bluffs Public Golf Club and Blackstone Golf Club last month, while six teams were exempt into the championship proper. Registration was open to any CDGA member with an official USGA Handicap Index® not exceeding 10.4.
Related Links: (Full Preview) / (Round 1 Tee Times) / (Field) / (2020 Recap) / (Event History)
Championship Information
New to the CDGA championship slate in 2016, the CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship is a team match play event. Two-person teams begin the Championship with 18 holes of stroke play on the Monday of the event before the low 16 teams are seeded into a match play bracket. Both team members play their own ball throughout, with the lowest score on each hole counting. Chadd Slutzky and John Ramsey hoisted the hardware for the second time in 2020.
Qualifying
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