The duo of Tom Kearfott and Tim Sheppard emerged victorious for the second time in the event’s three years

3rd CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship
October 1-4 • Indian Hill Club (Winnetka)

Day 4: Thursday, Oct. 4

KEARFOTT/SHEPPARD DUO SUSTAINS SENIOR SUPREMACY WITH FOUR-BALL TITLE
WINNETKA, Ill. – Tom Kearfott (El Paso / El Paso GC) and Tim Sheppard (East Peoria / Lick Creek GC) rarely play golf together. When they do, they make it count.

With a seven-birdie-fueled 4-and-3 victory over Joseph Schmidt (McHenry / McHenry CC) and Ron Waytula, Jr. (McHenry / McHenry CC) Thursday morning at Indian Hill Club, Kearfott and Sheppard claimed their second CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship, adding to their 2016 triumph in the event’s inaugural year. The victory makes the duo two-for-two in this event, as they were unable to attempt a title defense in 2017 due to a Sheppard injury.

“To be able to play with Sheppy in this format, it’s such a fun event,” Kearfott said.

“We don’t play golf together any other time of the year,” he added. “This is our time to shine. We such enjoy it.”

In addition to winning the Senior Four-Ball two of the last three years, Kearfott and Sheppard have each attained individual success. Kearfott won the 2017 Illinois State Senior Amateur Championship before Sheppard claimed the 2018 iteration in a playoff at Riverside Golf Club in September. Sheppard’s two 2018 titles, in addition to earning a match-play spot in the U.S. Senior Amateur, are particularly impressive considering his questionable health status at the outset of the season.

“I’m pretty thankful,” Sheppard said. “If you would have asked me in June, I didn’t think I would be playing. My elbow, the nerves, starting flaring up really bad and I couldn’t play for two weeks. I’m just thrilled that I was able to tee it up.”

Related Links: (Full Recap) / (Match Play Tree) / (Photo Gallery)

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Day 3: Wednesday, Oct. 3

FORMER CHAMPS TO MEET NEWCOMERS IN CDGA SENIOR AMATEUR FOUR-BALL FINAL
WINNETKA, Ill. – The final match of the 3rd CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship on Thursday morning at Indian Hill will pit debutants against former champions, as Ron Waytula, Jr. (McHenry / McHenry CC) and Joseph Schmidt (McHenry /McHenry CC) will face Tom Kearfott (El Paso / El Paso GC) and Tim Sheppard (East Peoria / Lick Creek CC). The pairs have played consistently throughout the week, with both having never trailed at any point during their matches.

Schmidt and Waytula, who made their debut in this event this week, ousted the duo of Edward Mular (Des Plaines / White Pines GC) and Ted Zurkowski (Chicago / White Pines GC) in Tuesday morning’s quarterfinals, 3 and 2. They continued their hot streak in the afternoon, with wind gusts up to 25 mph, defeating the pair of Philip Kenny (Glenview / Bob O’Link GC) and Ted Pecora (Winnetka / Bob O’Link GC), 4 and 3.

Meeting them in the final is 2016 CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball champions Kearfott and Sheppard, who beat David Feder (Lincolnshire / Conway Farms GC) and Guy Lay (Northbrook / Bob O’Link GC)  in the quarterfinals, 3 and 1. In the afternoon, they advanced after defeating Doug McCoy (Batavia / Point O’Woods GC) and Jim Vaughan (Chicago / Winnetka GC), 3 and 2.

Sheppard enters Thursday’s final fresh off his win in the 32nd Illinois State Senior Amateur last month and playing alongside Kearfott, with the pair having won in their only appearance in this event in 2016. Schmidt and Waytula will look to play to their strength of distance off the tee to take them down.

The 18-hole final match will tee off at 8 a.m. Thursday morning.

Related Links: (Match Play Tree) / (Photo Gallery)

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Day 2: Tuesday, Oct. 2

EIGHT DUOS EARN CDGA SENIOR FOUR-BALL QUARTERFINAL BERTHS
WINNETKA, Ill. – The match-play portion of the 3rd CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship commenced Tuesday afternoon at Indian Hill Club, as eight pairs emerged victorious in first-round tilts.

Three of the four co-medalist teams advanced to the quarterfinals, with the top-seeded pair of Eric Stiegel (Naperville / Mistwood GC) and John Penn (Chicago / Harborside Intl GC) being the outliers, falling to Tom Boettcher (Highland Park / Deerfield GC) and John Schram (Haynesville / Arboretum Club) 4 and 3.

Tom Kearfott (El Paso / El Paso GC) and Tim Sheppard (East Peoria / Lick Creek GC), 2016 CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball champions, bested Ed Grom (Naperville / Bolingbrook GC) and Mark Hannon (Bolingbrook / Bolingbrook GC), 2 up. Dirk Anderson (Libertyville / Merit Club) and Steven Jacobs (Highland Park / Pine Meadow GC), the runner-up duo from last year’s event, were defeated by Joseph Schmidt (McHenry / McHenry CC) and Ron Waytula, Jr. (McHenry / McHenry CC), 4 and 3.

The event continues with quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Wednesday. The final match will take place on Thursday morning.

Related Links: (Match Play Tree) / (Photo Gallery)

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Day 1: Monday, Oct. 1

16 MATCH PLAY SPOTS SET AT INDIAN HILL AFTER DAY ONE
WINNETKA, Ill. – Four duos tied for medalist honors in the 18-hole stroke play qualifying round of the 3rd CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Winnetka’s Indian Hill Club Monday. The four pairs all fired 3-under 68s: Eric Stiegel (Naperville / Mistwood GC) and John Penn (Chicago / Harborside Intl GC), David Feder (Lincolnshire / Conway Farms GC) and Guy Lay (Northbrook / Bob O’Link GC), Mike Munro (Addison / White Pines GC) and Tim Scott (Orland Park / White Pines GC) and Joseph Schmidt (McHenry / McHenry CC) and Ron Waytula, Jr. (McHenry / McHenry CC).

In all, 16 teams made the match-play portion of the event. The cut line fell at 1-over 72, with a 9-for-3 playoff determining the final spots. Defending champions John Finnin (Mokena / Olympia Fields CC) and Terry Werner (Dyer, Ind. / Briar Ridge CC) were amongst the group who failed to qualify via the playoff.

The 2016 champions Tom Kearfott (El Paso / El Paso GC) and Tim Sheppard (East Peoria / Lick Creek GC) carded a 2-under 69 on the day, positioning them in the seventh seed. Also making match play was Philip Kenny (Glenview / Bob O’Link GC) and Ted Pecora (Winnetka / Bob O’Link), after Pecora finished runner-up in both the CDGA Senior Amateur and the Illinois State Senior Amateur this summer. Dirk Anderson (Libertyville / Merit Club) and Steve Jacobs (Highland Park / Pine Meadow GC) also made it past the first day, after finishing runner-up to Finnin and Werner last year.

The first round of matches will begin tomorrow at 12:20 p.m. The quarterfinals and semifinals are slated for Wednesday, setting the stage for Thursday morning’s title tilt.

Related Links: (Stroke Play Results) / (Match Play Tree)

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Preview

SENIOR AMATEUR FOUR-BALL CONCLUDES CDGA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
LEMONT, Ill. – The 3rd CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship concludes the 2018 slate of CDGA Championships, as 54 duos age 55-and-up will tee it up at Winnetka’s Indian Hill Club Oct. 1-4.

The championship begins with an 18-hole stroke play round on Monday, Oct. 1 to determine the low 16 teams advancing to a match-play bracket. Match play begins with the first round on Tuesday afternoon, with Wednesday’s quarterfinals and semifinals setting the stage for Thursday morning’s championship match.

Designed to emulate the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, each golfer plays their own ball. The low gross score on each hole counts as a team’s score.

FIELD

There were no qualifiers for this event, with the field consisting of 54 teams. Eligibility was open to any CDGA member with a current official USGA Handicap Index® not exceeding 10.4 and who has reached their 55th birthday on or before the start of the event. Partners are not required to be from the same club.

Related Links: (Full Preview) / (Field) / (Tee Times) / (Event History)

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Championship Information

New to the CDGA championship slate in 2016, the CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship is a team match play event for those over the age of 55. 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. The duo of John Finnin and Terry Werner emerged victorious at Itasca Country Club in 2017. (2017 Recap / Event History)

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