CHICAGO DISTRICT GOLF ASSOCIATION

FORMAT

The championship begins with 18 holes of stroke play on Monday, Sept. 26 to determine the low 16 teams that will advance to the match-play bracket. Match play gets underway with the Round of 16 on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Quarterfinal and Semifinal matches are slated for Wednesday, with a champion set to be crowned on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 29.

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.

ABOUT THE FIELD

There were no qualifiers held for this event, with the field consisting of 36 pairs. Eligibility was open to any CDGA member with a current Handicap Index® from the USGA® 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.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Vance Antoniou (North Barrington / Butler National GC) and Mark Esposito (Lakewood / Blackberry Oaks GC) have reached the match-play portion of this event five times as a duo, with their best finish occurring in 2019 when they advanced to the Final match. Individually, Antoniou captured the 2016 CDGA Senior Amateur Championship at The Club at Wynstone.

John Finnin (Frankfort / Olympia Fields CC) and Terry Werner (Dyer / Briar Ridge CC) won the 2nd CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Itasca Country Club in 2017. Werner has secured four Champion of Champions victories throughout his amateur career, most recently in 2016.

Brad Kay (Arlington Heights / Ivanhoe Club) and Brien Gerber (Bolingbrook / Bolingbrook GC) won the 2019 playing of this event at Calumet Country Club. The duo's 7-under 65 was good for co-medalist honors last year at Ravinia Green Country Club. Kay was also the champion of the 2018 CDGA Senior Amateur Championship at Itasca Country Club.

Steven Jacobs (Highland Park / Pine Meadow GC) and Matthew Horwitch (Northbrook / Merit Club) have made deep runs in the last two playings of the CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball, as they reached the Semifinal round in 2020 and the Final match in 2021. The Finals appearance was the second for Jacobs, who reached the title tilt in 2017 with Dirk Anderson.

Mike Karney (Crystal Lake / Crystal Lake CC) and Mike Mcloone (Arlington Heights / Chicago GC) enter the field as a pair for the second time in 2022. The two reached the Final match in 2020 at Aurora Country Club after a trio of commanding victories in the Round of 16, Quarterfinals and Semifinals.

Tim Sheppard (East Peoria / Pekin CC) and Tom Kearfott (El Paso / El Paso GC) are four-time victors of the event, having won the 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2021 iterations. Both players have had success individually, as well, as Sheppard has claimed both the Illinois State Senior Amateur and CDGA Senior Amateur titles twice, while Kearfott hoisted the Earl R. Liff Trophy following the 2017 Illinois State Senior Am.

OTHERS TO WATCH

Anthony Cascino (Palos Park / Olympia Fields CC) and Tom Destefani (Western Springs / Village Links of Glen Ellyn) have reached match play in four CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championships and made Semifinal appearances in 2016 and 2017.

Joseph Guin (Hawthorn Woods / Ivanhoe Club) and George Mcguire (Green Oaks / Ivanhoe Club) are making their second consecutive appearance as a team in this event following a run to the Semifinals in 2021.

Jeff Ott (Dunlap / Coyote Creek GC) and Curt Minkel (Pekin / Pekin Park District) enter the field for the first time as a duo. Ott's maiden CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball appearance ended in the Quarterfinals in 2021 alongside partner Jeff Polonus.

Ted Pecora (Winnetka / Bob O'Link GC) and Ron Waytula, Jr. (McHenry / McHenry CC) are back for their third-consecutive CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball together. Prior to joining forces, Waytula, Jr. and former partner Joseph Schmidt took down Pecora and then-teammate Phillip Kenny in the Semifinal round in 2018.

CRYSTAL LAKE COUNTRY CLUB

Celebrating its centennial year in 2022, Crystal Lake Country Club is set to host a CDGA-administered championship for the first time since the 2010 CDGA Senior Amateur Championship. With six sets of tees, Crystal Lake offers a premier golf experience for players of all experience levels ranging from 5,400 to 6,800 yards. The club also presents a plethora of non-golf offerings that include five outdoor tennis courts, pickleball courts, a swimming pool and first-class dining options.

This October, Crystal Lake is scheduled to undergo a comprehensive multi-million-dollar renovation to its clubhouse. A 5,000-square-foot expansion, two new golf simulators and a resort-style pool complex are just the start of what is sure to be an impressive redesign.

LAST YEAR'S CHAMPIONSHIP

Tim Sheppard and Tom Kearfott hoisted the CDGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball trophy for a fourth time in 2021 at Ravinia Green Country Club in what was the event's sixth playing. The duo did not trail throughout the entirety of the match-play portion of the Championship, including a 3-and-2 win over Matthew Horwitch and Steven Jacobs in the Finals.