Inside the Field: 10th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball

WHO’S HERE: – A breakdown of the 256 competitors that make up the 128 sides competing in the 10th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship:

Oldest Competitor: Jack Larkin Sr. (63 years, 8 months, 14 days)

Youngest Competitors: Lee Smith (16 years, 3 months 20 days), Michael Hall (17 years, 3 months, 4 days), Tyler Mawhinney (17 years, 5 months, 21 days), Nicholas Logis (17 years, 6 months, 16 days), Owen Bolles (17 years, 10 months, 1 day), Mason Howell (17 years, 10 months, 19 days), Edan Cui (17 years, 11 months, 1 day)

Average Age of Field: 33.2
Field breakdown by age:
16-20: 27 competitors
21-25: 25 competitors
26-30: 44 competitors
31-35: 62 competitors
36-40: 43 competitors
41-60: 54 competitors
61-70: 1 competitor

Oldest Teams (combined ages): 109, Brian Hedstrom (56) & Gregg Hedstrom (53); 103, Todd White (57) & Nathan Smith (46); 103, Mark Scheibach (52) & Tyler Crawford (51); 98, Jack Larkin Sr. (63) & Hayes Brown (35); 98, Brandon Goethals (54) & Ryan Dwight (44); 97, Richard Berkmeyer (51) & Brad Nurski (46)

Youngest Teams: 34, Michael Hall (17) & Mason Howell (17); 35, Owen Bolles (17) & Finn Meister (18); Nicholas Logis (17) & Sterling Hurd (18); Tyler Mawhinney (17) & Will Hartman (18); 36, Edan Cui (17) & Kush Arora (19)

Largest Age Difference (team members): 32, Seth Thornton (50) & Caleb Lumpkin (18); 28, Jack Larkin Sr. (63) & Hayes Brown (35); 27, Cody Lowry (43) & Lee Smith (16); 21, Dustin Wigington (52) & Conrad Walcher (31); 20, Scott Newton (50) & Joseph Cansler (30)

U.S. States Represented – There are 36 states represented in the 2025 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball field: North Carolina (19), California (18), Texas (17), Georgia (16), Florida (15), Arizona (10), Maryland (9), Massachusetts (9), Alabama (8), New Jersey (8), New York (8), Oklahoma (8), Illinois (7), Virginia (7), Michigan (6), Missouri (6), South Carolina (6), Washington (6), Indiana (5), Minnesota (5), Pennsylvania (5), Tennessee (5), Colorado (4), Mississippi (4), Oregon (4), Kentucky (3), Nebraska (3), Ohio (3), Utah (3), Connecticut (2), Hawaii (2), Iowa (2), Kansas (2), New Mexico (2), Wisconsin (2), Montana (1)

International – There are eight countries represented in the field: United States (240), Canada (7), England (2), France (2), Hungary (2), Norway (1), Puerto Rico (1), Wales (1)

USGA Champions (12): Benjamin Baxter (2016 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Evan Beck (2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Brian Blanchard (2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Andrew Buchanan (2016 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Sam Engel (2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Scott Harvey (2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur, 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Jack Larkin Sr. (1979 U.S. Junior Amateur), Todd Mitchell (2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Nathan Smith (2003, 2009, 2010, 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur; 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Todd White (2023 U.S. Senior Amateur, 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Chad Wilfong (2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Davis Womble (2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball)

USGA Runners-Up (11): Evan Beck (2008 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Chip Brooke (2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Joseph Deraney (2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Marc Dull (2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur, 2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Scott Harvey (2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Drew Kittleson (2008 U.S. Amateur, 2022, 2023 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Brad Nurski (2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Drew Stoltz (2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, 2023 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball), Todd Mitchell (2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Ben Warnquist (2016 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball)

New Jersey residents in the field: (8) – Barnes Blake, Thomas Collins, Alexander Hicks, David Hicks, Michael O'Connell, Liam Pasternak, Thomas Urciuoli, Pat Wilson

Brothers in the field (8): Sam and Will Bernstein, Brett and Logan Blondell, Alec and Jake Cesare, Ben and Nikolai Friedman, Gregg and Brian Hedstrom, Alexander and David Hicks, Matt and Sam Meuret, Joe and Sam Migdal

Most U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Appearances (2025 included): Scott Harvey (10), Todd Mitchell (10), Nathan Smith (10), Todd White (10)

Players advanced through 2025 U.S. Open Local Qualifying: Barnes Blake, Mason Howell, Robbie Keyes, Braxton Kuntz, Cole Nygren, Diego Saavedra, Bradford Tilley, Brent Whitehead

Sides Who Played in 2024 Amateur Four-Ball (20): John Jonas/Richard Oref, Kevin Carlin/Nick Sharp, Jordan Hammer/Andrew Meyers, Brian Blanchard/Sam Engel, Chad Wilfong/Davis Womble, Matt Meuret/Sam Meuret, Will Davenport/Mike Smith, Scott Ehrlich/Benjamin Feld, Bradley Bastion/Anthony Sorentino, Nathan Smith/Todd White, Zach Foushee/Robbie Ziegler, Scott Harvey/Todd Mitchell, Payne Denman/Brett Patterson, Ricky Shilts/Chester Vandenberg, Sam Migdal/Joe Migdal, Owen Calvin-Smith/Andrew Ricci, Trey Diehl/Mac Scott, Drew Kittleson/Drew Stoltz, Evan Beck/Dan Walters, Benjamin Baxter/Andrew Buchanan

Played in 2024 U.S. Amateur (17): Kush Arora, Evan Beck, Barnes Blake, Brian Blanchard, Payne Denman, Sam Engel, Ryan Ford, Zach Foushee, Alexander Heffner, Sterling Hurd, Garrett Jones, Jack Larkin Jr., Tyler Mawhinney, Brad Nurski, Cole Nygren, Todd White, Robbie Ziegler

Played in 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur (29): Joel Alexander, Landon Banks, Evan Beck, Brian Blanchard, Logan Blondell, Andrew Crowley, Will Davenport, Joseph Deraney, Brendon Ehlers, Sam Engel, Stephen Hale, Scott Harvey, Nick Jallos, John Jonas, Garrett Jones, Drew Kittleson, Will McCurdy, Sam Migdal, Brett Patterson, Andrew Price, Nathan Smith, Ricky Stimets, Zach Vandolah, Andrew Von Lossow, Dan Walters, Ben Warnquist, Todd White, Chad Wilfong, Pat Wilson

Played in 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur (2): Jack Larkin, Sr., Todd White

Played in 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur (7): Kush Arora, Edan Cui, Will Hartman, Mason Howell, Nicholas Logis, Jake Moffitt, Liam Pasternak

Past Walker Cup Players (3): Scott Harvey (2015), Nathan Smith (2009, 2011, 2013), Todd White (2013)

Notes on Select Sides:

Evan Beck, 34, of Virginia Beach, Va. & Dan Walters, 40, of Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Beck/Walters duo reached the semifinals of the 2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at the Country Club of Birmingham (Ala.) before falling, 2 and 1, to the eventual champions. Beck, the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, claimed his elusive USGA title with an impressive 9-and-8 victory over Bobby Massa in the final at Kinloch Golf Club, in his home state of Virginia. He avenged his runner-up finished a year earlier to Stewart Hagestad in the 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sleepy Hollow, in Scarborough, N.Y., falling 3 and 2 in the championship match. Beck also finished runner up in the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur at Shoal Creek, defeating future three-time major champion and two-time U.S. Junior Amateur champ Jordan Spieth in the semifinals after getting into the field as an alternate. He was a four-year letter-winner at Wake Forest as well as an All-ACC performer and All-American. Walters, a Rollins College graduate, qualified for the 2015 U.S. Amateur and served as the associate men’s golf coach at Wake Forest for nine years. The two met when Beck played for the Demon Deacons.

Barnes Blake, 20, of Westfield, N.J., and Liam Pasternak, 18, of Morristown, N.J.

Few players in the field will have more local knowledge of stroke-play co-host Echo Lake than member Barnes Blake, who won the 106th MGA Junior Championship at his home course in 2023. Blake, the MGA’s 2023 Junior Player of the Year, just completed his sophomore year at Georgetown University. Blake qualified for three U.S. Junior Amateurs and the 2024 U.S. Amateur. He also recently advanced to final qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Open. Headed to the University of Notre Dame this fall, Pasternak was named NJ.com’s 2024 High School Player of the Year. He finished fifth in the Jones Cup Junior Invitational last year.

Brian Blanchard, 32, of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Sam Engel, 30, of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Blanchard, a software engineer, and Engel, a lefty who is a software product specialist for Evisort, claimed the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball title by defeating Tennessee teen sensations Blades Brown and Jackson Herrington at Philadelphia Cricket Club. Blanchard attended Arizona State University, but did not play on the golf team, instead focusing on a computer engineering degree. He won the 2021 Arizona Public Links title. Engel played at Cal State Northridge. He captured the 2016 Arizona Public Links and 2023 Arizona Mid-Amateur titles.

Sam Bradford, 37, of Oklahoma City, Okla., and Ben Bench, 37 of Oklahoma City, Okla.

Football fans should recognize the name Sam Bradford. As a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma, he won the 2008 Heisman Trophy, throwing for 4,720 yards and 50 touchdowns in leading the Sooners to the BCS championship game against Florida, where the Sooners lost to 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow. He was just the second sophomore to win the Heisman after Tebow. Two years later, he was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. Bradford, who played AAU basketball with future NBA superstar Blake Griffin, played nine seasons with four NFL teams before retiring in 2018 following a number of injuries. This is his first USGA championship. He and former Putnam North High teammate Ben Bench, who works for a medical software company, played collegiately at Oklahoma City University, helping the team win consecutive NAIA titles in 2007 and ’08. The school has claimed 11 national titles. 

Scott Harvey, 46, of Greensboro, N.C., & Todd Mitchell, 46, of Bloomington, Ill.

USGA stalwarts Harvey and Mitchell claimed the 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. They are one of two sides (2015 champions Nathan Smith and Todd White) to compete in all nine previous U.S. Amateur Four-Balls. Harvey, a property manager who has competed in 40 USGA championships, won the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur and was a member of the 2015 USA Walker Cup Team. Most recently, Harvey advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Kinloch Golf Club. Mitchell, the 2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up, has played in 33 USGA events. Mitchell, who works in the insurance business, played shortstop at Illinois State and was chosen in the 14th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Yankees and played briefly in the club’s minor-league system.

Drew Kittleson, 36, of Scottsdale, Ariz. & Drew Stoltz, 40, of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Kittleson and Stoltz finished runner-up in both the 2022 and 2023 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championships. In 2022, the pair of Arizona residents went from last-minute entrants to a magical run to the finals at the Country Club of Birmingham (Ala.), eventually falling in a memorable 19-hole battle. In 2023, Stoltz and Kittleson fell to University of California-Berkeley teammates Aaron Du and Sampson Zheng, 2 and 1, at Kiawah Island (S.C.) Club. Kittleson was the runner-up to Danny Lee in the 2008 U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2. The Florida State University graduate operates a family-owned kitchen and bathroom remodeling company. Kittleson has competed in 14 USGA championships and reached the semifinals of the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Kinloch Golf Club. He played in the Masters and U.S. Open in 2009 and reached the quarterfinals of the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur. Stoltz, a Colorado native who played collegiately at Texas Christian University, co-hosts “Gravy and the Sleeze,” a SiriusXM radio show, and “Subpar,” a Golf.com podcast, with 2007 U.S. Amateur/U.S. Amateur Public Links champion and CBS on-course analyst Colt Knost.

Dalton Melnyk, 44, of Atlanta, Ga., and David Denham, 42, of Athens, Ga.

Melnyk is the son of 1969 U.S. Amateur and 1971 British Amateur champion Steve Melynk, who later played professionally but became better known for his work as a golf analyst for CBS and Golf Channel. Like his father, Dalton, now an insurance broker, played collegiately at the University of Florida, helping the Gators to the 2001 NCAA title. Denham, an investment advisor and clothing company founder, played collegiately at the University of Georgia. He was a member of the 2005 NCAA title team that included future PGA Tour winners Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner and Brendon Todd. The two-time All-American won the 2004 Georgia State Amateur and later the Georgia Mid-Amateur (2017). Denham qualified for the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst as an amateur.

Nathan Smith, 45, of Pittsburgh, Pa., & Todd White, 56, of Spartanburg, S.C.

Smith and White won the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in 2015 with a 7-and-5 triumph in the final at The Olympic Club (Lake Course) in San Francisco, site of the 2025 U.S. Amateur and five U.S. Opens. The duo also reached the quarterfinals in 2017 at Pinehurst No. 2. Their partnership was forged during the 2013 Walker Cup, where they helped the USA regain the Cup at National Golf Links of America after Smith’s USA side had lost two years earlier in Scotland. They are one of two sides to have played in all nine previous Amateur Four-Balls (with 2019 champions Scott Harvey and Todd Mitchell). Smith owns a record four U.S. Mid-Amateur titles (2003, 2009, 2010, 2012). An investment advisor, Smith has competed in 51 USGA championships and will serve as the 2025 USA Walker Cup captain at Cypress Point Club this September. White, a high school history teacher, has played in 33 USGA championships. White won the 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur at Martis Camp Club in Truckee, Calif., and the 2024 Senior British Amateur. He also qualified for the 1995 U.S. Open and will play in his fourth U.S. Senior Open next month. He made the cut in the 2021 U.S. Senior Open at Omaha Country Club. The reinstated amateur advanced to the 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur semifinals and reached the quarterfinals in 2014 and 2015.

Brad Tilley, 41, of Easton, Conn., and Pat Wilson, 34, of Andover, N.J.

The two veteran mid-amateurs return as partners after reaching the Round of 16 in 2023 at Kiawah Island (S.C.) Club. Tilley, a reinstated amateur who is an entrepreneur in the food and beverage import business, advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur after being the stroke-play medalist. The former University of Virginia golfer won the 2003 Ike Championship, a prestigious Metropolitan Golf Association stroke-play event. He just recently advanced to final qualifying for this year’s U.S. Open. Wilson, an insurance producer, played his collegiate golf at St. John’s University. He is a two-time MGA Amateur champion (2013, 2022).

Danny Woodhead, 40, of Elkhorn, Neb., and Michael Wilhelm, 31, of Omaha, Neb.

The two Omaha Country Club members are making their second appearance in the Four-Ball after missing the cut in 2021 at Chambers Bay. Woodhead, a graduate of Chadron (Neb.) State and a two-time Harlon Hill Trophy recipient as NCAA Division II’s top football player, played for four NFL teams as an undrafted free agent running back. He ran for more than 2,200 yards and caught 300 passes during his career and hauled in a touchdown pass from Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLVI for the New England Patriots. Wilhelm, a lefty who graduated from Creighton University in 2016, is a solutions architect for Groves & Company. He also served as an assistant golf coach at Millard North High for four seasons (2010-13).