11th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball - Inside the Field

WHO’S HERE: – A breakdown of the 128 sides (256 competitors) that make up the field for the 11th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship:

Oldest Competitor: Jeff Mallette (61)

Youngest Competitors: Darren Zhou (16), Grayson Baucom (16), William Lisle (16), Jack Denery (16), Nicholas Canitano (17), Lunden Esterline (17)

Average Age of Field: 31.4

Most Represented Age: 31 years old (18 players)

Field breakdown by age:
16–20: 31 competitors
21–25: 33 competitor
26–30: 44 competitors
31–35: 60 competitors
36–40: 48 competitors
41–60: 39 competitors
61–70: 1 competitor

Oldest Teams (combined ages): 110, Jeremy Defalco (53) and Bryan Hoops (57); 105, Nathan Smith (47) and Todd White (58); 97, Darin Goldstein (44) and Trevor Randolph (53); 92, Damon Krause (49) and Tongun Lako Losarah (43); 91, Bryan Rusin (46) and Chris Thayer (45); 90, Chip Brooke (50) and Marc Dull (40); 90, Chris MacLellan (40) and Jeff Sellis (50); 90, Torey Edwards (44) and Bret Parker (46)

Youngest Teams: 32, William Lisle (16) and Darren Zhou (16); 33, Jack Denery (16) and Lunden Esterline (17); 34, Grayson Baucom (16) and Sam Terry (18); 35, Charles Beeson (18)and Nicholas Canitano (17); 36, Luke Colton (18) and Tyler Mawhinney (18); 36, Will Cherry (18) and Preston Hage (18); 36, Liam Eyer (18) and Kailer Stone (18)

Largest Age Difference (team members): 33, Jeff Mallette (61) and Ryan Mallette (28); 31, James Bohn (56) and Chase Tickle (25); 30, Jeremy Anderson (48) and Colby Hutton (18)

U.S. States Represented – There are 41 states represented in the field: California (23), North Carolina (19), Texas (18), Arizona (16), Florida (15), New York (12), Massachusetts (12), Alabama (8), Georgia (8), Illinois (8), Oregon (8), Pennsylvania (7), Colorado (6), Maryland (6), Idaho (5), Kentucky (5), Ohio (4), South Carolina (5), Minnesota (4), New Jersey (4), Tennessee (4), Washington (4), Virginia (3), Indiana (3), Iowa (3), Nevada (3), Wisconsin (3), Rhode Island (3), Hawaii (2), Louisiana (2), Michigan (2), Mississippi (2), New Mexico (2), Utah (2), Oklahoma (2), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (1), Kansas (1), Missouri (1), Nebraska (1), South Dakota (1)

Countries Represented – There are 10 countries represented in the field: United States of America (239), Canada (7), China (2), Wales (2), Scotland (1), England (1), Mexico (1), Australia (1), South Africa (1), Venezuela (1)

USGA Champions (10): 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), Nathan Smith (2003, 2009, 2010, 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateurs; 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), Tyler Mawhinney (2025 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball) 

USGA Runners-Up (9): Evan Beck (2008 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur; 2025 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball); 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); Drew Kittleson (2008 U.S. Amateur, 2022, 2023 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball); Bobby Massa (2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur); Drew Stoltz (2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, 2023 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball);  Dan Walters (2025 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball)

Arizona residents in the field: (16) – Charlie Allen, Tyler Anderson, Brian Blanchard, Redford Bobbitt, Jake Byrum, Jeremy Defalco  , Sam Engel, Darren Fletcher, Jarrett Foote, Bryan Hoops, Drew Kittleson, Trey Kidd, Kristoffer Marshall, Cody Massa, Mikey Russello, Drew Stoltz

Brothers in the field (6): Sam and Will Bernstein, Brandon and Preston Dembowiak, Brady and Sean Meek, Bobby and Cody Massa, Benjamin and David Spitz, John Hillard Catanzaro and William Catanzaro

Father-son duos in the field (1): Jeff and Ryan Mallette

U.S. National Junior Team members in the field (2): Luke Colton, Tyler Mawhinney

U.S. National Development Program Grant athletes in the field (2): Sam Terry, Kailer Stone

U.S. National Development Program State Junior Team athletes (4): Grayson Baucom (Team North Carolina), Max Emberson (Team Southern California), Preston Hage (Team North Carolina), Kailer Stone (Team Northern California)

Most U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Appearances (2026 included):  Nathan Smith (11), Todd White (11), Marc Dull (8), Chip Brooke (8), Davis Womble (6), Chad Wilfong (6), Bret Parker (5), Torey Edwards (5), Andrew Buchanan (5), Benjamin Baxter (5) 

Players advanced through 2026 U.S. Open Local Qualifying: Edan Cui, Jake Ratti, Aiden Spampinato, Nate Smith

Players who have advanced through 2026 U.S. Senior Open Local Qualifying: Jeff Mallette, Trevor Randolph, Scott Gibson and Chip Brooke (Todd White and Bryan Hoops are locally exempt)

Sides Who Played in 2025 Amateur Four-Ball (19): Nathan Smith/Todd White; Benjamin Baxter/Andrew Buchanan; Chad Wilfong/Davis Womble; Drew Kittleson/Drew Stoltz; Evan Beck/Dan Walters; Will Davenport/Mike Smith; Trey Diehl/Mac Scott;  Carson Looney/Hunter Powell; Jonathan Bale/Tomi Bowen; Brian Blanchard/Sam Engel; Zach Foushee/Robbie Ziegler; Taylor Schmidt/Ty Travis;  Chip Brooke/Marc Dull; Kush Arora/Edan Cui; Danny Frodigh/Jared Winiarz; James Smith/Hunter Stone; Zach Healy/Jack Larkin Jr.; Josh Fickes/Brandon Grzywacz; Anson Arakaki/Shaun Downie

Played in 2025 U.S. Amateur (22): Andrew Bailey, Evan Beck, Grady Brame Jr., Connor Doyal, Zach Foushee, Preston Hage, Drew Kittleson, Luke Colton, Cody Massa, Bobby Massa, Tyler Mawhinney, Philip Minnehan, Robbie Ziegler, Nate Smith, Nathan Smith, Daniel Stringfellow, Ryan Terry, Tomi Bowen, Todd White, Ryan Wilkins, Matt Vogt

Played in 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur (24):  Andrew Bailey, Jonathan Bale, Evan Beck, John Cardinal, Casey Carnes, Preston Dembowiak, Will Davenport, Connor Doyal, Marc Dull, Parker Edens, Charles Fitzsimmons, Brandon Grzywacz, Bryan Hoops, Drew Kittleson, Bobby Massa, Cody Massa, Joe Panzeri, Jake Ratti, Taylor Schmidt, Austin Spicer, Benjamin Spitz, Matt Vogt, Davis Womble

Played in 2025 U.S. Senior Amateur (1): Todd White

Played in 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur (7): Luke Colton, Edan Cui, Max Embers, Tyler Mawhinney, William Lisle, Kailer Stone, Darren Zhou

Past USA Walker Cup Players (2): Nathan Smith (2009, 2011, 2013, 2025-Captain), Todd White (2013)

Notes on Selected Sides: 

Luke Colton, 18, Frisco, Texas, and Tyler Mawhinney, 18, Fleming Island, Fla.

Colton and Mawhinney, both headed to Vanderbilt University in the fall and members of the U.S. National Junior Team, are among the youngest sides in the championship. Colton owns multiple tournament wins, competed in the 2025 U.S. Amateur and was a semifinalist in the 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. Mawhinney will look to become the first repeat champion of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball; his 2025 partner, former USNJT member Will Hartman, will be busy completing his freshman season at Vanderbilt. In addition to his significant American Junior Golf Association experience, Mawhinney won the 2024 Canadian Amateur.

Jeff Mallette, 61, Canton, Ohio, and Ryan Mallette, 28, Canton, Ohio

Jeff and Ryan Mallette are the lone father-son side in this year’s  championship. Jeff, the oldest player in the field, owns his own dental practice in Canton, Ohio. Outside of his profession, the elder Mallette is a longtime competitive golfer with 14 USGA championship appearances including a Round-of-16 finish in the 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur and a start in the 2016 U.S. Senior Open. Ryan has followed closely in his father’s footsteps as both a dentist and a competitive golfer. The younger Mallette played four years at Division III Wittenberg University, where he finished seventh in the 2018 NCAA Division III Championship. This year’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball will mark the pair’s first appearance together in a USGA four-ball event.

Bobby Massa, 38, Dallas, Texas, and Cody Massa, 40, Cave Creek, Ariz. 

The brothers are back in the same championship in Arizona once again as both qualified for the 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon Country Club. This is their first U.S. Amateur Four-Ball as a side. Bobby, the younger of the two brothers, is a University of Texas at Arlington golf alum who has competed in seven USGA championships, including the 2024 and 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateurs, where he finished runner-up to Evan Beck and was a quarterfinalist, respectively. Known as “Bobby Speed” in competitive golf circles, the Texas native is a popular athletic trainer in the Dallas area who specializes in helping players maximize swing speed and add distance. Cody won the Arizona Mid-Amateur in both 2024 and 2025 and recorded the Arizona Golf Association’s lowest weighted tournament scoring average in 2025 at 68.38. Cody advanced to the Round of 32 of last year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Matt Vogt, 35, Indianapolis, Ind., and Kevin O'Brien, (31), Pittsburgh, Pa.

Vogt and O’Brien are friends and playing partners who first met at the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club. Vogt played golf at Butler University for three semesters before stepping away from the team to focus on academics and a career in dentistry , which he now practices in Indiana. O’Brien, who was born in New Jersey, spent four years on the Seton Hall men’s golf team before becoming a regular competitor on the Pennsylvania Mid-Am circuit. Since meeting in 2021, the duo has competed together in nearly a dozen team events, including the Champions Cup Invitational in Houston, Texas, and the Picard Cup in Cleveland, Ohio, which they won in 2024 by defeating fellow 2026 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball competitor Jeff Mallette. Notably, Vogt had O’Brien caddie for him at the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont, only deepening the strong bond between the two players. Vogt qualified for Oakmont through local and final qualifying and had the honor of hitting the first tee shot of the championship.

Drew Kittleson, 37, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Drew Stolz, 41, Scottsdale Ariz. 

Kittleson and Stoltz have become mainstays in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, appearing in each of the last four championships and finishing as runners-up in both 2022 and 2023. In 2022, the pair went from last-minute entrants to making a memorable run to the final at the Country Club of Birmingham (Ala.), ultimately falling in a dramatic 19-hole match. One year later, they again reached the championship match before losing to University of California,-Berkeley teammates Aaron Du and Sampson Zheng, 2 and 1, at Kiawah Island (S.C.) Club’s Cassique course. Outside of golf, Kittleson operates a family-owned kitchen and bathroom remodeling company. The Florida State University graduate has competed in 14 USGA championships, including the 2008 U.S. Amateur, where he was the runner-up to future pro Danny Lee, and the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Kinloch Golf Club, where he reached the semifinals before losing to Bobby Massa. He also competed in both 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” on SiriusXM and the Golf.com podcast “Subpar” alongside 2007 U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links champion and current CBS analyst Colt Knost.

Nathan Smith, 47, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Todd White, 58, Spartanburg, S.C. 

Smith and White won the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in 2015 with a 7-and-5 triumph in the final at The Olympic Club (Lake Course), in San Francisco, Calif., 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 lost two years earlier in Scotland. They are one of two sides to have played in all 10 previous Amateur Four-Balls (with 2019 champions Scott Harvey and Todd Mitchell, who withdrew earlier this year due to a high school graduation conflict). Smith owns a record four U.S. Mid-Amateur titles (2003, 2009, 2010, 2012). An investment advisor outside of golf, Smith has competed in 55 USGA championships and recently captained the USA to a 2025 Walker Cup victory at Cypress Point Club. He will captain the USA side again in September at Lahinch, in the Republic of Ireland. White, a high school history teacher, has played in 45 USGA championships. The Furman golf alum won the 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur at Martis Camp Club, in Truckee, Calif., as well as the 2024 Senior British Amateur. He also qualified for the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and competed in his fourth U.S. Senior Open in 2025. 

Chip Brooke, 50, Altamonte, Fla., and Marc Dull, 40, Winter Haven, Fla.

Last year’s quarterfinalists Brooke and Dull pulled off one of the most improbable runs in championship history at Plainfield Country Club. When family obligations forced Brooke to go home before the pair’s Round-of-16 match, Dull was left to compete solo and still managed to defeat John Ramsey and Chadd Slutzsky, 2 and 1, becoming the first player in championship history to win a match alone. He nearly won his afternoon quarterfinal match, taking his opponents to the 18th hole. Dull, the 2023 Amateur and Mid-Amateur Player of the Year in Florida, has competed in 14 USGA championships, including a runner-up finish in the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur in Vero Beach, Fla. Brooke is also a familiar face on the USGA championship circuit, having appeared in 11 events since making his debut at the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur. The 2026 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball will mark the pair’s eighth appearance in the championship. Their best finish came in 2018 at Jupiter Hills Club, in Florida, where they finished runner-up after a 4-and-3 loss to future collegiate standouts Garrett Barber and Cole Hammer. Dull caddies at Streamsong (Fla.) Resort and Brooke is a former caddie master at Bandon Dunes who helped jumpstart the caddie program at Streamsong. 

Brian Blanchard, 33, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Sam Engel, 31, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Blanchard, a software engineer, and Engel, a lefty who is a software product specialist for Evisort, are Arizona residents who claimed the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball title   by defeating Tennessee teen sensations Blades Brown and Jackson Herrington at Philadelphia Cricket Club. Brown is now starring on the Korn Ferry Tour and Herrington, who plays at the University of Tennessee, was the runner-up in last year’s U.S. Amateur. 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. The pair also competes together in the Grass League, a first-of-its-kind par-3 golf league, as members of the Minnesota Muskies alongside fellow Four-Ball competitors Drew Kittleson and Drew Stoltz. This will be the duo’s third start in the championship.

Evan Beck, 35, Virginia Beach, Va., and Dan Walters, 41, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Beck/Walters advanced to last year’s final at Plainfield Country Club before falling to USJNT members Tyler Mawhinney and Will Hartman, 3 and 1. The pair has long found success at the U.S Amateur Four-Ball, reaching the semifinals in 2022. Beck had a busy 2025 season thanks to his 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur victory that included appearances in the Masters, U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Mid-Amateur, where he reached the semis in his title defense. After his runner-up finish to Stewart Hagestad in 2023, the 35-year-old claimed his elusive USGA title with an impressive 9-and-8 victory over Bobby Massa in the 2024 final at Kinloch Golf Club in his home state of Virginia. 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.

Charlie Allen, 20, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mikey Russello, 23, Scottsdale, Ariz.

It will be a home game for Charlie Allen at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball this year. The Desert Mountain member and his partner, fellow Scottsdale resident Mikey Russello, shot a 64 in qualifying last September at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix to earn a spot in the championship. Allen signed up for qualifying having never played a four-ball competition before; he registered because the championship was at his home course. Allen’s partner, Mikey Russello, was a late addition to qualifying when his first playing partner had to withdraw because of a work event. The pair had a target score of 64 in mind, and they shot exactly that. Allen estimates he’s played Cochise 100 times over the past five and a half years and has made over 150 trips around Outlaw. Allen and Russello will be two of 11 players in this year’s tournament from Scottsdale. 

Hunter Powell, 33, Gaithersburg, Md., and Carson Looney, 19, Bethesda, Md.

Hunter Powell and Carson Looney made the semifinals at the 2025 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J., losing to eventual champions Tyler Mawhinney and Will Hartman. Powell met his partner, Carson Looney, through Congressional Country Club where Powell caddies part time when he’s not working construction jobs. Looney, a freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University, made the Round of 16 at the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur at Daniel Island Club. The two agreed to try U.S. Amateur Four-Ball qualifying in the fall of 2024 and with no expectations found themselves exempt into this year’s championship after the 2025 semifinal appearance. The duo knocked off the story of last year’s championship, Marc Dull, who played solo, 1 up in the quarterfinals.