Four-Ball Championship

Batchelor & Mattiace Capture 69th Four-Ball Championship

University of North Florida Teammates Jordan Batchelor & Michael Mattiace held off Florida Open & State Amateur Champion Gabriel Lench and partner Chase Ibbotson by one stroke at The Conservatory at Hammock Beach

Over 170 teams entered qualifying across the state in June, with 52 teams advanced to the Championship, either from previous Four-Ball finishes, qualifying for the USGA Men's Amateur Four-Ball Championship, or advancing through local qualifying. The Conservatory Course at Hammock Beach Resort, hosted the 69th Four-Ball Championship, Saturday- Sunday, July 28-29. The golf course played over 7,300 yards in each round, using a variety of tee pads, yet proved no match for some teams this weekend.

Round 1

The Mid-Amateur Four-Ball (North) Championship winners, Spencer Baldwin & Devin Hernandez led the pack on day one, firing an opening 65 (-7). However, they went to bed Saturday night knowing they would have plenty of chasers. Six other teams, including defending champions Kelly Sellers & Tiger Godwin sat just one stroke behind with 66 (-6), and 27 of the 52 teams in the field fired 70 or better, leaving over half the field within five strokes of the leaders.

Round 2

There was a lot of movement early on the leaderboard. As the competitors made their way around the front nine, US Four-Ball runner-up team, Chip Brooke & Marc Dull, went out in -4, which combined with their opening 69, saw they briefly tied at the top at -7. The Brooke / Dull team however, could not muster anymore birdies on the homeward nine, and fell back down the leaderboard, as red numbers were plentiful. The father & son team of Joe & Cade Alfieri were runner-ups in 2017, and made a charge early on the front nine on Sunday, led by a hole out eagle by Cade on the 476 yard, par 4, 5th, but were never able to take advantage of momentum and get into contention. The Mid-Senior Four-Ball (North) Champions, Brian Armstrong & Mike Finster opened with 67, to sit two strokes behind overnight, and would team up to make six birdies in their first twelve holes on Sunday, getting to -11 and sharing part of the lead. They would go on to birdie two of their last four holes after costly bogey on the challenging par 4, 14th, but their -12 two round total would only be enough for third place.

By the middle of the back nine on Sunday, two teams had set themselves apart from the field. Playing together two groups ahead of the leaders after opening 66's, the team of Jordan Batchelor / Michael Mattiace and Chase Ibbotson / Gabriel Lench had separated from the rest. Both teams went out in 31 (-5) to get to -11 for the championship. Batchelor would birdie the 11th moving his team ahead, then the duo would answer each punch on the way in, as both sides would birdie 14, 15 & 16. On the 18th hole, Florida Open & State Amateur Champion Gabriel Lench, faced a 10-foot birdie putt to try to force a play-off with his fellow competitors, but would miss, giving Batchelor and Mattiace the 69th Four-Ball Championship.

Batchelor & Mattiace are both past Florida Junior Tour players, Batchelor capturing the 2012 FJT Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass, and both are currently on the Men's Golf Team at University of North Florida.

The 70th Four-Ball Championship will be contested at Pine Tree Golf Club, in Boynton Beach, July 27-28, 2019.

Full Results

The 69th Four-Ball Championship will be played at the picturesque Tom Waston designed Conservatory at Hammock Beach. Enjoy two rounds of golf on The Conservatory, which has been named one of the Best Tour Courses to play by Golf Week! For a look at the 2017 Championship Results click here.

Championship Format

• 36 holes of four-ball stroke play (commonly called two person best-ball)
• The lowest team score for 36 holes will be the Champion

Championship Field Size

Maximum of 52 teams - 104 players

Eligibility 

• Male amateur golfer
• At least one player must be 16 years of age as of the first day of the Championship
• Both entrants are required to be members of the FSGA

Qualifying Sites:

• July 1 - Shingle Creek Golf Club, Orlando (originally scheduled on July 7, but moved to July 1st)
• July 9 - Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club, Dade City
• July 11 - Wellington National Golf Club, West Palm Beach
• July 14 - Spring Run Golf Club, Bonita Springs
• July 16 - Amelia National Golf Club, Amelia Island
• July 18 - Southwood Golf Club, Tallahassee

Entry Fees (per team)

• Qualifying Fee: Qualifying Fee includes entry fee and cart fee.
• Championship Fee: Fee paid by those individuals who advance to the Championship through qualifying. Includes tee gifts and gift certificates, all course and cart fees, and range balls.
  
• Exempt Fee: Exempt Fee includes Championship Fee and Entry Fee for those individuals eligible for exemption.

Late entries are subject to a $10 late entry fee should the entrant gain acceptance into the field.

Pre-Registration

Those teams who advance to the Championship through qualifying must pre-register and remit an additional $220 per team at the FSGA website, www.fsga.org. Payment must be received by Monday, July 23 at 3:30 pm, or the team will be withdrawn from the Championship

To Pre-Register:

• Log on to the FSGA website at www.fsga.org using your email address and password
• Click on "My Account" in the upper right hand corner of the homepage
• Under "My Tournaments", click on the "Pre-Register" button to the right of the tournament name
• Enter your credit card information and then click the "Charge My Card" button on the bottom right hand corner of the page

Refunds, Notice of Withdrawals

Requests for qualifying entry refunds received prior to entry closing date will be honored (less $20 per entry administrative fee). Requests received after the closing date will be honored (less 50% of entry fee). No requests will be honored within two days of the scheduled start date.

Requests for refunds of Exempt or Championship fees prior to the pre-registration deadline will be honored (less $20 per entry administrative fee). No requests will be honored after the pre-registration deadline.

Course Set-Up

The golf course will be set-up at approximately 6,800-7,100 yards

Schedule of Events

Saturday, July 28th

• 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM - Round one tee times off of #1 and #10 tees

Sunday, July 29th

• 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM - Round two tee times off of #1 and #10 tees
• Awards ceremony immediately following the completion of play

Local Qualifying

• 18 holes of four-ball stroke play at 6 local qualifying sites
• During qualifying, each team must use a golf cart
• Players are responsible for cart fees for all practice rounds

Tiger Godwin and Kelly Sellers captured the lead after posting an impressive 68 (-4) in round two to win by two strokes over the father-son team of Joe and Cade Alfieri. With rounds of 67-68--135 (-9), Godwin and Sellers conquered the Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral in Miami. 

Carts

Carts are included for all competitive rounds of the Championship. Players are responsible for practice round fees.

Practice Rounds - Championship

Practice rounds are available one week prior to the championship, on a space available basis, and must be played after 12:00 PM on the weekend. The price for a practice round is $35.00 + tax. Please call 386-246-6710 to arrange your practice round. The proper place to practice your golf swing is on the driving range, hitting multiple shots on the course is unacceptable.

Exemptions

Teams in the following categories will be eligible for exemption provided they meet all entry and eligibility requirements (teams must remain intact):

NOTE: Blank entries will be filed by the FSGA for players who become exempt after the close of entries

• Top 5 teams and ties from last year's Four-Ball Championship
• Last three year's Four-Ball Champions
• Current year's Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Champions
• Last year's Mid-Senior Four-Ball Champions
• Current year's Senior/Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Champions
• Current year's Two-Man Shoot-Out Champions
• Last year's Senior Four-Ball Champions
• Teams qualifying for the current year's U.S. Four-Ball Championship (one player of the side must reside in Florida)

Exemptions Earned from this Tournament

Winner

• Next three Four-Ball Championships

Top five and tied teams

• Next year's Four-Ball Championship

Other Policies

• Spectators and Spectator Cart Policy - Click here.
• Caddies - Caddies are allowed in all FSGA Championships except Junior events. However, a player must not use a parent, step-parent or guardian as a caddie. The caddie MUST walk and the player's clubs must remain on the golf cart. 
• Championship Pace of Play Policy - Click here.
• Local Rules and Conditions of Competition - Click here.
• Championship Policies - Click here to read the withdrawal, dress code, and other policies.
• Procedures for Alternates - Click here for information on how alternates may gain entry into this Championship.
• Conditions/ Schedule - The FSGA Championships Committee/on-site Rules Committee reserves the right to alter any of the conditions, provisions and/or schedules. The decision of the Championships Committee/on-site Rules Committee in any matter will be final.

Host Hotel and Accommodations 

Currently, there is no host hotel for this event. 

Payment 

The Conservatory at Hammock Beach takes Visa, Mastercard and American Express as forms of payment

Directions

The Conservatory at Hammock Beach
300 Conservatory Drive
Palm Coast, FL 32137

Click here for directions.