Portland, Ore. – Low scores were plentiful on an unusually warm and dry Portland October day at the Men’s and Women’s U.S. Fourball Qualifier at Riverside Golf & Country Club.  Forty men’s teams and 11 women’s teams stepped onto course, which played 6687 yards for the men and 5916 yards for the women, with two men’s teams and two women’s teams advancing to the 2nd U.S. Amateur Fourball Championship and the 2nd U.S. Women’s Amateur Fourball Championship, respectively.

In the men’s division the team of Kevin and Matt Geniza and the team of Phillip Bagdade and William Snow earned co-medalist honors after each firing a team fourball score of 9-under 63, and claimed the two available men’s spots in the national championship. The team of Gene Bonnalie and Jim Coleman were one shot back after shooting an 8-under 64 to earn the first alternate position.   For the second and final alternate position, three teams tied at 7-under 65 and had to battle it out in a playoff to determine the final alternate.  Ultimately the team of Adam Burlison and Daniel Kitayama prevailed in the playoff over the team of Mike Barry and James White and the team of Ryan Jones and Tyler Nelson to earn the second alternate spot.    

In the women’s division, the team of Shawn Farmer-Sese and Christina Proteau punched their ticket to the U.S. Women’s Fourball Championship and earned medalist honors after firing a 6-under 67.  The pair strung together six birdies and no bogeys in an extremely consistent round of golf.  The second spot into the championship was claimed by the team of Evelyn Argulelles and Isabella Fierro, who journeyed from Mexico to play in the qualifier.   The Mexican team were one shot back after a 5-under 68.  At 3-under was the team of Kathleen Markle and Sue Billek Nyhus and the team of Charisse Spada and Lara Tennant.   The Spada/Tennant team won a two-hole playoff to claim the first alternate spot over Markle/Nyhus, who earned the second alternate spot. 

The U.S. Men’s Fourball Championship will be held at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., May 21-25, 2016.  The U.S. Women’s Fourball Championship, which was held at Bandon Dunes Resort last May, will venture to Streamsong Resort  in Streamsong, Fla. for the 2016 edition, also being held May 21-25, 2016.

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For full results: http://oga.org/live-scoring