As home runs go, you’ll have no trouble finding an elite amateur golfer who agrees that the U.S. Golf Association connected mightily when it unveiled a national four-ball championship in 2015.
“What a great concept,” said Todd White and, yes, that view comes tinted with bias. White and partner Nathan Smith won the debut of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
The truth is, however, the native South Carolinian who won the Northeast Amateur in Rhode Island way back in 1990 and has been a force on the national amateur scene ever since, has a firm grasp of the big picture and applauds the introduction of this annual four-ball event.
The seventh annual U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship (it was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic) will be held in Alabama starting May 14 at the Country Club of Birmingham.
And there's quite a list of New Englanders planning to play, including Kevin Gately. “It’s incredible fun, but it’s incredibly competitive,” said Gately. “But there is such a great vibe when you get there.”