Headline: Two Bay State Teams - Dillon Brown & David Rogers and MikeCalef & Silva Qualify for 2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship

For Immediate Release: September 13, 2017

Four teams advanced to the 2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship following a qualifier held on Tuesday at Black Rock CC.

Hingham, Mass. – Their school years may have only begun last week, but senior Dillon Brown (Silver Lakes Regional HS) and junior David Rogers (Beaver Country Day School) now have even more reason to look forward to the end of their academic year ahead, as both now know they will head to the2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, being contested at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Florida from May 19-23.

The pair combined to shoot a 9-under par 62 at Block Rock Country Club on Tuesday, netting co-medalist honors and a spot in what will be the first trip to a USGA Championship Proper for both competitors.

Their 9-under par 62 was atop the leaderboard with the duo of Kevin Silva (New Bedford, Mass.) and Mike Calef (West Bridgewater, Mass.), who tallied five birdies on their final nine to earn entrance into the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

The third and final qualifying spot was secured by the team of Gregory Royston and Rij Patel, two Harvard University Men’s Golf teammates from Durban, South Africa and Hunt Valley, Maryland, respectively. The Crimson duo carded an 8-under par 63.

Click here for complete results from Tuesday’s qualifier at Black Rock Country Club

Opening play on Black Rock’s back nine, Brown, of Halifax, and Rogers, of Needham, carded a birdie on their second hole before a span of four straight birdies beginning on 13 gave them a comfortable 5-under mark at the turn. They added four more under-par tallies on the back nine to finish at 9-under par 62.

Brown, the 17-year-old reigning Massachusetts Junior Amateur Champion, who earlier this summer committed to play golf at the University of Maryland, and Rogers, who has begun the process of nulling collegiate offers himself, have long played in the same junior golf circles, but this marked the first time they competed together in a team event. Their main focus was simply to play their game the best they know how.

“We talked for a minute or two before we teed off,” explained Rogers after his round. “It was mainly you want to get two balls in play and two on the green. If you can get 15 footers on every hole, you’re going to make a couple of them. We were hitting them close today and making a lot of them.”

After their hot start on the front nine, which saw the duo – the youngest in the field – birdied both of the par-5’s on Black Rock’s front nine while adding 1-under marks on two additional par-4’s.  

While Brown and Rogers will be making their first appearance in a USGA event, both Calef and Silva will be returning to the USGA national stage once again. Just last month, Calef advanced to the U.S. Amateur Championship that was held at California’s The Riviera Country Club while Silva will be making his second appearance in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship, after competing in the 2015 inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship with fellow Massachusetts native Ryan Riley.

In August, the former University of North Carolina golfer Silva fired a 1-under par 71 to qualify for the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship from Berkshire Hills Country Club, adding to an already impressive resume that includes appearances in several USGA Championships Proper.

On Tuesday, seven of their nine birdies in their bogey-free round came from the same spots where their fellow co-medalists accomplished their feats. The only difference between the two scorecards were Calef and Silva combined for birdies on both the 12th hole, a 200-yard par 3, while they also began their second nine Tuesday by firing a birdie on the par-4 400 yard first hole.

Following a playoff that was held Wednesday morning at Black Rock to determine which of the four teams who shot a 7-under par 64 on Tuesday would earn first and second alternate spots, the squad of Brandon Parker (Worcester, Mass.) and Maxwell Campion (Boston, Mass.) netted first alternate, while Kingston’s Derek Desantis and Jimmy Russo were named second alternates.

The Rogers/Brown, Silva/Calef and Royston/Patel pairs join the team of Alex Jeffers (Watertown Mass.) and Garren Poirier (Killington, Vt.) to qualify from the Bay State. On August 30, Jeffers and Poirier carded a score of 9-under par 62 at Wahconah Country Club in Dalton to earn medalist honors and the lone qualifying spot.

The area's third and final U.S. Amateur Four-Ball qualifier is currently taking place at Kirkbrae Country Club and hosted by the Rhode Island Golf Association. The field of 68 features 45 Massachusetts residents who are vying for a spot in the Championship Proper next May.