Brien Davis and John Ehrgott captured the 9th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club with a 4-and-3 win over Chadd Slutzky and John Ramsey.
9th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship August 12-14 • The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club (Rockford)
Day Three: Wednesday, Aug. 14
VALIDATION IN VICTORY: DAVIS & EHRGOTT CAPTURE 9TH CDGA AMATEUR FOUR-BALL TITLE
ROCKFORD, Ill. – Brien Davis (Peoria / WeaverRidge GC) originally signed up for the 9th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship with a longtime friend. A knee injury, and ensuing surgery, left Davis without a teammate. Needing some help to compete in the event, he turned to CDGA mid-am stalwart John Ehrgott (Edwards / Arrowhead CC) for a favor.
“He was out and wasn’t able to make it,” Davis, 44, said of his original accomplice. “I asked John if he wanted to take a run at it and he said yes.”
The tandem took more than just a run, advancing all the way to the Championship Match before defeating four-time event champions and No. 1-seed Chadd Slutzky (Deer Park / The Grove CC) and John Ramsey (Glenview / Glenview Park GC), 4 and 3, to claim the title Wednesday at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club in Rockford.
“Brien said he’s been working hard this year and this is kind of validation,” said Ehrgott, 49, following the win. “I haven’t won a CDGA event since 2018. To partner up, to play with Brien is always a blast. He played great, we ham-and-egged it and we got it done. It’s a great feeling.”
ROCKFORD, Ill. – The first of two-consecutive multi-match days in the 9th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship is in the books at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club, as four-time event champions Chadd Slutzky (Deer Park / The Grove CC) and John Ramsey’s (Glenview / Glenview Park GC) quest for a threepeat lives on.
The mid-amateur stalwarts, who earned the event’s No. 1 seed by carding a 10-under 61 on Monday, began their day by facing off against 16th-seeded Michael Fastert (Wheeling / Sanctuary GC) and Nick Feinberg (Chicago / Olympia Fields CC). Trading a pair of wins at Nos. 4 and 5, the teams reached the par-3 ninth tee tied after carding three birdies and five pars apiece. Team experience proved important through the turn, as Slutzky and Ramsey captured four-consecutive wins at Nos. 9-12, including three birdies, to take a commanding 4-up lead with six holes to play. Fastert and Feinberg got one back with a birdie at No. 13 before the two sides tied the rest of the way out to give the defending champions a 3-and-2 win in the Round of 16.
Meeting the duo in the Quarterfinals was No. 8 seeded Peter Slaven (Chicago / Skokie CC) and Ben Strobel (Glencoe / Lake Shore CC) following their 3-and-1 defeat of Guy Sciortino (Downers Grove / The Preserve at Oak Meadows) and Jamie Schmitt (Yorkville / MAGCS). Slaven and Strobel sandwiched a Slutzky-Ramsey win at No. 5 with a pair of their own to take an early 1-up lead through six holes. The early deficit didn’t seem to derail the eventual Semifinalists much, if at all, as a birdie-eagle-par stretch ahead of the turn gave them a 1-up lead of their own. Three more wins on the closing nine at Nos. 10, 13 and 16 pushed Slutzky and Ramsey into the final day with a 3-and-2 victory.
Among the teams joining the prolific pair are John Ehrgott (Edwards / Arrowhead CC) and Brien Davis (Peoria / WeaverRidge GC), both of which have had recent success in CDGA-administered championships with Ehrgott earning four CDGA mid-amateur event titles and Davis finishing T20 in the 2024 Illinois State Amateur Championship. Ehrgott and Davis discarded No. 10 seeded Brody McCarthy (Homer Glen / Cog Hill G&CC) and Drew Brasky (Mokena / CDGA Member’s Club), 1 up, in the Round of 16 to get their day started.
The 15th-seeded duo of K.C. Matkaitis (Oak Lawn / Sanctuary GC) and A.J. Balulis (Winfield / Sanctuary GC), following their 7-and-5 Round of 16 win, awaited Ehrgott and Davis in the Quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon. As steady as it comes, Ehrgott-Davis’ eventual 5-and-3 victory occurred by way of five hole wins, four of which with birdies, and zero losses. They will face off against David Beto (Rockford / Rockford CC) and Jason Wombacher (Byron / PrairieView GC) Wednesday morning. Beto and Wombacher secured a pair of commanding defeats throughout the day to advance.
The duo of Bradley Rendell (Chicago / North Shore CC) and Brett Tomfohrde (Chicago / Butler National GC) was the last of the four duos to secure a spot in the Semifinals. The two disposed of No. 4 seeded Andrew Price (Lake Bluff / Conway Farms GC) and Andrew Vitt (Lake Forest / Exmoor CC), 5 and 3, in the morning’s Round of 16. Eighteen holes would not suffice in Rendell and Tomfohrde’s afternoon bout with Justin Park (Vernon Hills / Pine Meadow GC) and William Nummy (Winnetka / Winnetka GC), as the two sides traded blows throughout the afternoon and neither team secured greater than a two-up advantage. After tying the first playoff hole, Tomfohrde buried a birdie try from 40 feet away to secure the match and advance to the Semifinals.
The 9th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship will conclude on Wednesday, with the Semifinals beginning at 8:30 a.m. The two teams who advance to the championship match will compete in the afternoon.MATCH PLAY RESULTS
Quarterfinal Matches
(1) Chadd Slutzky / John Ramsey def. (8) Peter Slaven / Ben Strobel, 3 and 2
(13) Bradley Rendell / Brett Tomfohrde def. (5) Justin Park / William Nummy, 20 holes
(7) John Ehrgott / Brien Davis def. (15) K.C. Matkaitis / A.J. Balulis, 5 and 3
(6) David Beto / Jason Wombacher def. (14) Scott Frevert / Tadgh Burke, 3 and 2
Round of 16 Matches
(1) Chadd Slutzky / John Ramsey def. (16) Michael Fastert / Nick Feinberg, 3 and 2
(8) Peter Slaven / Ben Strobel def. (9) Guy Sciortino / Jamie Schmitt, 3 and 1
(5) Justin Park / William Nummy def. (12) Kyle Martin / Joe Madda, 3 and 2
(13) Bradley Rendell / Brett Tomfohrde def. (4) Andrew Price / Andrew Vitt, 5 and 3
(15) K.C. Matkaitis / A.J. Balulis def. (2) Sam Mortell / Jack Mortell, 7 and 5
(7) John Ehrgott / Brien Davis def. (10) Brody McCarthy / Drew Brasky, 1 up
(6) David Beto / Jason Wombacher def. (11) Zach Jecklin / Ben Murphy, 4 and 3
14) Scott Frevert / Tadgh Burke def. (3) Adam Turner / Ian Nelson, 21 holes
Day One: Monday, Aug. 12
SLUTZKY, RAMSEY TAKE FIRST STEP TOWARD THREEPEAT; 15 OTHER PAIRS ALSO MAKE MATCH PLAY
ROCKFORD, Ill.– The tandem of Chadd Slutzky (Deer Park / The Grove CC) and John Ramsey (Glenview / Glenview Park GC) began their quest for a third-consecutive CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship crown by earning medalist honors on the first day of the event’s ninth iteration Monday at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club in Rockford.
Despite their overall dominance of the event, having claimed the title four times, this marks the first year that Slutzky and Ramsey have earned the No. 1 seed. They did so by amassing 10 birdies, nine of which came during a 10-hole stretch between Nos. 7 and 16. The bogey-free 10-under 61 pushed them one stroke below the duos of Sam Mortell (Chicago / Olympia Fields CC) and Jack Mortell (Burr Ridge / Olympia Fields CC) and Adam Turner (Galesburg / Soangetaha CC) and Ian Nelson (Macomb / Harry Mussatto GC), who both carded clean 9-under 62s.
While no other past winners of the CDGA Four-Ball are competing at Mauh-Nah-Tee-See, Slutzky and Ramsey will have stiff competition in the form of numerous individual CDGA Championship winners who made match play. Past Illinois State Mid-Amateur and CDGA Amateur champion Andrew Price (Lake Bluff / Conway Farms GC) combined with Andrew Vitt (Lake Forest / Exmoor CC) to shoot 8-under 63 and earn the No. 4 seed. Vitt also finished second in this event alongside a different partner in 2020. Additionally, John Ehrgott (Edwards / Arrowhead CC), a four-time winner of CDGA mid-amateur events, posted a matching 63 alongside Brien Davis (Peoria / WeaverRidge GC) to enter match play as the No. 7 seed.
Match play will commence at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a day that will feature both the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals. The event will conclude on Wednesday with the morning Semifinals paving the way for an afternoon title tilt.
Preview
The 2024 slate of CDGA-administered championships continues with the 9th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship, Aug. 12-14, at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club in Rockford. Eighteen holes of stroke-play qualifying and a 16-team match-play bracket await a field featuring 50 of the Chicago District's top tandems.
Schedule
Monday, August 12 The entire field will play 18 holes of stroke play to determine the low 16 who will advance to match play.
Tuesday, August 13 The Round of 16 and Quarterfinal matches will take place.
Wednesday, August 14 The Semifinals and Championship match will be contested on Wednesday.
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New to the CDGA championship slate in 2016, the CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship is a team match play event. Two-person teams begin the Championship with 18 holes of stroke play on the Monday of the event before the low 16 teams are seeded into a match play bracket. Both team members play their own ball throughout, with the lowest score on each hole counting. Deer Park's Chadd Slutzky and Glenview's John Ramsey hoisted the hardware for the fourth time in 2023.
Brien Davis and John Ehrgott captured the 9th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club with a 4-and-3 win over Chadd Slutzky and John Ramsey.
Preview
