PHILADELPHIA, PA. – AZ GOLF’s Brian Blanchard and Sam Engel captured the 9th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wisshickon Course. Blanchard and Engel narrowly defeated a pair of teenagers from Tennessee, Blades Brown and Jackson Herrington, 2 up, in the championship match.
"I've never felt better," Engel said in a phone interview with AZ GOLF following the championship win.
Blanchard and Engel’s path to the championship match started last Saturday, when they made the cut for match play by shooting -11 over two rounds of qualifying stroke play. Three of their first four matches went the full 18 holes; their experience on the final hole gave them an edge when the championship match also came down to 18.
“We like 18 a lot,” Blanchard told the USGA after winning the Championship.
Brown (a 16-year old who medaled at the U.S. Amateur and recently earned an exemption into a PGA TOUR event) and Herrington had not played the 18th hole since Saturday’s stroke play round. Despite that, Herrington and Brown nearly forced extra holes. Needing a birdie on No. 18 to force extra holes, Brown’s approach spun back to 16 feet; he followed that up with a perfect stroke that missed left by an inch.
Although it was a back-and-forth match, Blanchard and Engel never trailed. Momentum shifted in Blanchard and Engel’s favor on No. 8, when Engel holed out from a greenside bunker to retake a 1 up lead. Their opponents tied it for a final time on 12, before Blanchard and Engel went 2 up by winning holes 13 and 14.
"You have to have luck to win a tournament. That's definitely a factor, but you also have to hit amazing shots at the right moment," Engel said. "If the other team makes eagle and you make birdie, (the birdie) doesn't matter. There's definitely an element of luck, like that bunker shot on 8, and we ended up winning the match 1 up. It's like a crazy moment, maybe a momentum swing."
It took a lot of talent and a handful of miraculous, timely shots to best the field. It also took a lot of heart. Throughout the week, Blanchard fought a severely injured ankle on nearly every shot; he lived by a sentiment from the movie Miracle that a bruised leg is a long way from the heart.
Blanchard also set the tone with a good omen before the Championship even started. At the welcome dinner, the USGA commemorated Philadelphia Cricket Club's history as the oldest country club in the United States. Players had the chance to play a hole with old school hickory clubs; Blanchard birdied it.
Blanchard and Engel are the first Arizonans to win a USGA Championship since Billy Mayfair won the U.S. Amateur Public Links (1986) and U.S. Amateur (1987).
Both AZ GOLF major champions, Blanchard and Engel are regularly atop the leaderboard at AZ GOLF events. Blanchard won the 2022 AGA Championship, while Engel won the 2023 Arizona Mid-Amateur Championship. The pair are regularly called on to represent AZ GOLF at team events, including the Bob Goldwater Cup and Arizona vs Utah Shootout.
Engel’s caddie was his father, Devon, while Blanchard had John King on the bag- who started working at Philadelphia Cricket Club last month. Blanchard was also joined by his wife, Cassie, who is often on the bag for him during AZ GOLF events and USGA Qualifiers, including the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifier at Mesa Country Club last September.
With their win, Blanchard and Engel earned gold medals and custody of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball trophy for one year. They also earned the following:
Engel and Blanchard were also asked to donate a memento from the Championship to be kept at the USGA Hall of Champions in New Jersey. Affectionately known by AZ GOLF as Bucket Hat King, Engel gave his bucket hat to the USGA. They plan to see their items on display when they visit New Jersey for next year's U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J.