A pair of Cincinnati men’s golf teammates were disqualified during the quarterfinals of the 2022 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship on Wednesday for an obscure equipment violation: non-conforming putter grips.
“Prior to this morning’s resumption of the quarterfinal match between Evan Beck/Dan Walters and Ty Gingerich/Cole Harris, it was brought to our attention that Gingerich had used a non-conforming putter grip in violation of Part 2, 3c of the Equipment Rules,” read a USGA statement. “The violation resulted in a disqualification.”
Play had been suspended due to darkness on Tuesday night, pushing the completion of the quarterfinals to Wednesday morning. Gingerich and Harris, sophomores at Cincinnati, trailed Beck and Walters by one hole at the Country Club of Birmingham with just two holes remaining. Another shot wasn’t hit, as Gingerich was informed of the violation before play resumed Wednesday morning.
Rules state that grips must be at least 1½ inches apart. The two grips on Gingerich’s 39.5-inch putter were less than an inch apart.
The team of Beck and Walters advanced to the semifinals, where they would lose to Drew Kittleson and Drew Stoltz, 2 and 1. The Drews then lost to Chad Wilfong and Davis Womble in the final in 19 holes.
The Florida teens, in their first USGA event, teamed up to win at Chambers Bay, site of Jordan Spieth’s 2015 U.S. Open win.
In the first U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in two years, Florida teens Kiko Francisco Coelho and Leopoldo Herrera III teamed up to win at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington.
Last year’s event was among the many U.S. Golf Association events canceled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
Coelho, 18, and Herrera, 19, won the 2021 Four-Ball after making birdie on the first extra hole to defeat Brendan MacDougall and Sam Meek. The Canadian duo almost won the match on 18 but MacDougall’s eagle pitch from off the green hit the flagstick but didn’t go in. This was the first USGA event Coelho and Herrera had entered.
The win gets each of them into the 121st U.S. Amateur Championship at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, in Augusta. Earlier this year, the USGA upgraded the exemption categories for its two Four-Ball competitions, adding spots to the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Herrera just finished his freshman season at Central Florida. Coelho, who grew up in Portugal, will be a freshman at Arizona State this fall. He will also compete in the U.S. Junior Amateur in July at The Country Club of North Carolina.
Chambers Bay, which hosted the 2015 U.S. Open won by Jordan Spieth, was recently awarded the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
The final round of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball golf championship on May 26, 2021, at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington. Photo by Ted S. Warren/Associated Press
