Jarrett, Peterson Medal & Hanson, Nelson Qualify for U.S. Four-Ball

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MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – The duo of Nick Jarrett and Trent Peterson used a late birdie to earn medalist honors and one of two qualifying spots Monday at Mendakota Country Club into the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship to be played May 25-29, 2024 at Philadelphia Cricket Club in Philadelphia, Pa.

“Our strategy was to make as many birdies as possible, period. There are a lot of scoreable holes out here,” Peterson said following the round.

Make birdies they did, on their way to an eight-under-par 64, including nine birdies between the two.

Peterson got off to a hot start with birdies at three of the first four holes to get the team to three-under-par early in the round. The pair would par their next three holes to sit at 3-under through seven holes until Peterson gave them another boost birdieing the eighth and ninth holes to put the team at five-under and atop the leaderboard.

Peterson continued his hot play at the par-4 tenth hole making another birdie, his sixth of the day to that point, to get the team to six-under. They would go on to par their next three holes until they reached the 230 yard par-3 14th.

Jarrett hit a piercing shot through the wind right over the flagstick to just over the back of the green. He would have 30 feet for a birdie look and did what you need to do in these qualifiers in big moments – make the putt. With the birdie the team reached seven-under for the day in tough conditions. They would go onto to par the 15th and 16th holes to remain at seven-under for the day and in a qualifying spot.

Jarrett stepped up to the tee on the 200 yard par-3 17th hole with winds gusting up to 20 miles an hour into the player’s faces and hit another tee shot right at the pin, this time to 20 feet. Again, Jarrett did what needed to be done in the moment making the putt to move the team to eight-under for the day and furthered their lead at the time.

“Nick made some sweet birdie putts on the par three’s that put us over the edge…We did a nice job of ham and egging it all day,” Peterson explained.

Jarrett and Peterson both parred the 18th to finish the round to shoot an 8-under-par 64. This will mark the first U.S. Four-Ball appearance for them as a team. Peterson previously qualified for 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball while Jarrett will make his first appearance at a USGA even next May.

“This will be my first USGA event. I was an alternate last year at the Mid-Am at Erin Hills but didn’t make it into the field. That made me super excited to want to play well to qualify for the event,” Jarrett said.

Casey Nelson and Kane Hanson survived a five-hole playoff with Joe Conzemius and Erik to Heltne to earn the final qualifying spot after shooting a seven-under 65. The pair won on the par-3 17th hole, the third time playing the hole in the playoff, with a par.

Starting on the back nine, the duo got off to a good start with birdies at the 10th and 11th holes to quickly move to two-under. They would combine for pars on the next six holes and added one more birdie on the par-4 18th to make the turn at three-under 33 and in a log jam on the leaderboard.

They added another birdie on the par-5 first to move to four-under for the day and added three pars in a row following that on the second, third and fourth holes. 

Needing to make a move down the stretch, they did just that by starting with birdieing the fifth hole to get to five-under. Hanson then made two clutch birdies on the difficult seventh and eighth holes to get the team to seven-under. 

“Kane made some really good putts coming in and it was just one of those days that it worked out really well for us,” Nelson said following the round.

Needing a birdie on their final hole, the ninth hole, the two had birdie putts within five feet to move onto the national championship. They could not convert the chances putting themselves in a playoff for the final qualifying spot. 

Moving into the playoff, their mindset was to not make any mistakes with them playing two tough holes (17 & 18) on a loop until there was a winner.

“It was basically that those are two really tough holes so we felt if we didn’t make a mistake, we would have a chance. It wasn't pretty golf in the playoff, but we managed to still get the victory,” Hanson said.

Their mindset paid off as they won on the fifth playoff hole after both Conzemius and Heltne hit their balls into the water. They are both excited to move onto the national championship.

“We play a lot of four-ball events across the country and they are always a blast. Obviously, this is the top notch one with all of the best players and a fantastic golf course. Any USGA event you can qualify for at this age with kids and family is always fun,” Hanson added.

The duo of Conzemius and Heltne are the first alternates and team of Mike Fiedler and Jesse Bull claimed the second alternate spot after a one-hole playoff with Max Tylke and Jamie Quesnel.