Multiple Michiganders Qualify for USGA National Fourball in Spring
By Tom Lang
It’s always fun when golf fans can root for the ‘home team.’
Michiganders will have their own version coming in May, 2024 as no less than eight golfers from the Great Lakes State recently qualified for next year’s USGA Fourball Championship. Another six golfers are Alternates and could fill in for the Michigan contingent if necessary.
In early October, Bradley Bastion of Shelby Twsp and partner Anthony Sorentino of Rochester Hills won the qualifier at Warwick Hills with a 65, followed by Jimmy Chestnut and Casey Lubahn, who shot 66 and eventually won a three-team playoff. In the process they knocked out Michael Coriasso of Royal Oak/Jason Kalo of Grand Rapids, and Ryan Klopcic of Grand Rapids with his partner Ryan Alger of Denver, CO. All four of the latter became Alternates.
Also winning a qualifier, this one played in Port Clinton, Ohio, were teammates Ricky Shilts of Byron Center/ Chester Vandenberg of Martin. They finished with 63, over runners up and also qualifiers Jerred Barley of Tecumseh/ Alex Willnow of East Lansing, who shot 65. But the list is not complete. Alternates from Port Clinton are Nicholas Hodge of Kalkaska/ Ben Liggett of Kalamazoo.
“USGA events have players from all over the world, so it’s nice to see so many Michiganders get through,” Chestnut said. “The unique thing about these qualifiers now, compared to many years ago, there’s live scoring. We were 4-under after 14 holes, and I told Casey I think two more birdies will do it. So, we birdied 15 and 16 to get us to 6-under, and then I saw Brad and Anthony were going crazy and got it to 7-under at that point. So, I told Casey we need one more.”
Two pars on 17 and 18 put the pairing into the playoff, which they won with a birdie on the second hole.
Chestnut and Lubahn played together at MSU, on teams that also included Matt Harmon and Ryan Brehm, both who played professionally with Brehm currently having one more year remaining on his PGA Tour card.
Chestnut (age 41), Bastion (age 38) and Sorentino (age 46) have each qualified for more than eight USGA events apiece, mostly U.S. Mid-Ams but also in Fourball. Bastion’s best Michigan Amateur finish was reaching the semifinals, and Sorentino was the runner up in the 2018 Michigan Am. But, he has won three Michigan Mid Ams and the 2015 GAM Tournament of Champions. After finishing runner up in the inaugural Golf Channel “Big Break” show at Treetops, Sorentino turned pro for about six months but eventually returned to amateur status.
“From a strategic standpoint we usually function pretty well,” Bastion said. “Not much differing on how we should play holes. And we did that extremely well when we played at Warwick. We have a good strategic mix in our old age here.
“It’s tough that it’s six months away because that’s different than all the other USGA events,” he added. “But it’s a really nice thing to win in the fall when the end of the season is coming, it’s nice to know that when the spring comes around you’ve got a really good event and a really good venue that you have to look forward to. It motivates you through the winter.”
Shilts is a Railside Golf Club member in Byron Center, and is a strong West Michigan area player who plays on the West Michigan Golf Association circuit. His partner, VandenBerg, is a former Cornerstone University golfer and top Kalamazoo area player. He is a past GAM Tournament of Champions winner.
