#USWomensFourBall Qualifying: Berkshire

Brockstedt, Lundquist shoot 3 under, snag medal

READING, Pa. — As a of pair of ambitious 11-year-olds, Sawyer Brockstedt and Ellison Lundquist attempted to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. They shot 84 and missed the cut, but their prospects as a team felt bright.

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“We’ve gotten better each year. Last year, we missed the cut by stroke,” Lundquist, 14, of Furlong, Pa., said. “[Qualifying this year] was our goal. We’re super excited.”

As they should be. Brockstedt and Lundquist carded a 3-under-par 69 to earn medalist honors in U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying administered by GAP (Golf Association of Philadelphia) at Berkshire Country Club (par 72, 6,079 yards) Friday.

Jericho National Golf Club’s Megan Meng and Burlington Country Club’s Angelina Tolentino also advanced. The 7^th U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship will take place April 20-24, 2022 at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. It will be the first USGA championship contested in a U.S. territory.

The Brockstedt and Lundquist team stood at even following a birdie from the latter on No. 5 (par 4, 372 yards). She hit a pitching wedge 116 yards to a foot. As Brockstedt and Lundquist walked off the green, the horn sounded. GAP officials suspended play at 9:27 a.m. Thursday due to unplayable course conditions. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms thereafter forced a Friday finish.

“Finish what you started” flashed as the team’s mindset.

“My thought was we had to stay steady. Those first five holes are the hardest holes on the golf course,” Brockstedt, 14, of Rehoboth Beach, Del., said. “We wanted to make some birdies coming in and ham-and-egg it.”

Three birdies, to be exact. Lundquist, a freshman at Holicong Middle School, stuffed a pitching wedge to two feet on the downhill, par 3 No. 9 (par 3, 120 yards). Brockstedt, a freshman at Sussex Academy, hit a 56-degree wedge 85 yards to seven feet on No. 14 (par 4, 324 yards). A similar story for Lundquist on No. 17 (par 4, 360 yards), where she knocked a 56-degree wedge 95 yards to nine feet.

After securing a score of 3 under, Brockstedt and Lundquist hi-fived and hugged. The timing of both gestures as synchronous as their outfits. From the hats to the golf shoes, they matched.

“We got everything going on here,” Brockstedt said.

Brockstedt and Lundquist met through U.S. Kids Golf. They immediately forged a friendship, one that isn’t limited to texts and phone calls despite the three-hour residential distance.

“We basically live together. We see each other every week,” Lundquist, a Jericho National member, said. “We play in all of the same tournaments.”

“Last year, we lived together for a few months in Georgia and Florida. We were traveling all winter,” Brockstedt added.

Like Brockstedt and Lundquist, Meng and Tolentino became friends through U.S. Kids Golf. But unlike the medalists, Meng and Tolentino previously tried for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball on one occasion (2020).

“The second time’s the charm I guess,” Tolentino, 15, of Mt. Laurel, N.J., said.

“No, that’s not the saying,” Meng, 15, of Pennington, N.J., chimed.

“I know. But in our case, it’s second,” Tolentino replied.

The harmless banter fit with smiles and bubbly excitement. The Meng and Tolentino team stood at 1 over, tied for the final qualifying spot at that point, entering Berkshire’s closer (par 4, 318 yards).

“I knew [our position on the leaderboard]. She didn’t want to know, so I didn’t tell her. I knew we had to make a birdie,” Meng, a sophomore at Hopewell Valley Central High School, said.

“Thank you for not telling me. I was shaking,” Tolentino, a sophomore at Lenape High School, added.

On No. 18, Tolentino drilled an 8-iron 132 yards to 40 feet. She drained the ensuing right-to-left breaker for birdie.

“I am so excited. Now we’re going to play golf out of the country? Oh my God,” Tolentino said.

Meng immediately asks if it will indeed be her teammate’s first time playing golf out of the country. Tolentino affirms.

“Same,” Meng said.

“We’re actual twins,” Tolentino added.

Sort of. Meng and Tolentino share a birthday (Aug. 16). Now they’ll share a trip to Puerto Rico.

GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 300 Member Clubs and 80,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.