Former Matador Sam Engel Captures U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship
5/29/2024 3:51:00 PM | Men's Golf
FLOURTOWN, Pa. - Former CSUN men's golf student-athlete Sam Engel, along with teammate Brian Blanchard, captured the 9th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship on Wednesday (May 29) at Philadelphia Cricket Club's Wissahickon Course.
Blanchard and Engel defeated Blades Brown and Jackson Herrington, 2-up in the title match on Wednesday afternoon. Engel, who competed at CSUN from 2013-17, and Blanchard each earned a gold medal, the championship trophy, along with 10-year exemptions into U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur events.
Full story courtesy of the USGA
A couple of software guys from Arizona took home the hardware on Wednesday at the 9th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Philadelphia Cricket Club's Wissahickon Course.
Scottsdale residents Brian Blanchard, 31, and his 29-year-old, left-handed partner Sam Engel – affectionately called Team Software – defeated a pair of talented teenagers from Tennessee, Blades Brown, 17, of Nashville, and 18-year-old Jackson Herrington, of Dickson, 2 up, in the 18-hole championship match.
Engel becomes the 10th southpaw to win a USGA championship, but the first in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball history. Two female lefties have claimed titles in the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball, Erica Shepherd (2019) and Thienna Huynh (2022). This was the first time in history that two lefties were in a USGA final, as Herrington is also a southpaw.
This was also the first time that Blanchard and Engel had qualified for match play in their combined three previous USGA starts: the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur and 2018 U.S. Amateur for Blanchard; and 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur for Engel.
"It's why we grind," said Blanchard. "It's why we're out there after work until it gets dark, grinding all day. I think he has a little more confidence than me. But here we are. I appreciate Sam for bringing his really strong confidence this week and helping the team to victory."
Added Engel, an account executive who is about to start with a new software company: "I think having your partner there with you, it's a good place to start. I think we both definitely believe in our games, but having the support is nice. It's hard to qualify for USGA championships, and if you don't have your best, best stuff, you go home. There's a lot of really great players. We brought it this week, and obviously awesome to ultimately bring home the hardware."
Blanchard and Engel only managed two birdies – Engel holed 15-footers on the par-5 seventh and 12th holes – en route to knocking out Michigan natives Bradley Bastion and Anthony Sorentino, 5 and 4. It's the largest margin of victory in any quarterfinal match in the brief nine-year history of the championship. The Arizonans, who did not lose a hole, also managed winning pars on Nos. 2, 8 and 11.
Engel played collegiately at Cal State Northridge in the Los Angeles area, where he was a two-time Academic All-American. After graduating in 2017 with a degree in tourism/recreational management, the left-hander briefly tried mini-tour golf before regaining his amateur status in 2020. Last year, he won the Arizona Mid-Amateur.
Three years ago, he befriended Blanchard, who attended Arizona State but didn't play on the golf team. He chose to focus on being a software engineer and has seen his game blossom post college. He qualified for the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur and 2018 U.S. Amateur.
#GoMatadors