By Dalton Balthaser

 

NARRAGANSETT – Mike Pyne and Ben Grant started 2 under through four and were red-hot.

 

And then Mother Nature cooled them down for a day. But that didn’t bother them.

 

Torrential rain on Tuesday caused U.S. Four-Ball Qualifying at Point Judith Country Club to be postponed to Wednesday.

 

Pyne and Grant, aided by steadfast consistency and a friendship of more than 20 years, claimed medalist honors in U.S. Four-Ball Qualifying Wednesday at Point Judith (par 71, 6,717 yards).

 

Their team score of 4 under was good enough to take the top spot by a shot.

 

Kevin Silva of Fall River, Mass. and Mike Philipp of Mansfield, Mass. claimed the second spot after surviving a 3-for-1 playoff with a birdie on the third playoff hole.

 

The 8th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball will take place May 20-24, 2023 at Kiawah Island Club (Cassique) in Kiawah Island, S.C.

 

“It has been a long couple of days,” said Pyne, 33, of Walpole, Mass. “We started 2 under through four holes and then we were shut down for the day. We were worried that would kill our momentum. It was disappointing for us because we were moving good. We didn’t make a lot of putts today, but we weren’t struggling for pars.”

 

Pyne birdied Nos. 1 (par 4, 421 yards) and 4 (par 4, 327 yards) on Tuesday before play was suspended.

 

In true team fashion, Grant made three birdies on Wednesday.

 

He rolled in a 10-footer on No. 7 (par 4, 406 yards) and nearly made an ace on No. 9 (par 3, 130 yards) after he stuffed a pitching wedge to an inch.

 

Grant closed it out with a 4-iron to 25 feet on No. 16 (par 3, 217 yards).

 

Then the waiting game began.

 

“I drove home,” said Grant. “I didn’t think we had a chance. We have shot 5 under in these before and got lapped. I was happy to drive back here.”

 

“We didn’t think 4 under was going to be enough,” said Pyne. “Since we finished early, I really didn’t want to stress myself out by looking at the scores.”

 

But as groups kept coming in, the Foxborough Country Club members slowly started to believe they had a chance. It took until the second-to-last group for them to breathe that sigh of relief knowing they were in a USGA event for the first time.

 

“We just have a great team dynamic,” said Grant, 33, of Norton, Mass. “We are relaxed guys. We just like to go out there and have fun. We play in the Massachusetts Four-Ball together. We aren’t high-level amateur players, but we love to compete. If you hit a bad shot, your partner can pick you up.”

 

The former high school rivals have been playing golf together since they were 12 years old. Plenty of trial and error when it comes to competition. But now they will soak in the experience and what it means to play in a national championship.

 

“Playing in the U.S. Four-Ball for the first time is a big deal,” said Pyne. “There are so many good players so making match play would be a dream. We are going to enjoy it.”