John Lazor and Patrick Frodigh, and the team of Jack Kozlowski and Trey Rath, shared medalist honors Monday.

Out-of-towners top U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifier at Rolling Green

  SPRINGFIELD, Pa. — A pair of out-of-town teams stormed into Rolling Green Golf Club (par 70, 6,713 yards) Monday to share medalist honors in a U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifier administered by the Golf Association of Philadelphia.

  Patrick Frodigh and John Lazor of Massachusetts, and Jack Kozlowski and Trey Rath of Ohio, carded respective 4-under-par 66s amid fierce winds and chilly temperatures. Both teams arrived in the area on Saturday and played a practice round during yesterday’s relentless rainfall.

  The U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship will take place May 19-23, 2018 at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla.

  Frodigh and Lazor, friends since childhood, flew into Philadelphia from their respective schools. Frodigh is a senior at Elon University, Lazor a junior at Dartmouth College. Academic and athletic obligations previously prevented a U.S. Amateur Four-Ball try.

  “We’ve wanted to play in this event for the last few years. We just haven’t gotten the chance to do it,” Lazor, 21, said. “This was a date that worked between our fall golf schedules. It was a convenient spot to meet and play.”

  For the Kozlowski and Rath team, high school is the obstacle. Rules prohibit competitive play outside one’s institution during the season. So Kozlowski and Rath decided to make the eight-hour drive east. They were the only team to sport tights Monday.

  “I always wear tights this time of year in Ohio. He did it because I do it,” Kozlowski, 17, of Columbus, Ohio, said. “This was the first time I used a push cart. I just did it because he does it.”

  Frodigh and Lazor, playing in the day’s second group, were the first to separate on the leaderboard. Lazor, a history major with a minor in Chinese, knocked a gap wedge 120 yards to 35 feet above the No. 4 (par 4, 391 yards) flagstick and sunk a sneaky slider for birdie. Frodigh, a sports management major with a business administration minor, returned the red favor on No. 6 (par 3, 189 yards), where he stopped a 6-iron at 20 feet. Frodigh eagled the next hole (par 5, 512 yards) by powering a 7-iron from 185 yards to three feet. The Westwood, Mass. residents made the turn in 4 under.

  “We played real solid through 11 holes. We had birdie looks but just didn’t make the putts [on Nos. 8, 10 and 11],” Frodigh, 22, said. “That’s kind of when the wind started to calm down a little too, and it got a little warmer. When it got easier, we kind of played worse.”

  Worse as in a handful of missed birdie opportunities. The Dedham Country and Polo Club members also bogeyed the par 4, 438-yard 13th hole, citing poor drives as the culprit. Frodigh assured the team a qualifying spot with a birdie on the closing 18th hole (par 4, 474 yards), where he hit a 9-iron 153 yards to 25 feet.

  “We looked at [the birdie putt] from both sides and didn’t see a lot of movement in it. From behind, it looked like it was going a little bit to the left,” Frodigh said. “I hit it at the right edge, and at the last foot, it kind of wanted to go right but just curled in.”

  Frodigh and Lazor scheduled return flights for 6:15 p.m. Monday. They quickly changed those plans after noticing the Kozlowski and Rath team at 4 under on the leaderboard, too.

  Starting on the back nine, Kozlowski, a junior at Saint Charles Preparatory School, dropped a 10-footer for birdie on No. 15 (par 4, 383 yards) following a wedge from 105 yards. Rath, a senior at Olentangy Liberty High School and Xavier University commit, converted a downhill slider for 2 on the next hole (par 3, 148 yards) after leaving a pitching wedge at 15 feet. Kozlowski then went on a birdie bonanza. Following a gimme on the reachable par 5, 501-yard 17th hole, he ripped a 9-iron 160 yards to 15 feet on No. 18. Rath, standing five feet outside his teammate, showed Kozlowski the birdie line. On No. 1 (par 4, 406 yards), Kozlowski drilled a 7-iron 170 yards to eight feet.

  He and Rath felt well-prepared for Monday’s task thanks to their practice round.

  “Some of these greens are tricky. It was nice to know how to play them,” Rath, 18, of Powell, Ohio, said.

Golf Association of Philadelphia
  Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 153 Full Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.