Lothian, MD – The 65th edition of the Maryland Four-Ball Championship was hosted at The Cannon Club yesterday, and it was Chris Baloga (Hillendale CC) and Will Wears (Baltimore CC), the coaches of the men’s golf team at Loyola University Maryland, who captured the title after a six-hole playoff.
Baloga and Wears did not have the best start to their day as they were 1-over-par through the first five holes after making a bogey on No. 3. Wears turned the momentum around by making an eagle on No. 6. They gave another shot back on No. 8 with their second bogey of the day, but they bounced back on No. 9 by making birdie to shoot 34 (-1) on the front nine. After making the turn, the duo found their footing as they kept a clean card on the back nine by making four birdies and an eagle on No. 18 to shoot 30 on the back nine. Their 7-under-par round of 64 put them at the top of the leaderboard in the clubhouse early.
A little under an hour after Baloga and Wears finished their round, another duo posted a 7-under-par round of their own. Ryan Chacon and Hunter Powell (University of Maryland GC) had a much different start compared to Baloga and Wears as the Terrapin pair were 3-under-par through the first six holes after making birdies on Nos. 3, 4, and 6. Chacon and Powell cooled off for a little while before striking again by making an eagle on No. 11. They then finished their round by making birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 to tie Baloga and Wears for the lead.
After waiting for all the teams to wrap up their rounds, the two teams found themselves standing on the tee box on No. 1 ready to compete in the sudden-death playoff. After tying the first three holes with pars, Baloga and Wears were in danger on No. 4 as they put their tee shots into the penalty area on the par-4. Chacon and Powell put their tee shots in play, but they were not in the best positions. Chacon dumped his approach shot into the greenside bunker, and Powell hit his approach shot 50 feet from the hole. After taking their drops, Wears hit his third shot to 20 feet, and Baloga hit his third shot to 15 feet. Chacon’s bunker shot hit the flagstick and nearly backed off the green. He would end up making bogey. Chacon, on the other hand, hit a magnificent lag putt that ended up a foot away from the hole and tapped in for par. Wears would go on to miss his 20-foot par putt, and it came down to Baloga’s par putt. With the pressure on, Baloga drained the 15-foot par putt to extend the playoff.
The teams would make matching pars on No. 9 and go back to No. 1, the sixth playoff hole. After the tee shots, Baloga, Wears, and Chacon were in the fairway, but Powell lost his ball in the penalty area down the left side. With Powell out of the hole, Chacon put his approach shot safely in the heart of the green towards the back side. Baloga and Wears would both hit their approach shots on the green to 25 feet. Chacon was the furthest one from the hole, so he hit his putt first. He hit his lag putt ten feet past the hole and opened the door. Both Baloga and Wears proceeded to two-putt for their pars, and it came down to Chacon’s ten-foot putt for par. He would end up missing it, making Baloga and Wears champions.
The Maryland State Golf Association would like to thank The Cannon Club for being such gracious hosts of this MSGA Championship.
