Pair of local golfers to compete in U.S. Amateur Four-Ball

When the 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championships begin on May 25 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, two local golfers will be participating.

Todd Obergoenner and Blake Driskell are both graduates of Cape Central High School where they were teammates on the golf team.

Following their time together at Cape Central, the pair went on to be teammates with the Southern Illinois Salukis’ golf team.

Obergoenner and Driskell qualified for the event by shooting a round of 9-under par at Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Ill.

“Blake and I have played in the qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball for the last six years together,” Obergoenner said. “We’ve come close to qualifying but we’ve never got it done. This last September, we were able to play well enough to finish second to get us qualified for Philadelphia.”

While Obergoenner and Driskell earned one of the two qualifying spots available at the Waterloo site, there are close to 50 qualifiers all around the country, all featuring golfers will their sites set on Philadelphia.

“There were probably 50 or 60 groups that played in our qualifier,” Obergoenner said. “We were lucky enough to catch magic in a bottle.”

After the duo entered the clubhouse with their 9-under finish they had to sit around and wait.

“There was a little bit of stress there,” Driskell said. “But, when we found out it was very exciting. It just so happened that we were going on a golf trip with some college teammates right after that so we had a several hour drive to Michigan ahead of us after that so it made the drive a lot more exciting.”

The Four-Ball event will be Obergoenner’s third USGA event, but for Driskell, it will be his first.

“I’m very excited,” Driskell said. “I’ve come close several times and I’ve just never had it fall my way and so for us to qualify was huge.”

What made qualifying even more special was the storied history the pair has as golfers and best friends.

“We have a blast together,” Obergoenner said. “To do this with your buddy that you played high school golf with, played college golf with and lived with in college is a blast. We were on cloud nine after we qualified.”

Driskell said Obergoenner has had a big impact on his playing career.

“I’ve always looked up to him,” Driskell said. “I always fought tooth and nail to try and beat him which was a huge challenge. He’s pushed me to be better and now we feed off each other a lot. We really understand one another.”

One of the sites of the four-day championships in Philadelphia is the Philadelphia Cricket Club.

“Everyone we’ve talked to said the course conditions are unbelievable,” Obergoenner said. “It’s going to be top notch.”

The event begins on May 25 with the final day scheduled for May 29 in Philadelphia.