Tanner Vest (left) is 16 and Bryson Beaver is 18 and these two golfers, our youngest winners ever, overcame a six-stroke deficit starting the morning to win the Championship against some amazing competitors.
The final round of the 2022 West Virginia Four-Ball Championship, conducted by the West Virginia Golf Association (WVGA) was filled with outstanding golf from the state’s best amateur golfers. Going into round two, the team of Philip Reale of Hurricane and Jess Ferrell of Fairmont had a two-shot lead over the field. At the end of regulation play on the final day, there were four teams tied for the lead at 12 under par. An impressive comeback by youngsters Bryson Beaver of Elkview and Tanner Vest of Shady Spring, firing an impressive 11 under par round today, tie them for the lead to head to the playoffs.
The three teams joining Beaver and Vest in the playoff were: reigning West Virginia Amateur Champion Philip Reale of Hurricane and 2022 West Virginia Mid-Amateur Champion Jess Ferrell of Fairmont; the current Two-Person Scramble Champion team of Cory Hoshor of Scott Depot and Jeremy Vallett of Logan; and the two-time West Virginia Four-Ball Champions Pat Carter and Sam O’Dell, both of Hurricane.
The playoffs started on the 18th hole of the Cobb course at The Resort at Glade Springs in Daniels with hundreds of spectators surrounding the 18th green to cheer on the competition. On the first playoff hole, Vest and Beaver make birdie to win the 2022 West Virginia Four-Ball Championship. That birdie was the last of the 12 the team made today, 11 in the final round and the last on the playoff. Both players are long-time members of the WVGA Callaway Junior Tour.
Vest said, “We knew we had to make a lot of big holes to even have a chance that nobody really saw it coming. We were just encouraging each other all day. Our team chemistry is off the charts. We don’t have as much experience as the other guys and we were just thinking about our rounds.”
“I think we positioned ourselves pretty well on the first flight at six strokes back going into today,” Beaver said. “It was great to play with those guys and meet them on the 18th hole and to come out on top.”
“This is an historic day at the Four-Ball Championship. Tanner is 16 and Bryson is 18 and these two golfers, our youngest winners ever, overcame a six-stroke deficit starting the morning to win the Championship against some amazing competitors,” said WVGA Executive Director Brad Ullman. “Partners Tanner Vest and Bryson Beaver put together one of the most impressive rounds of golf in West Virginia Four-Ball history.”
“Simply impressive,” said Keith Honaker, director of golf at Glade Springs.
Click here for today’s leaderboard: 2022 WV Four-Ball – Flight Championship – Four Ball Stroke Play Leaderboard | West Virginia Golf A (bluegolf.com).
For more information please visit wvga.org.
