Semifinal Field Set at 94th New Jersey Four-Ball Championship
MARLTON, N.J. – Wind gusts and more demanding hole locations transformed Little Mill Country Club into a much sterner test during Wednesday’s double session of match play at the 94th New Jersey Four-Ball Championship, where four sides survived a marathon day to advance to the semifinals.
With the margin for error shrinking throughout the afternoon, hometown favorites Troy Vannucci and Brian Hollins leaned on local knowledge while collegiate chemistry carried Ethan Lee and Patrick Scenna through a tightly contested quarterfinal match as the semifinal field was finalized.
Playing on their home course, Vannucci, 34 and Hollins, 41 continued their steady march through the bracket with a pair of convincing victories. The Little Mill duo opened the day by defeating Mike Hansford and Kevin Olah, 5 and 3, in the Round of 16 after winning holes 1 and 3 to quickly seize momentum.
That momentum carried into the quarterfinals, where the duo again controlled play from the outset, defeating Ben Keyser and Salvatore Galati, 4 and 3. After the opening three holes were tied, Vannucci and Hollins won three of the next five holes, including birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 and then winning with pars on 12 and 13, to steadily build separation before closing out the match on the 15th hole.
With friends and fellow members following them throughout the day, the hometown pairing embraced both the pressure and familiarity of competing at Little Mill.
“We’re stoked,” said Vannucci. “It's added pressure, but just to be here tomorrow and have a chance, that was the goal.”
The pair credited their success to an intimate understanding of Little Mill’s demanding greens, particularly with hole locations becoming far more difficult than those used during stroke play qualifying.
“These pins with the greens, shout out to Don (Little Mill Superintendent), for doing an incredible job,” Vannucci explained. “They’re spicy. The setup is great. It’s great for match play and just knowing the course is awesome and it’s a big advantage I think.”
Elsewhere in the bracket, collegiate teammates Ethan Lee and Patrick Scenna continued to showcase the chemistry built during their time together at Monmouth University.
The duo wasted little time in the Round of 16, birdieing two of their first three holes en route to a decisive victory. Lee, an outgoing Monmouth student-athlete and Four-Ball match play veteran, previously competed in the championship alongside former teammate Travis Dix, and his comfort in the format showed throughout the morning session.
Their quarterfinal match against brothers and 2025 finalists Jeremy Wall and Ethan Wall proved far more dramatic. The sides traded momentum throughout the front nine before the Walls surged ahead by winning Nos. 12, 13 and 14 to grab a 1-up lead late in the match.
Rather than panic, Lee and Scenna responded immediately. A birdie on the 15th shifted momentum back in their favor before the pair captured Nos. 16 and 17 to close out a 2-and-1 victory and punch their ticket to the semifinals.
“We know the match was going to be tough,” Scenna added. “The Walls are both very good players. We tried to stick to a game plan and kind of keep two balls in play, two birdie putts on every hole.”
Scenna pointed to the Walls’ stretch of brilliant play in the middle of the back nine, including an eagle on the 13th and a lengthy birdie conversion on the following hole, as moments that could have shifted the match permanently. Instead, the Monmouth teammates remained patient.
“We gave a couple away, but we didn’t really stress about it because the holes we lost on the back, they kind of won,” Scenna said. “We just stuck to the game plan the whole way and things turned out pretty well.”
Lee added that years of competing alongside one another helped simplify communication under pressure.
“We know our games very well,” Lee said. “During practices, we play a lot of four-balls together as a team anyways, so coming out here almost feels like practice.”
Also advancing to the semifinals were Mike Puorro and Austin Devereux of Manasquan River Golf Club, who continued their impressive run with a methodical 4-and-2 quarterfinal victory over Jonathan Dugenio and Justin Kim following their swift 7-and-5 victory in the morning round of 16.
After briefly trailing early in the match, Puorro and Devereux quickly settled in behind a par on the par-5 fourth hole to tie the match before gradually taking control on the back nine. The pair won Nos. 11 and 12 to build momentum, then effectively put the match away with a dominant closing stretch.
The final semifinal spot went to former Penn State University golfers Cody Cox and Matthew Porter, who closed out Thomas Urciuoli and Max Bichsel, 4 and 2, in the last quarterfinal match to finish on Wednesday evening.
Cox, 31, and Porter, 35, displayed consistency throughout the match, grinding through a tightly contested front nine where neither side could create much separation. After the opening two holes were tied, Urciuoli and Bichsel briefly grabbed momentum with a par on the par-3 third, but Cox and Porter steadily answered back, winning five holes down the stretch to earn the victory.
What’s Next
Match play concludes Thursday with the semifinal matches beginning at 7:30 a.m. at Little Mill Country Club. The championship match will follow later in the afternoon as one side looks to capture the 94th New Jersey Four-Ball Championship title.
