They haven’t reached the level of peanut butter and jelly or Batman and Robin just yet, but future Marshall golfer Tanner Vest and current WVU Tech standout Bryson Beaver are definitely a dynamic duo on the links.
One year removed from becoming the youngest tandem to ever to win the WVGA Four-Ball Championship, Vest and Beaver lapped the field over the weekend on the Cobb Course at Glade Springs to become back-to-back champions.
Coming off of an opening round 64 (8-under par) Saturday, the twosome did that round one stroke better with a blistering round of 63 on championship Sunday. Sunday’s round included eight birdies and an eagle.
The two-day total of 127 was six shots clear of second place.
“Going into this year there was a lot of talk around the tournament about last year. People were saying that last year was a one-time thing and it was a miracle that wouldn’t really happen again,” Vest said. “We kind of wanted to prove that wrong. To win in this fashion was incredible.”
The W.Va Four-Ball format is also known as “better ball” where both players play each hole and the best score is recorded for the team.
Entering the final day last year, Vest and Beaver trailed the leaders by six shots before shooting 11-under par Sunday to force a four-way playoff. This year the young duo stood tied for the lead after day one and was playing opposite two legends in West Virginia golf, Pat Carter and Sam O’Dell.
“Me and Bryson play with a different demeanor than the others in the tournament. We just have fun with it. If we have fun, we know we are going to play good,” Vest explained. “Over the past few years I have had the good fortune to become friends with Pat and Sam, but it is still nerve-racking. You grow up hearing about how good they are and how many WV Amateur titles they have won. They are first class guys though.”
Following a birdie on hole No. 2, the young duo got a slight wake-up call when O’Dell and Carter made back-to-back birdies on holes three and four to take the lead. The accomplished veterans were the last duo to win back-to-back titles coming in 2019 and 2020.
“We didn’t jump out of the gate hot,” Vest said. “They roll in a 15-footer on No. 3 and another one on No. 4. It was looking like they were going to get out of the gate hot on us. We did do a good job of staying loose however.”
Vest and Beaver answered with an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole which preceded four birdies across the next five holes to take command of the tournament.
“That was the jump starter for sure. I hit a good tee-shot and hit my approach off the edge of the green pin-high. I told Bryson every chip shot is 50-50 whether you make it or miss it,” Vest said. “Thank goodness I got the 50 percent that went in. It kind of shocked everybody. I know it shocked me.”
Both players proceeded to knock it close on hole six and Vest rolled in his putt for birdie to add some gasoline to the fire.
On holes eight, nine and ten, Beaver turned their round into a raging wildfire.
“I sat back and watched on those holes while Bryson did it all,” Vest said, laughing. “He was tapping putts in because his wedges just couldn’t miss. I thought all three of the approaches were going in. I was thinking just put this guy on tour.”
A birdie at the par-5 twelfth hole moved Vest and Beaver to 8-under par for Sunday’s round before their only bogey of the two-day event came at hole No. 13.
“Going to 13 we are kind of thinking 59. Can we break 60 today? Well, we couldn’t,” Vest said, with a chuckle. “I am not sure if some nerves got us on 13 and 14, but thankfully we were able to recover.”
The tough two hole stretch started with errant tee shots at No. 13, a par-3 with water threatening in front and to the left of the green.
“I have never seen one person hit a tee shot on that hole where we both hit it,” Vest admitted. “There was actually a sign all the way over where we hit it that said, “no fishing permitted on golf course ponds.” I didn’t know the sign was even there. We were way left.”
More trouble lurked on No. 14 when Beaver hits his tee shot in the penalty area on the left and Vest was in the right rough.
“Bryson seemed a little more worried than I was. I was still in our chill and laid back mentality,” Vest said. “I hit my approach in the bunker and it was a really tough up-and-down. I got it up and down though (for par) and that felt really good.”
The dynamic duo got back on track with birdies on holes 15 and 16 before closing out the red-hot round with a pair of pars on the final two holes.
Carter and Steve Fox have won the most Four-Ball championships with 10 titles. They collected nine wins over a 12-year span, including four in a row from 1996-99.
