By Stephen Hanjack
shanjack@massgolf.org
PITTSFIELD, Massachusetts (September 17, 2025) – Competitors of U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying at the Country Club of Pittsfield couldn’t have asked for a better mid-September day. Deep in the Berkshires, the foliage was beginning to pop with oranges and yellows, but it was the color red that the field was most interested in.
In the case of Max Ferrari (Framingham CC) + Nick Leibold (Boston, MA) and Christian Chapman + Chris Bonhag (Victor, NY), they found exactly the amount of red they were in search of. With matching rounds of 64 (-7), the two sides snagged a spot in the 2026 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
The saying goes ‘everyone has to play the same course’, but if Wednesday’s action proved anything among the two qualifying sides, it’s that they certainly didn’t have to play it the same way. After a red-hot start, Ferrari and Leibold settled for four-straight pars to close out their round. While Chapman and Bonhag played the final four holes in four-under-par.
Both sides will now advance to the Championship Proper, which will be contested at the Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Arizona from May 16-20, 2026.
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For former Elon University teammates Max Ferrari and Nick Leibold, Wednesday’s round helped both players accomplish a goal they’ve been after for many years – earning a spot in a USGA Championship.
Sitting at 1-under-par through 7 holes of play, things weren’t looking terrible for the 27-year-olds, but they weren’t looking promising either. Luckily for them, things started heating up on the 8th. A string of 4-straight birdies (nos. 8-11) was followed by a par on 12, which frankly might have felt like a birdie on the demanding, yet beautiful, dogleg up the hill.
“I think it really got started on 6. I hit an okay chip, and had maybe 30 feet,” recalled Leibold. “I think that putt broke about four feet left and made it (in the) side door for par. And I think that’s really what jump started.”
A par on 12 was followed up with a couple more birdies by Ferrari on holes 13 and 14. From there, the duo admittedly let a few opportunities slip on the back-to-back par 5s (nos. 15 and 16). But as it turned out, the four-straight pars to close out the round were just enough.
“We ended up grinding out pars instead of a few holes, 15 and 16 there, where we’d like to have good looks for birdie,” added Ferrari. “We (got) out of position a little bit on 15 and 16, but we both grinded out good pars.”
Soaking in the excitement of qualifying, Leibold addedd “Both of our first USGA championships, we’ve played qualifiers in the past, played a ton of tournament golf growing up. So this is an awesome kind of a bucket list item for both of us.”
More on the Qualifiers: Ferrari is enjoying his first season back as an amateur after playing a few years as a professional. Leibold, originally from Colorado, has been living in Boston for the past few years. With no official club affiliation, Leibold uses the facilities at Granite Links and Brookline Golf Course to stay sharp.
Like the other qualifying side, the team of Christian Chapman and Chris Bonhag made the turn at 3-under-par. From there, things played out quite differently though. The duo mixed in not one, but two bogeys, which often times dashes dreams of qualifying.
However, they were able to bounce back from both bogeys (nos. 10 and 12) with birdies (nos. 11 and 13), and were able to keep themselves at 3-under, but with time running out.
“You know, you got to go for broke at this point,” said Chapman of the team’s feeling coming off of the bogeys. “And you know, Chris made like a 50-footer on 13, that totally changed our round.”
Stepping up to the short par-5 15th (500 yards), Chapman blistered a drive of 330 yards, setting up an 8-iron approach to 25 feet. Chapman then ran the putt home for eagle and followed it up with a birdie on the par-5 16th.
Needing one more birdie, Bonhag then hit a beautiful shot on the par-3 17th that nearly hit the pin on the way by the hole. Having seen the line on the way by, albeit from 200 yards away, Bonhag was able to negotiate the come-backer (if we can call it that) for one last birdie.
“The pitch mark was just next to the hole,” said Bonhag of the shot on 17. “But, yeah, it was like 25 feet by. And, I mean, the greens are so pure out here today. So it was just ‘put a good roll on it.'”
Elated, Chapman added “I played pro a couple years, and we’ve traveled together. He caddied for me, and just getting to travel with your friend, doesn’t really matter if it’s a championship or a qualifier, just being together is super exciting.”
More on the Qualifiers: Chapman is also a former professional that has made a return to amateur golf. The duo made the 4-hour drive to this qualifying site, citing Chapman’s familiarity with the course from past Massachusetts Open Qualifiers. Chapman will be making his Second appearance in USGA Championship (2017 U.S. Junior), while Bonhag will be making his first.
COMPLETE LIST OF U.S. AMATEUR FOUR-BALL QUALIFIERS AND ALTERNATES FROM PITTSFIELD:
QUALIFIERS (Names; Cities)
Max Ferrari (Framingham, MA) & Nick Leibold (Boston, MA); 64 (-7)
Christian Chapman & Chris Bonhag (Victor, NY); 64 (-7)
ALTERNATES (In Order)
Jim Gifford (Ballston Lake, NY) & Kyle Downey (Fairport, NY); 65 (-6)*
Drew Glasheen (Oakland, ME) & Garrett Olson (West Bath, ME); 65 (-6)**
*Advanced on 2nd playoff hole (no. 18, 337 yards) with an eagle.
**Advanced on 6th playoff hole (no. 18) with a birdie.
Like many clubs that date back to the late 1800s, the Country Club of Pittsfield’s first golf course was a nine hole layout. Around 1915, eminent golf course architect Donald Ross was called upon to create a new 18-hole design. Ross’ design, with some touch-up work from Wayne Stiles (1931), is more or less the course that stands today.
The current layout plays to a yardage of 6,458 and to a par of 71. And like many of the courses in the Berkshires, the CC of Pittsfield offers spectacular views, especially this time of year.
Pittsfield and the U.S. Open: Willie Anderson won is his first of four U.S. Open Championships in 1901, playing as a representative (golf professional) of the Country Club of Pittsfield. Anderson’s mark of four titles has never been bettered, only matched by the likes of Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus. Additionally, Anderson’s record of three-straight titles (1903-1905) has never been surpassed.
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