Former RMU teammates capture 84th WPGA Four-Ball Championship
By Josh Rowntree, Director of Communications • August 18, 2025
BEALLSVILLE — Nearly a decade after teaming up as collegiate seniors, Garrett Browning and Dan Maier again found a winning recipe Monday at Nemacolin Country Club.
The two former Robert Morris golfers combined to claim the 84th WPGA Four-Ball Championship, posting a 36-hole score of 14-under to narrowly top a deep and talented field.
“It feels really good,” said Browning, a Chartiers Country Club member. “You know, Dan and I have played in this event the last two years together, and I think both years we've played solid, we just really haven't made any putts. Today, we made a lot of putts.”
The tandem made plenty of them through their first 18 holes in the morning round, putting up a 9-under score of 61.
“To make putts, you’ve got to hit it on the green and hit it fairly close,” added Browning. “We had a lot of putts inside of 15 feet. It’s good when they go in, and they did.”
The Four-Ball format was a welcomed one for the two players who compete together regularly in club events.
“Dan and I play kind of a similar game,” said Browning. “It's not sexy. We’re scrambling around a little bit. We can kind of give each other advice and trust each other. Knowing how we putt, being able to help with reads and stuff, I think it definitely helped.”
Browning and Maier’s lead ballooned to four strokes during the afternoon round as the duo made surprisingly light work of a challenging course at Nemacolin Country Club.
“It was in great condition, it was really firm, and the greens here are really tricky,” said Maier, a member of Seven Oaks Country Club. “Putting the ball in the right place on the greens can be a challenge sometimes. There's a lot of bad places to putt from. You’ve got to avoid those spots.”
The comfortable lead, however, began to slip as the sun began to set.
First, it was a challenge from another set of former collegiate teammates in Hunter Swidzinski and Scott Jordan, who played last season together at Longwood University and who cut their stroke deficit to one before a key birdie by Maier on the 18th hole.
“We were definitely leaking a little bit of oil after lunch,” said Browning. “You can't scoreboard watch too much. We had a number in mind that we wanted to get to. We had to focus on that and not worry about them. Hunter and Scott, I mean, those guys can make birdies."
After Swidzinski and Jordan fell just short, Browning and Maier had to anxiously watch the leaderboard with their round completed, and as the team of Rocco Salvitti and Tom Nettles roared back into the picture with a 7-under mark in their second round, including birdies on four of their last seven holes.
But when Salvitti and Nettles both parred the 17th hole, Browning and Maier could exhale a bit. Despite a birdie from Nettles on the final hole, the former Colonials standouts who now are in their early 30’s were able to out-gun several players a decade younger.
“It definitely feels good for a couple washed up college golf guys,” joked Browning. “But this is like the peak of our season, though. We've been playing member/guests and SWATs on the weekends all year.
“We just had a great day. We know it's in there. Even at our age, it comes out. It all came together today.”
Salvitti and Nettles finished 13-under. Swidzinski and Jordan, as well as Rick Stimmel and Kevin Fajt, each shot 12-under to tie for third. Hunter Bruce and Tanner Johnson were 11-under and placed fifth.
For final results, please click here. (GGID: 25WPGA4BALL)
For any media inquiries, please contact WPGA Director of Communications Josh Rowntree.
About the WPGA
Founded in 1899, the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association is the steward of amateur golf in the region. Started by five Member Clubs, the association now has nearly 200 Member Clubs and nearly 37,000 members. The WPGA conducts 14 individual competitions and 10 team events, and administers the WPGA Scholarship Fund and Western Pennsylvania Golf Hall of Fame.