SAN FRANCISCO – Here’s the essence of the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship: On a chilly, steely May day not far from the coast in San Francisco, the opening-day 9:12 a.m. match pitted two brothers against two former college roommates. Forget the fact that they were playing on one of the most historic courses in the country, Olympic Club’s esteemed Lake Course, where five U.S. Opens have been staged and the underdogs always seem to rise.

This was different, two on two, better ball, and you’d have thought you were at your local club on any weekend morning. All that was missing were the automatic presses.

Ryan McCarthy and Patrick McCormick, a pair of 25-year-olds who were golf teammates as well as roommates at Loyola in Maryland, took on brothers Ben and Danny Day, and not only was the spirit of the match terrific, with each side enjoying the others’ company, but the golf, at times, was sensational.

The way McCormick started the day, he had to be thinking he’d signed up for the wrong USGA championship. He needed to be in the U.S. Open. All he did on the front nine – Lake’s tougher side – was make four birdies and an eagle to post a blistering 6-under 28. The eagle came at the 300-yard, uphill seventh hole, where McCormick pounded a driver to 20 feet. He followed with 6-iron to 6 feet at 8 and then poured in about a 25-footer at 9. The roommates were 4 up and rolling.

“I wanted to help him out,” McCarthy said, “but it was hard.”

But the Day brothers do what many brothers do when times get rough: they hung together and kept fighting, battling. They won the 14th hole with a par (after McCarthy’s ball spent nearly 5 minutes up in a tree before it fell to earth) to go 3 down, and Danny Day drained a clutch 10-footer for birdie at the par-5 16th to push the match to the 17th tee.

The 17th, another par 5, measures 504 yards, and there McCormick came up big again, whistling a 2-iron from 237 yards about 25 feet past the flagstick. Ben Day, older than Danny by three years, had to answer from about 226 yards to keep the brothers’ hopes alive. He didn’t think he could get there with 3-iron, so he pulled 3-wood and hit this nice little soft cut that carried onto the front of the green and settled 18 feet below the hole.

Best shot of the week? “Without a doubt,” Ben said.

McCormick lagged to 2 feet, leaving the stage for Ben. As he lined up his putt, he looked to the edge of the green, where only about 10 spectators stood, but surely he recognized the newest two: Greg Norman, a former World No. 1, and Brad Faxon, only one of the best putters ever to walk the planet, who are here this week for Fox television, stood there, watching.

And then Danny turned to tell Ben something you probably would not hear on most of your weekend rounds with the boys.

“Um,” he would say, nodding, “that’s Greg Norman over there watching you putt.”

Ben nodded. In his short time as a pro before he was reinstated as an amateur, Ben actually worked at The Medalist in Florida, once Norman’s home, and even caddied for the Shark about 10 times. “The timing was a little strange,” Ben said, “and it might have taken him a little while to figure out where he might know me from, but I actually liked it. It made me focus a little more.”

The putt appeared perfect, tracking toward the hole, then cruelly horseshoed around and out. Ben held his head in his hands in disbelief, and soon the four players removed their caps and were shaking hands. The former roommates would move on, 2 and 1, and the brothers would not, though they’d still have quite a nice week to reflect upon.

The Days got to San Francisco early enough to play rounds at Pasatiempo and San Francisco Golf Club, two gems, joining their father, Ed, who played on the Wake Forest powerhouse teams in the mid-70s with Curtis Strange, Jay Haas and Eddie Pearce.

This was a family affair all the way. Monday was Ben’s 34th birthday. Leeza Day, Ben’s wife, caddied for him, and his mom, Dee (yes, Dee Day) was walking along, trying to stay warm and enjoying every step as she watched her sons compete.

Watching and playing golf is something the Days have done since their three boys (oldest brother Ed Jr. didn’t make it) were young, taking up stakes to go to junior-golf tournaments that doubled as family vacations.

“They love the game, and they learned it from a father who loves the game,” Dee said. “I always say I’m the cheerleader. It’s been such a wonderful sport for our family. We’ve been to great places and met so many wonderful people. I mean, what prettier spot is there than a beautiful golf course?”

On Monday afternoon, there was no better spot. Though it was much warmer back home in Connecticut, the Days had enjoyed a terrific day. “When they (the USGA) announced they were doing this event, the first person I thought of was Danny,” Ben said. “It’s funny. We keep to ourselves out there and just kind of play our own games. He’s a feel guy; I’m more methodical. He’ll stand in a fairway and say, ‘This is an 8-iron.’ Me, I’ll say, ‘It’s 154 (yards).’ ”

Said Danny, a terrific player, “Yeah, my style can be foolish.”

The family, now sitting around a lunch table, laughed. It had been a nice scene earlier watching Ben stand 15 feet away as Danny stood over that crucial putt on the 16th, knowing it was make or go home. The read was outside the hole, and once Ben knew Danny was committed to the line, he had no doubt in his mind that it would end up anywhere but the bottom of the hole.

McCarthy and McCormick, the former roommates who were victorious in this match, share a similar trust. The two recently played in the Maryland State Team Matches, competing in six matches at six different courses representing Baltimore Country Club. McCarthy, older brother of Virginia standout Denny McCarthy, a semifinalist at last summer’s U.S. Am, sank the winning putt on the road at Columbia Country Club (in Chevy Chase). He took great joy, he said, in fist-pumping wildly amid the sound of the home club’s silence. Hey, in any sport, nothing better than a road win.

The roommates couldn’t wait to get here, and so far, the week has been a huge hit. In fact, on Saturday night along the water on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge in scenic Sausalito, McCarthy even proposed to his girlfriend, Jackie Smith, whom he’d met through … you guessed it, his old college roommate and his girlfriend.

The circle never ends, does it?

“So our major life choices,” McCormick said jokingly, “are done for the week.”

Jackie Smith told McCarthy that yes, she’d marry him. So for McCarthy, forget about how tough Olympic’s Lake Course plays. The most difficult part of his week already is behind him.