Written By: Greg Johnson
ANN ARBOR – Barton Hills Country Club is hosting the finals of the 14th GAM Senior/Mid-Amateur Team Championship Wednesday, Oct. 11.
Six teams that won or finished second in the trio of first-day sectional competitions hosted earlier in the season by Western Golf & Country Club in Redford, Travis Pointe Country Club in Ann Arbor and Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club, will compete for a final 18 holes. They will play four-ball, also known as best-ball, for nine holes and foursomes, also known as alternate shot, for nine holes.
A field of 124 teams, or 248 of Michigan’s top golfers, played in the opening segment of the popular championship that features a Senior golfer (55-and-over) teamed up with a Mid-Amateur golfer (25-and-over).
The historic Barton Hills course was restored to its original architectural roots with added length in 2012. The club invested over $1 million in the project without member assessment.
Barton Hills has a rich tradition of hosting tournaments, including many GAM and Michigan PGA tournaments as well as the 22nd U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship in 2008 and the 98th Women’s U.S. Amateur in 1998. It has also previously hosted the GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Championship finals.
Eric Emmel is the head golf professional, and Andrew Christesen is the golf course superintendent. The course measures 7,146 yards from the championship tees. Learn more at bartonhillscc.com.
Grosse Ile members David Vaclav of Flat Rock and Matt Mahanic of Grosse Ile topped the field at their home club to earn a spot at Barton Hills, and the runner-up team of Bob Papp of Trenton and Sheldon Taylor of Grosse Ile, who are also members at the club, are in the finals.
Andrew Tindall of Chelsea and Mike Ignasiak of Saline were the winners at Travis Pointe. Ignasiak is injured and unable to play in the finals. David LeVan of Ann Arbor will be a substitute playing with Tindall.
Scott Strickland of Bloomfield Hills and Tom Gieselman of Commerce Township were the runner-up team at Travis Pointe and are also in the finals.
Matt Otsby of Kingsley and Wayne Hamal of Empire topped the field at Western G&CC, and the runner-up team in the finals from that site was Greg Davies of West Bloomfield and Anthony Sorentino of Rochester Hills. Those two teams round out Wednesday’s field.
