EAST LANSING –
Forest Akers West, home to the successful Michigan State University golf teams,
is hosting the top junior boy and girl golfers in the state for the 5th GAM
Junior Invitational Championship presented by Pepsi Saturday and Sunday.
The field of 86
golfers will play 36 holes of stroke play over the two days to determine a boy
and girl overall champion as well as winners in the 15-and-under division. The
players were invited by the GAM based on performances in a variety of state and
national competitions in 2017.
Forest Akers has two
golf courses, East and West, and both were redesigned by Michigan State alumnus
and highly regarded golf course designer Arthur Hills in 1992. The West plays
from 5,278 yards to 7,013 yards with five tee positions.
The players in the
field are familiar with the Forest Akers properties, which have hosted several
GAM junior events as well as high school state championship tournaments over
the years.
Steve Ruthenberg is
the general manager, Bryan Harris the PGA golf professional and Ron Lewis is
the superintendent. Learn more at golf.msu.edu.
Defending champions
Eric Nunn of St. Johns and Olivia Reed of Carleton are not in the field having
moved on to the college golf ranks. Justin Sui of Lake Orion and Mia Sooch of
South Lyon, 15-and-under winners a year ago, are in the field. Sui is still in
the 15-and-under group, while Sooch plays in the regular junior competition.
Among other notable
players in the field are Cameron Cowland of Dexter, the recent GAM Junior
Stroke Play Champion for boys, Nicole Whatley of Northville, the 15-and-under
winner of the Michigan Girls Junior State Amateur, and Davis Codd of Brighton
and Savannah Haque of Rochester Hills, who won the 14 & Under Match Play
Championship titles earlier this summer. Codd was also the runner-up in the
Michigan Junior State Amateur Championship.
-Greg Johnson [email protected]
