Brehm Drives His Way to Lead at Michigan Open
Orchard Lake, Mich. ? Walk tall and carry a big stick. It?s a popular saying but not always appropriate for golf. But for Ryan Brehm of Mt. Pleasant, it was the perfect combination to grab the first round lead at the 92nd Michigan Open presented by Lincoln Mercury. The 23-year old also carried a hot putter to take advantage of his extremely long drives. Brehm eagled two par 4?s on the front nine to propel him to a 3-shot lead.
?I got off to a good start,? the former Michigan State University, All Big 10 standout said. ?I just stepped on the first tee and wanted to hit one down the middle. I made a really good swing at that and from then on it felt pretty good.?
Brehm is known for his long game. His drive on the 370-yard par-4 fourth hole landed 20 feet from the hole. He pitched in from there. Then on the 375 yard sixth hole, he pitched in from 20 yards. But he prepared for this Open by taking a week off working on his short game. ? All last weekend, I spent my time at MSU working on pitching and putting. I didn?t take a full swing for at least 6 days.?
Brehm has a 3-shot lead over teaching professional Matt Pesta of Waterford. Pesta had 5-birdies on his way to a 4-under par 67. The 31-year old only plays one tournament a year yet says he his very confident playing in the same field as tournament tested Brehm and six-time winner Scott Hebert who is another 2 shots back at 68 with Brian Cairns of Fox Hills.
Hebert, the Head Professional at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa is attempting to win an unprecedented 7-Michigan Opens. This is the first time he hasn?t played it on his home course.
Weather was the big story early. The players mudded through a soggy morning and were called off the course for a 45-minute lightening delay. The weather softened the course and took some of the bight out of the lightening fast yet subtle greens. The prevailing winds were also blowing in the opposite direction which made players familiar with the course thinking twice over most shots. Still, 23 players shot par or better.
This is the first year Orchard Lake Country Club has hosted to the Michigan Open. There is a $70,000 purse. There are 156 golfers competing. 46 of the players are amateurs. Live scoring can be found at www.michigan.pga.com. Live scoring and a t-time booking component can be found at www.michigan.org.
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1st Ryan Brehm Mt Pleasant 30 33 63 F -8
2nd Matt Pesta GolfTEC Troy 32 34 66 F -5
3rd Scott Hebert Grand Traverse Resort & Spa 33 35 68 F -3
Brian Cairns Fox Hills Golf & Learning Cent 35 33 68 F -3
5th JR Roth Life Member 35 34 69 F -2
Tom Werkmeister-A Kentwood 35 34 69 F -2
Jared Jawor Hampton Golf & Recreation Clu 33 36 69 F -2
8th George Bowman Oakhurst Golf Country Club 34 36 70 F -1
John Nolan Van Dyke Sports Center 35 35 70 F -1
Timothy Matthews Scotts 37 33 70 F -1
Matthew Thompson-A Battle Creek 33 37 70 F -1
Eric Maresh Oxford 36 34 70 F -1
Michael Ignasiak-A Saline 36 34 70 F -1
Drew Preston-A Ada 35 35 70 F -1
15th Sean Winters Bloomfield Hills Country Club 35 36 71 F Even
Donald Leafstrand Ludington 36 35 71 F Even
David Osmer Wabeek Country Club 34 37 71 F Even
Josh Fryer Franklin Hills Country Club 34 37 71 F Even
TJ Roberts Walnut Hills Country Club 33 38 71 F Even
Matt Malloure-A Farmington Hills 36 35 71 F Even
Steve Wells Hampshire CC 34 37 71 F Even
Steve Fedewa-A Howell 37 34 71 F Even
Chase Olsen-A White Pigeon 36 35 71 F Even
24th Greg Bores Pheasant Run Golf Club 34 38 72 F +1
Jackson Koert-A Sparta 36 36 72 F +1
Joe Pollack Boulder Creek GC 38 34 72 F +1
Andy Matthews Ada 36 36 72 F +1
Korey Mahoney East Lansing 37 35 72 F +1
Andrew Ruthkoski Muskegon 36 36 72 F +1
Nicholas Carbary-A Kalamazoo 35 37 72 F +1
Mike Pedrys Canton 37 35 72 F +1
Ian Harris-A Bloomfield Hills 35 37 72 F +1
Brent Goulding Prestwick Village Golf Club 37 35 72 F +1
Chad Johnson-A Plymouth 36 36 72 F +1
Larry Hess Brighton 37 35 72 F +1
Kristopher Bradshaw-A Scottville 36 36 72 F +1
Lee Keselowski-A Schoolcraft 36 36 72 F +1
Barrett Kelpin-A Kalamazoo 36 36 72 F +1
39th Blake English-A Charlotte 35 38 73 F +2
Jeff Champine-A Rochester 36 37 73 F +2
Andrew Mogg King Par Golf 34 39 73 F +2
Ian Ziska Manistee Natl Golf Resort 34 39 73 F +2
Robert Makoski Grosse Ile Golf & CC 37 36 73 F +2
Nigel Hawryliw Muskegon 38 35 73 F +2
Charles Pasco Plum Hollow Country Club 36 37 73 F +2
Jeff Rachar Pine Lake Country Club 34 39 73 F +2
Gene Gizzarelli-A Bloomfield Hills 34 39 73 F +2
John Seltzer The Polo Fields Golf CC 37 36 73 F +2
Joe Juszczyk-A Dearborn Hts 35 38 73 F +2
Brad Leach Sanctuary Lake Golf Course 37 36 73 F +2
Tyler Hering Muskegon 39 34 73 F +2
Jonathon Micoff Indian River 38 35 73 F +2
Will Ellender Fox Hills Golf & Learning Ctr. 36 37 73 F +2
David Mickle Golf Jackson Inc 35 38 73 F +2
Jim Uelmen-A Ferndale 37 36 73 F +2
Michael Coriasso-A Grand Blanc 34 39 73 F +2
Dave Higham Whispering Willows Golf Club 38 35 73 F +2
Patrick Colburn-A Traverse City 35 38 73 F +2
Brent Wolgast-A Bay City 34 39 73 F +2
Dave Wilson Rockford 36 37 73 F +2
Jim Dewling-A Brighton 34 39 73 F +2
62nd Frank McAuliffe Ann Arbor Country Club 38 36 74 F +3
David Schultz St. Joseph 36 38 74 F +3
Mick DeKorver Sunnybrook Country Club 37 37 74 F +3
Jay Jurecic Caspian 38 36 74 F +3
Dan Doyle Rochester 35 39 74 F +3
Jeff Gniewek Knollwood Country Club 39 35 74 F +3
Albert Kuhn Fountains Golf Course 34 40 74 F +3
Bob Ackerman Bob Ackerman Golf 35 39 74 F +3
Kevin Tucci Meceola Country Club 37 37 74 F +3
Jack Tyler Novi 37 37 74 F +3
David VanLoozen Edgewood Country Club 40 34 74 F +3
Peter Jensen-A Boyne City 35 39 74 F +3
Scott Brotebeck IMA Brookwood Golf Course 36 38 74 F +3
Jerred Barley-A Tipton 39 35 74 F +3
Ben Vanbiesbrouck-A Washington 37 37 74 F +3
Kevin Muir The Wyndgate 36 38 74 F +3
Ryan Lenahan Grosse Pointe Shores 38 36 74 F +3
Brent Kish Edgewood Country Club 36 38 74 F +3
Tim Metko Grand Blanc 35 39 74 F +3
Eric Atsma Caledonia 33 41 74 F +3
Charles Anderson-A Grand Rapids 37 37 74 F +3
Erich Kuhlman Fortress 39 35 74 F +3
84th Frank McAuliffe – Jr-A Ann Arbor 38 37 75 F +4
Greg Davies-A West Bloomfield 37 38 75 F +4
Randy Erskine Great Oaks Country Club 37 38 75 F +4
Dave Kendall Kendall Academy of Golf 37 38 75 F +4
Randy Hutchison Traverse City 39 36 75 F +4
David Smith-A Bloomfield Hills 37 38 75 F +4
David Nolan Van Dyke Sports Center 37 38 75 F +4
Jeffrey Stalcup The Orchards Golf Club 38 37 75 F +4
John Traub TNT Enterprises 38 37 75 F +4
Tom Harding Kendall Academy of Golf 38 37 75 F +4
Mark Zelazny Dearborn Country Club 39 36 75 F +4
Jeff Caminiti Boylan Golf Cars 36 39 75 F +4
Chaz Meek-A Burton 35 40 75 F +4
Dan Ellis-A Negaunee 36 39 75 F +4
Kurt Valley-A Bay City 37 38 75 F +4
Scott Jaschuk-A Milford 39 36 75 F +4
Edward Borio-A Birmingham 38 37 75 F +4
101st Steven Brady Oakland Hills Country Club 37 39 76 F +5
Ron Beurmann Country Club of Jackson 38 38 76 F +5
Brett Quitquit-A Highland 36 40 76 F +5
Brian Dice Orchard Lake Country Club 39 37 76 F +5
Jim Deiters Midland Country Club 36 40 76 F +5
Gary Smithson Thousand Oaks Golf Club 38 38 76 F +5
Erik Schleicher-A Grosse Pointe Shores 37 39 76 F +5
David Tokarsky Saginaw Country Club 35 41 76 F +5
Rick Slaght Warwick Hills Golf & CC 36 40 76 F +5
Henry Thompson Country Club of Jackson 35 41 76 F +5
Patrick Fayad-A Sterling Heights 39 37 76 F +5
Jim Angeloff Auburn Hills 37 39 76 F +5
Mark Schoenborn-A Grand Rapids 38 38 76 F +5
Dan Luft Wabeek Country Club 37 39 76 F +5
Matt Argall-A Gladstone 39 37 76 F +5
Billy Crosno Edgewood Country Club 35 41 76 F +5
Joseph Brown-A St Ignace 36 40 76 F +5
Matthew Zavadil Metamora Golf & CC 36 40 76 F +5
Rowel Bellezo Ferndale 35 41 76 F +5
Chris Mory-A Haslett 39 37 76 F +5
Jeff Coble-A Twin Lakes Golf and Swim Clu 39 37 76 F +5
Eric Wohlfield Grand Haven Golf Club 36 40 76 F +5
123rd Brent Goik Bay County Golf Course 35 42 77 F +6
Joshua Mick-A Shelby Township 39 38 77 F +6
125th David Vaclav-A Flatt Rock 37 41 78 F +7
Thomas Shelton Saline 39 39 78 F +7
Barry Redmond Eagle Crest Golf Club 40 38 78 F +7
Eric Spencer-A Bloomfield Hills 35 43 78 F +7
Kyle Martin Forest Lake Country Club 40 38 78 F +7
Rick Howles Wabeek Country Club 42 36 78 F +7
Aaron Warring-A Highland 41 37 78 F +7
132th Lee Houtteman Grand Traverse Resort & Spa 39 40 79 F +8
Guy Samples Shenandoah Golf & Country Cl 42 37 79 F +8
Gary Robinson Foundation Learning Center 39 40 79 F +8
John Pershern Oakland Univ Golf & Learning 39 40 79 F +8
Luke Sniegowski-A Ludington 42 37 79 F +8
Brad Phillion-A Saginaw 40 39 79 F +8
Joshua Burt-A Dimondale 38 41 79 F +8
Doug Lichty Traverse City Golf Center 40 39 79 F +8
Michael Fay Boyne Mountain Monument 43 36 79 F +8
Larry Mancour Life Member 37 42 79 F +8
Tim Skufca-A St Clair Shores 38 41 79 F +8
Tommy Lucko-A Livonia 39 40 79 F +8
Tyler Lyon Waterford 35 44 79 F +8
145th Theodore Kondratko Life Member 38 42 80 F +9
Tobin Dunigan-A Jackson 36 44 80 F +9
Matt Barton Prestwick Village Golf Club 41 39 80 F +9
148th Bill Baldwin King Par Golf 41 40 81 F +10
John Minnich Indianwood Golf & Country Clu 40 41 81 F +10
Agim Bardha Birmingham 40 41 81 F +10
Ben Bockin Farmington Hills 39 42 81 F +10
Kyle Murphy Grand Rapids 41 40 81 F +10
153th Doug Bell Manistee Natl Golf Resort 39 43 82 F +11
154th Joseph Kiss-A East Leroy 42 41 83 F +12
155th Dennis Spaulding Tam OShanter Country Club 45 40 85 F +14
156th Bill Rogers Oakland Univ Golf & Learning 45 43 88 F +17
