CLARKSTON – Garden City’s Dustin Ross had two runner-up finishes in GAM net tournaments this year on his own.
He finally finished first – this time with partner William Dietz of Livonia – in the GAM Net Chapman Championship presented by Play Away Membership Tuesday at Oakhurst Golf & Country Club.
Ross, an airline pilot, and Dietz, a realtor, teamed up for a net 10-under 62 and steamrolled the field by five shots.
“What basically happened for the whole 18 holes is that we complimented each other really well,” Ross said. “If I struggled on a shot, he played the next one well, and if he started a hole struggling, I picked him up and that’s how we ended up shooting 10-under. I mean, it went really well.”
The two were partners for the first time, though both are regulars in the net tournaments. Ross said Neil Nelson of Northville gets credit for teaming the two up. Nelson and Jerry Talcott of Brownstone Township won the Net Chapman a year ago.
“I’m sure we will team up again, it worked,” Ross said.
The partners agreed a tap-in gross birdie on No. 16, a drivable par 4, might have been the highlight hole of the day.
Dietz hit his tee shot into a greenside bunker, and Ross followed with a sand shot to within a foot of the hole.
“We made another birdie right after that and the whole day we were birdie-par, birdie-par like that,” Ross said.
Ross finished second earlier this season in the Michigan Net Amateur Championship and also finished second in the GAM Net Stableford.
“It feels good to finally get the championship trophy,” he said. “We made a great team. I’m sure we’ll team up again.”
A field of 88 golfers making up 44 two-person teams played in the 18-hole tournament.
The Chapman format calls for each player on the two-person teams to play from the teeing ground and then play the teammate or partner’s ball for the second shot. After the second shot the partners select the ball with which they wish to score and play that ball alternately to complete the hole.
“It was fun and the format obviously worked for us,” Ross said.
SCORES: https://bit.ly/3hqqI0g
