ROCHESTER – Brad Bastion of Shelby Township and Kelly Hartigan of Milford won the men’s and women’s titles in the GAM Tournament of Champions Monday at Oakland University’s Katke-Cousins golf course.
For Bastion, a decorated amateur with state publinx titles, including one over the weekend, it was a first GAM title after several years of close calls.
And for Hartigan it was her first win since 2015 when she was a senior golfing for Grand Valley State University and won the Great Lakes Conference (GLIAC) individual title.
“I know it’s not like winning the Mid-Am or something like that, but it still feels good to go out, compete and win against good players,” said the 35-year-old Bastion, a financial planner who has multiple runner-up finishes in GAM championships and is a member at the Oakland University golf complex.
“I finally played good enough. I made some good putts inside 10-feet, had some good comebacks with birdies after bogeys and it didn’t hurt that this is my home course,” he said. “I played well over the weekend and played pretty solid today.”
Bastion’s 3-under 69 with a key birdie on hole 15 topped Jon Swint of Wyandotte who shot 70 for second place. David Praet of Lake Orion, the 2017 champion, and Anthony Sorentino of Rochester Hills, the 2015 champion, tied at 71.
Hartigan, a 27-year-old speech pathologist who qualified for the tournament as the women’s club champion at Prestwick Village Golf Club, said her goal at the start of the day was to shoot 75.
“And that’s what I shot,” she said. “My fiancé and I are members at Prestwick Village so this summer I started playing more than I was previously. After college I went to graduate school and hardly played. I snuck away and played today though. The finish was a little shaky, and I could have putted better, but I hit the ball really good. It’s cool to win.”
Hartigan’s 75 put her one ahead of three golfers who shot 76 – Chelsea Collura of Riverview, Darci Stocker of Flint and Ashley Crain of Bloomfield Hills, who won the Tournament of Champions in 2011.
