NORTHVILLE – Saline’s Mike Ignasiak usually plays the GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Championship with Bill Zylstra of Dearborn and plays the Mid-Am role. In fact they won it in 2011, and notched a few seconds, too.
Zylstra opted out this year, however, and Ignasiak, 55, took on the Senior role and called on Chelsea’s Andrew Tindall, who is 32.
The move resulted in a second win for Ignasiak, and a first GAM title of any kind for Tindall Tuesday at Meadowbrook Country Club.
The winning duo shot a final 3-under 69 with a 4-under 32 on the front nine playing best-ball, and a 1-over 37 on the back nine playing alternate shot.
It was good enough for a one-shot win over two teams. Brad Bastion of Shelby Township and Leo Daigle of Wixom went 33-37 for a 70 in the format, and Matt Ostby of Kingsley and Wayne Hamal of Empire went 34-36 for 70.
Defending champions Scott Strickland of Bloomfield Hills and Tom Gieselman of Commerce Township shot 31-41 for 72 and fourth place.
Eight teams that either won or finished second in three first-day sectional competitions hosted in May by Western Golf & Country Club, Travis Pointe Country Club and Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club played in Tuesday’s finals.
A field of 105 teams, or 210 of Michigan’s top golfers, competed in the 36-hole opening segment of the tournament that featured a Senior golfer (55-and-over) teamed up with a Mid-Amateur golfer (23-and-over).
“Nothing beats winning,” said Ignasiak, the former Major League pitcher and Dairy Queen owner in Saline.
“We played well right from the get-go. We had a shot every hole for birdie. There were maybe one or two holes where we had a struggle, but we made some key putts and we brought it in. Alternate shot is tough, but we kept giving ourselves chances for birdie.”
Tindall, who works in supply chain for Consumers Energy in Jackson, said the score could have been even better.
“We missed probably three for four putts we maybe should have made,” he said. “For alternate shot, that was probably about the worst we could have shot with the chances we had. It was fun. We got going on the front. It’s a really tough golf course. It was my first time seeing it.”
Ignasiak said he thought of Tindall when Zylstra bowed out, and even Zylstra urged him to call him.
“I was driving her today and think we need to win this one for Andrew because he hasn’t gotten one yet,” Ignasiak said.
