GAM

GOLF ASSOCIATION OF MICHIGAN

Michigan Open – Day Two Results


FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE 6-10-2014


Note: Results
and 2 photos attached.


 


Brehm, Mack
III Comfortable Leading Michigan Open Championship


 


HIGHLAND –
Ryan Brehm and Willie Mack III shared the lead at the halfway point of the 97
th
Michigan Open Championship presented by LaFontaine Cadillac at Prestwick
Village Golf Club.


It was good
news for Mack and Brehm, but maybe bad news for everybody else in the field.


Brehm, the
PGA Tour Canada golfer and former Michigan State standout took early leads and
kept them in his two previous Michigan Open wins in 2009 and ‘10.


And Mack, a
mini-tour golfer with six wins in three years around the country, simply thinks
the lead is always the best place to be.


“Leading
means you’re doing something right,” he said.


Brehm, 28, a
Mount Pleasant native and Grand Rapids resident, and Mack, 25 and a Grand Blanc
resident, each shot a 5-under-par 67 to check in at 12-under-par 132 through 36
holes Tuesday.


They have
four-shot leads on five golfers including six-time champion Scott Hebert of
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, who shot 69, and Petoskey’s Joey Garber, who
shared the first round lead with Brehm and Mack, and shot 71 for 132.


Andy
Ruthkoski, the 2007 Michigan Open champion and a mini-tour player from Muskegon,
and Eric Lilleboe, a mini-tour pro from Okemos, each shot 65, the low rounds of
the day, to join the crowd four shots off the lead.


Also there:
University of North Carolina golfer Henry Do of Canton, who shot 69.


Mack said the
afternoon greens Tuesday were not as easy to manage as they were on Monday in
the morning.


“I still
managed to make a few putts, and being in the lead for two days is great,” he
said. “I just have to keep plugging along and keep doing what I’ve been doing.”


Mack said he
left a few shots out on the course, especially when he made bogey on the par 4
fifth hole by flying his sand wedge shot over the green.


“Maybe lost
concentration there from getting a little tired,” he said. “You miss the greens
here and the rough can be tricky.”


Brehm, who
has a distance advantage on most of the field, was disappointed he was just
1-under-par on the par 5 holes after being 4-under in the first round. He did
make the best of an out-of-bounds tee shot on the par 5 No. 15 hole though.
After a second tee shot, he hit a 7-iron to four-feet and made the putt to save
a par.


“Eagle to
make par, which was good I guess, but I told Matt Thompson I wasn’t sure how to
feel about that,” he said. “The first tee shot must have hit hard and bounced
directly right. I didn’t think there was any way it would be out.”


Garber had
similar issues on the par 5 ninth hole, only didn’t come out of it as well. He
lost a ball when his 3-wood tee shot caught the top of a pine tree and bounced
away. He played a second ball and three-putted for a triple-bogey to fall from
a tie for the lead at the time.


“Overall I’m
pretty happy with the way I battled back after that and posted an under-par
score,” he said. “There are some hard holes out here. There are a lot of
birdies being made, but a lot can happen. I’m looking forward to making more
birdies and staying in touch with the lead.”


Hebert
birdied two of the last three holes in his round, which he thought could have
been even better.


“I just need
the putts to fall,” he said. “I’m hitting it good enough and getting the
chances. Eventually they will start falling. With 36 holes to go a lot things
can happen. I’m right where I need to be though. Let’s see what happens.”


Defending
champion Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood rallied with a 68, and was in the group at
138.


Also six
shots back was Kyle Rodes, an Eastern Michigan University golfer from Plymouth
who fired a 66 and Dearborn Heights mini-tour golfer Joe Juszczyk, who shot 68.


Gaylord
amateur Alexander Dombrowski, who golfs for Princeton University, was at 137
after a 69.


The 36-hole
cut fell at 3-over-par 147. The Michigan PGA announced the final purse at
$57,500 for the 72-hole state championship that continues through Thursday.


Visit www.michiganpgagolf.com for more information
and third round pairings.


 


Media
contact: Greg Johnson 616-560-8995 or
[email protected]


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