GAM

GOLF ASSOCIATION OF MICHIGAN

Award-Winning Eagle Eye Golf Club Hosting 39th Michigan Junior State Amateur

In photo: A shot of hole No. 17 at Eagle Eye taken during last year’s Michigan Amateur Championship.

 BATH – Eagle Eye
Golf Club is set to host another significant state championship Monday through
Thursday.

  The 39th Michigan Junior State Amateur
presented by Pepsi will feature 84 top junior golfers, some of whom played in
the 2016 Michigan Amateur Championship also hosted by Eagle Eye.

  Chris Lutzke, a protégé
of Pete Dye, designed Eagle Eye, which includes a popular replica of the famous
Dye-designed island hole 17th at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Fla.

  Eagle Eye, founded
in 2003, plays to a maximum yardage of just over 7,300 yards, and has developed
some significant tournament history quickly by hosting multiple Michigan PGA
Championships, U.S. Open qualifiers and multiple GAM championships.

  This year Golf
Advisor raters ranked Eagle Eye the No. 1 public course in Michigan and No. 5
public course in the nation in 2016. The facility, owned by Darryl Kesler, has
won numerous awards since 2003, including being ranked by Golf Digest among
Michigan’s top courses and ranked among the best public courses in the nation
by Golf World subscribers in 2009.

   The course is sure to test the field of boys
in the field who are age 18-and-under and have not yet attended college. The
final 84 were determined by sectional qualifying and exemptions. They will play
36 holes of stroke play Monday to determine a medalist and top seed to lead the
low scoring 32 golfers into the match play bracket.

  First-round or round
of 32 matches are Tuesday with second round and quarterfinals on Wednesday and
semifinal matches and the championship match on Thursday.

  Defending champion Ben Smith of Novi and last
year’s medalist and top seed Tony Fuentes of Lansing return to head the field that
will also include 2016 semifinalists Zach Rosendale of St. Johns and Bradley Smithson
of Grand Rapids.

  The list of champions
in the history of the tournament is impressive and includes PGA Tour member Ryan
Brehm, Joey Garber, Michael Harris and Jeff Roth.

  Last year Smith, who
will attend Georgia Tech in the fall, made a two-putt par to win the 18th hole
and slip past Devin Deogun of Orchard Lake 1-up in the final match of the 38th
Michigan Junior State Amateur at Point O’ Woods Golf & Country Club in
Benton Harbor.

   Eagle Eye’s staff
is headed by General Manager Alex Coss, PGA Golf Professional Eric Fink,
Superintendent Steve Fiorillo and Golf Services Manager Terry Kildea. Learn
more about Eagle Eye at hawkhollow.com.

   More information on
the championship, including daily results, can be found at gam.org under the
championships tab.

-Greg Johnson [email protected]

 

 

 

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