ANN ARBOR – Playing
a classic Donald Ross-designed course once is never enough.
The field of 84 of
the state’s top golfers set to play in the 96th GAM Championship presented by
Carl’s Golfland Monday and Tuesday welcome another two days of golf at one of
the state’s top golf facilities in Barton Hills Country Club.
Barton Hills is 96
years old, the same age as the championship, and its classic course was restored
to the original architectural roots with added length in 2012.
The club invested over $1 million in the
project without member assessment. Barton Hills has a rich tradition of hosting
tournaments, including many GAM and Michigan PGA tournaments as well as the
22nd U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship in 2008 and the 98th Women’s U.S.
Amateur in 1998.
The GAM Championship
also has a rich history as well dating to 1919 with two years in which it
wasn’t played during World War II. Past winners include Michigan golf legends
like James Standish, Chuck Kocsis and Ben Smith.
This year’s field of
golfers includes five past champions, including defending champion and this
summer’s Michigan Amateur Champion Tom Werkmeister of Grandville.
The other past
champions include two-time winner Casey Baker of Novi (2005, 2010), 2015
champion Mitchell White of Muskegon, 2014 champion Ryan Johnson of New Boston
and 2013 champion Scott Strickland of Birmingham.
The field will play
54 holes of stroke play with two rounds on Monday and a closing round of 18
holes on Tuesday after a 36-hole cut Monday night to the low 30 scorers and
ties.
The GAM Championship
traditionally boasts as strong of a field as the Michigan Amateur Championship,
in large part because non-exempt players must go through one of seven sectional
qualifiers to earn a spot in the final field for the championship
Last year
Werkmeister captured the one state title and trophy (K.T. Keller Trophy) that
had eluded him in his Michigan Golf Hall of Fame career. He shot a closing
1-over 71 for a 5-under 205 total and a four-shot win at Barton Hills. The
49-year old marketing salesman plans to turn professional at the close of this
year and attempt to play the Champions Tour.
Monday’s first round
will begin at 8 a.m. with groups going of Nos. 1 and 10, and Monday’s second
round will begin at 1:30 p.m. off of Nos. 1 and 10. As with all GAM events, the
public is welcome to attend free of charge.
The GAM, which will
conduct the championship, was founded in 1919 as the governing body for amateur
golf in the state. As a not-for-profit organization, the GAM’s purpose is to
represent, promote, preserve, and serve the best interests of the game. The GAM provides membership to more than
60,000 golfers and more than 400 golf courses while conducting over 40 amateur
championships, tournaments and United States Golf Association (USGA) qualifying
events. Find more information at www.gam.org.
Barton Hills, a
private facility, has a veteran golf staff led by Pat Markley, the head golf
professional, and Colin Seaberg, the superintendent. The course measures 7,146 yards
from the championship tees. Find more information at www.bartonhillscc.com.
-Greg Johnson