Written By: Greg Johnson
ORCHARD LAKE – It took a playoff between the same two teams that battled in a playoff for first place in the qualifier in May, and Rick Crandall of Fenton and Joe Montpas of Flushing won again.
Crandall and Montpas won with an alternate-shot par on the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff with Grant Bruce of Birmingham and Michael Coriasso of Royal Oak to claim the 17th GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Championship presented by Shanty Creek Resort Wednesday at Pine Lake Country Club.
The two teams also went to a playoff in the qualifier at Country Club of Jackson early in the season, and Crandall and Montpas won that one, too.
“That was a nerve-wracking experience with the alternate shot, but a lot of fun,” Crandall said.
Both teams shot rounds of 5-under 65 playing the first nine holes in four-ball format, and the second nine in foursomes, also known as alternate shot.
Ken Hudson of Lake Orion and Jimmy Chestnut of Bloomfield Hills shot 67 to finish third and Greg Davies of West Bloomfield and Anthony Sorentino of Rochester Hills shot 68.
A field of 138 teams, or 276 of Michigan’s top golfers, competed in the spring opening segment of the championship that features a Senior golfer (55-and-over) teamed up with a Mid-Amateur golfer (25-and-over). Eight teams from the three qualifiers (Country Club of Jackson, Tam O’Shanter Country Club in West Bloomfield and Travis Pointe Country Club in Ann Arbor) advanced to compete on Wednesday at Pine Lake.
Montpas, who just last week competed in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Sand Valley Resort in Wisconsin, said he had some putts to close out the win on the first two playoff holes.
“I couldn’t make the putt, but they were a tough team, too,” Montpas said.
Crandall said they played with Bruce and Coriasso in the same foursome in regulation play.
“They never let up,” he said. “It was a tough battle all day.”
Bruce and Coriasso, the overall champions in 2024, shot a 5-under 31 in best-ball on the front nine to grab the lead, but Crandall and Montpas, who shot 34 on the front nine, rallied with four alternate-shot birdies on holes 12, 14, 16 and 17 and shot a 32 on the back nine to force the playoff.
“They were well ahead of us on the front nine and then we started catching them on the back,” Crandall said. “We tied them on 17.”
Crandall and Montpas will have their names added to the permanent trophy, and Montpas called it awesome.
“Seeing the names that are on this trophy already, it’s going to be pretty cool to see our names on there,” he said.
