Written By: Greg Johnson
The six teams that will play in the finals of the 16th GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Championship presented by Shanty Creek Resort in October have been determined.
The Sharf course at Oakland University’s Golf & Learning Center in Rochester, and the classic courses at Country Club of Lansing and Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club each hosted one third of the field over three consecutive Mondays in the first stage qualifiers of the popular team tournament.
A field of 132 teams, or 264 of Michigan’s top golfers, competed in the opening segment of the championship that features a Senior golfer (55-and-over) teamed up with a Mid-Amateur golfer (25-and-over). The teams played four-ball, also known as best-ball, in a morning round, and foursomes, also known as alternate shot, in afternoon rounds.
Champion and runner-up teams were determined out of the teams at each qualifier site, and those six teams advance to play in the overall finals of the championship on Thursday, Oct. 2, at Red Run Golf Club in Royal Oak.
The defending overall champions, Grant Bruce of Birmingham and Michael Coriasso of Royal Oak, picked up where they left off in emerging as champions at the Oakland University Sharf Course qualifier two weeks ago. The duo shot 16-under, including a 61 in four-ball and a 67 in foursomes.
The 67 in foursomes was highlighted by an eagle-2 on hole No. 5. Bruce holed out a 108-yard shot with a 56-degree wedge. Bruce and Coriasso are seeking a third overall title in the tournament. They also won in 2019.
Tom Gieselman of Commerce Township and Scott Strickland of Bloomfield Hills earned the runner-up trophies at the Sharf and garnered the second invitation to the finals. They shot 62 in four-ball play and 68 in foursomes for 130, just two shots off the lead.
Tom Senkowski of Rochester Hills and partner Nicholas Winiarski of Pontiac shot 70 in both formats for 140 and third place at the Sharf. The father-son team of Frank and Anthony Comito of Macomb finished four shooting 69 in four-ball and 72 in foursomes for 140.
A past champions duo, Mike Ignasiak of Saline and Andrew Tindall of Chelsea, won the Country Club of Lansing qualifier title last week. It was their third qualifier title in the championship in which they won the overall title in 2021.
They shot 4-under 67 in four-ball and 2-under 69 in foursomes for a 6-under 136 total.
John Morgan of Novi and Jason May of Bloomfield Hills finished second, three shots back at 139. They shot 70 in four-ball and 69 in foursomes and earned the second slot in the finals.
The father-son team of Jerry Gunthorpe of Ovid and Nicholas Gunthorpe of East Lansing finished third after rounds of 69 and 71 for 140. Two teams tied for fourth; Michael Ramsby and Dominic Choma of East Lansing, who shot 67 and 74 for 141, and Brian Cohen of Wixom and David James of Highland, who shot 70 and 71 for 141.
At Grosse Ile Monday, the final two teams were determined with a little drama to decide the champion team.
The Barton Hills Country Club duo of David LeVan of Ann Arbor and Casey Baker of Novi ended up winning the qualifier with a par on the second sudden-death playoff hole (No. 2), outlasting Grosse Ile members David Vaclav of Flat Rock and Matt Mahanic of Grosse Ile.
Both teams shot 7-under 64 in the morning four-ball and matched 75s in the afternoon foursomes for 139.
Both teams narrowly missed birdie attempts on No. 1 in the playoff, and it was Baker who made the clutch five-foot par-saving putt on No. 2 to garner champion honors.
The team of Joe Creal of Bloomfield Hills and Grant Mills of Royal Oak shot rounds of 70 and 73 for 143 and third place. Two teams tied for fourth; Ken Hudson of Lake Orion and Jimmy Chestnut of Bloomfield Hills, who shot 69 and 75 for 144, and Razmig Boghikian of Novi and Jon Swint of Wyandotte, who shot rounds of 71 and 73 for 144.
Photo: A photo of Casey Baker, left, discussing a putt with partner David LeVan. They were the winners at Grosse Ile Monday in a two-hole sudden-death playoff.
