FREELAND – “This is unbelievable.” Livonia’s Mike Barry surprised himself when he blew away the field to secure the 7th Michigan Senior Net Amateur Championship presented by Michigan Golf Live Wednesday at Apple Mountain Golf Club.
Barry, a veteran of GAM net team tournaments, won his first senior title with a net 5-under 67 for a net two-day total of 132.
He was seven shots clear of runner up Dave Lawver, who shot net 72 for 139.
Paul Obermeyer of Birmingham shot 68 for 141 and third, and two golfers tied at 144 including Steven Szymanski of Rochester Hills, who shot 76, and Greg McComas of Beverly Hills, who closed with a 71 after an opening 73 Tuesday.
“I love competing,” Barry said of the win. “And the guys in my group, I could tell they were competitors too and that was fun. It gives me confidence that I can improve my game. I’ve learned some cool things over the last couple days and I’m looking forward to seeing at Tanglewood (for the Michigan Net Amateur) next week whether or not any of it sticks.”
The recently retired Bloomfield Hills School Teacher said being relaxed and focused was the key to his win.
“I really was only thinking about playing one hole at a time and kind of accepting the fact that there were going to be some holes that didn’t work out. And there were a couple that didn’t work out but then just leaving that behind me and then playing the next hole and the next shot. And I think that was one of the reasons why I was able to do what I did was not getting all tied up around the things that had happened, anything that happened previously whether it was good or bad and just really be in the moment.”
“I got so lucky.” Barry said about his round today.
Dewitt’s Lawver, who was playing in his first ever GAM championship, was just hoping for a top 10 finish. A call to his Dad helped straighten out his game.
“I was not hitting the ball well coming into this weekend and talked with my 90-year-old Dad about some things that I was doing wrong, and he gave me a little bit of advice and all of sudden it straightened everything out with my irons.”
The tournament featured 70 senior male golfers over age 55 with GAM/USGA handicap indexes lower than 20.4. The Senior Net Amateur is among five Net championships presented as part of the GAM’s continuing effort to provide competition for members of all playing ability levels on some of the state’s top golf courses.
