Written By: Greg Johnson
YPSILANTI – As part of a Golf Association of Michigan effort to offer a tournament for junior girls and boys on dates opposite their high school seasons, the first GAM Girls’ Championship will be played this weekend at Washtenaw Golf Club.
The new championship replaces the GAM Junior Kickoff tournament, which for five years hosted competition for boys and girls to start the GAM tournament season. The GAM Junior Boys’ Championship will also be played at Washtenaw on August 20-21.
“This allows our junior golfers a playing opportunity when they are less likely to have conflicts and makes room for a larger field as junior golf continues to grow,” Ken Hartmann, senior director of competitions and USGA services, said.
The format for this weekend is 36-holes of stroke play over two days and champions will be crowned in 15-and-under and the overall categories.
Washtenaw opened in 1899 and has evolved over the years into a 6,512-yard classic parkland style golf course featuring tree-lined fairways, strategically placed bunkers, and quick, undulating greens.
In January of 2020 KMD Investors took the reins of the historic golf club that is open to the public, and Michigan-based architect Raymond Hearn’s firm is performing master plan renovation and restoration projects.
Hearn’s research of the property found a rare 1930 aerial photograph he has used to bring back some of the classic golf course design features. Through his research Hearn also found at least nine holes of the design should be credited to William Herbert “Bert” Way, a golf professional and course designer from England.
The course has a rich tournament history, including hosting the 1927 Michigan Amateur Championship, and many major events since for both the Golf Association of Michigan and the Michigan PGA. The 1955 Michigan Open at Washtenaw included Michigan Golf Hall of Fame members Walter Burkemo (the champion), Horton Smith, Chick Harbert, Chuck Kocsis and John Barnum.
The new GAM Junior Girls’ Championship has attracted the top junior girls in the state for the championship.
Alena Li of Okemos, the 2023 Junior Girls’ Player of the Year, is in the field, as are other top players from last summer, including Elise Fennell of Caledonia, Mia Melendez of Ann Arbor and Jessica Jolly of Rockford. Another notable entrant is last year’s 15-and-under Girls’ Player of the Year, Saisha Patil of Okemos.
