We had an awesome day yesterday at our second annual Operation: Hero Challenge hosted at Bedford Valley Golf Club! The goal of the Operation: Hero Challenge is to support our PGA HOPE programs in Michigan and foster new locations as we continue expanding our effort of growing the game of golf and ...serving our Veteran population. 32 teams of two PGA HOPE Graduates competed in an 18-hole scramble alongside a skills competition during the round that features the three fundamental skills utilized in golf: driving, chipping, and putting. The teams were also tasked with raising money in support of this event which contributed to our overall total of $14,150 towards PGA HOPE Michigan!

Graduates were able to showcase the skills they learned throughout their PGA HOPE program. Participants executed three shots at each skills competition to accumulate points based on the accuracy of each shot. Results are as follows:
Drive Skill: Cain Anderson, 60 pts
Chip Skill: Eddie Mose, 45 pts
Putt Skill: Alex Baclawski, 60 pts
1st Overall (individual): Eddie Mose, 113 pts
2nd Overall (individual): Ruben Rodea, 111 pts
Team 1st Overall (Skills Challenge): Steven Gilbert & Charles Mackey, 106 pts
Team 1st (Scramble): Mike and Matt Cadden, Total Score of 75 (+3)

Thank you to our PGA HOPE Graduates who participated in the Operation: Hero Challenge and continued to show support for the program they embraced within their Veteran community! Congratulations to John Le and Christopher Wellman, Graduates of our PGA HOPE Belmont program, for being named the team with the most funds raised, $1,125! If you would like to show your support of our graduates and our PGA HOPE Program that served over 430 graduates in Michigan this year, the donation link is still active: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/peer-to-peer/2433aea0-88d6-4534-8254-b5dc4271ebab

Your donation is so much more than a simple charitable donation; it has the potential to give a life-changing experience to someone who served our country and protected our freedom. Thank you for your support and dedication to serving our Michigan Veterans!

PGA RALLY FALLS SHORT, GAM TEAM WINS FULLER CUP MATCHES

GRAND RAPIDS – The Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) team built a 5-1 lead over the Michigan Section PGA team in morning four-ball matches to take control early and eventually won 11.5-6.5 in the 52nd Fuller Cup Matches Tuesday ...at Blythefield Country Club.
Top amateur golfers representing the GAM and top professionals representing the PGA squared off in a Ryder Cup-like format with six four-ball matches and 12 singles matches to determine a winning team. The clothing sponsor was Harlestons.
The GAM, which has won six times in the last seven years, still trails in the historic series, 36-14-2. The PGA dominated the matches in the first three decades of play.
The format has changed over the years, but the matches are presented to promote sportsmanship, friendship and quality golf among professionals and amateurs. The matches are named for the late Ernest Fuller, a Michigan golf course developer.
The GAM team is selected via the GAM Player of the Year points and availability, and the PGA selects its team from the players who won Section events in the last year, the host Professional and its Player of the Year points.
The GAM won both sessions, four-ball 5-1, and singles 6.5-5.5.
Michael Coriasso of Royal Oak, Joe Montpas of Flushing, McCoy Biagioli of White Lake and Ferris State University, and Drew Coble of Lake Orion and Grand Valley State University won four-ball points with their partners and also won singles matches to lead the GAM victory.
Justin Sui of Lake Orion, who won a full point with Coble in four-ball, tied the PGA’s Jeff Roth of BOYNE Golf Academy in the singles matches to secure a 9.5-point total and the cup.
Other singles winners for the GAM were Michigan State University golf teammates Drew Miller of East Lansing and Julian Menser of South Lyon.
Ben Cook of Quail Ridge Golf Club near Grand Rapids and teammate Tim Pearce of Birmingham Country Club won the only four-ball match for the PGA.
Singles match winners for the PGA included Chad Kurmel, the assistant men’s golf coach at Michigan State University, who beat one of his players, Caleb Bond of Williamston, 2 and 1.
The other PGA singles winners were Dan Urban of Gull Lake Country Club, Adam Schumacher of Point O’Woods Golf & Country Club in Benton Harbor, Patrick Wilkes-Krier of Kendall Academy/Miles of Golf in Ypsilanti and Cody Haughton of Red Run Golf Club in Royal Oak.

FULLER CUP RESULTS
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, Blythefield Country Club
MORNING FOUR-BALL MATCHES
Michael Coriasso, Joe Montpas, GAM, def. John Seltzer, Juan Martinez, PGA, 3 and 1
McCoy Biagioli, Caleb Bond, GAM, def. Scott Hebert, Chad Kurmel, PGA, 1-up
John Quigley, Matt Zerbel, GAM, def. Dan Urban, Adam Schumacher, PGA, 1-up
Ben Cook, Tim Pearce, PGA, def. Drew Miller, Julian Menser, GAM, 1-up
Justin Sui, Drew Coble, GAM, def. Jeff Roth, Ryan Lenahan, PGA, 4 and 3
Mike Ignasiak, David Szymanski, GAM, def. Patrick Wilkes-Krier, Cody Haughton, PGA, 5 and 4
FOUR-BALL TOTALS: GAM 4, PGA 1
AFTERNOON SINGLES MATCHES
Michael Coriasso, GAM, def. John Seltzer, PGA, 2 and 1
Joe Montpas, GAM, def. Juan Martinez, PGA, 7 and 6
McCoy Biagioli, GAM, def. Scott Hebert, PGA, 3 and 2
Chad Kurmel, PGA, def. Caleb Bond, GAM, 2 and 1
Dan Urban, PGA, def. John Quigley, GAM, 4 and 3
Adam Schumacher, PGA, def. Matt Zerbel, GAM, 4 and 2
Drew Coble, GAM, def. Ryan Lenahan, PGA, 2 and 1
Justin Sui, GAM and Jeff Roth, PGA, Tied
Drew Miller, GAM, def. Ben Cook, PGA, 2 and 1
Julian Menser, GAM, def. Tim Pearce, PGA, 1-up
Patrick Wilkes-Krier, PGA, def. David Szymanski, GAM, 4 and 3
Cody Haughton, PGA, def. Mike Ignasiak, GAM, 2 and 1
SINGLES TOTALS: GAM 6.5, PGA 5.5
FINAL SCORE: GAM 11.5 – PGA 6.5

FULLER CUP: GAM, PGA Teams Meet at Blythefield Country Club

GRAND RAPIDS – Blythefield Country Club, the annual site of the LPGA’s Meijer Classic for Simply Give, will host several of Michigan’s best golfers in the 52nd Fuller Cup Matches on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Top ...amateur golfers representing the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) and top professionals representing the Michigan Section PGA square off in a Ryder Cup-like format with six four-ball matches and 12 singles matches to determine a winning team. Harlestons is the clothing sponsor.

The Blythefield course, established in 1928, was designed by the legendary duo, William B. Langford and Theodore J. Moreau, who did two other notable Michigan courses, Country Club of Lansing and Marquette Golf Club.

The name is derived from an Old English word that means quiet fields, and the design unfolds over rolling former farmland.

Architect Chris Wilczynski completed a renovation in recent years that included new tees for each hole, repositioning and rebuilding of all the course bunkers, realignment and widening of all the fairways, expansion of all the greens to their originally designed shapes and sizes, as well as new practice facilities.

Blythefield has a rich tournament history, including hosting the 1953 Western Amateur won by Dale Morey, the 1961 Western Open won by Arnold Palmer, and the 2005 Western Junior won by Rickie Fowler. The course has also been the site of several other USGA, Michigan PGA and Golf Association of Michigan tournaments and qualifiers.

The club has been the host of the Meijer LPGA Classic since 2014. Past champions include Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson, Nelly Korda and Jennifer Kupcho.

Three former Blythefield golf professionals are in the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame – Marvin Stahl, John Barnum and Buddy Whitten.
The current head golf professional, Juan Martinez, is playing with the PGA Team in Tuesday’s matches. Collin Romanick is the superintendent. Learn more about the club at blythefieldcc.org

Last year at Birmingham Country Club, the PGA Team won seven of the 12 singles matches to end a five-year losing streak and win the 51st Fuller Cup Matches, 10-8.

The PGA, which dominated the matches in the first three decades of play, leads the series 36-13-2.

The format has changed over the years, but the matches are presented to promote sportsmanship, friendship and quality golf among professionals and amateurs. The matches are named for the late Ernest Fuller, a Michigan golf course developer. The GAM team is selected via the GAM Player of the Year points and availability, and the PGA selects its team from the players who won Section events in the last year, the host Professional and its Player of the Year points.

Representing the GAM this year are Michael Coriasso of Royal Oak, Joe Montpas of Flushing, McCoy Biagioli of White Lake and Ferris State University, Caleb Bond of Williamston and Michigan State University, John Quigley of Sterling Heights, Matt Zerbel of St. Joseph, Drew Miller of East Lansing and Michigan State University, Julian Menser of South Lyon and Michigan State University, Justin Sui of Lake Orion, Drew Coble of Lake Orion and Grand Valley State University, Mike Ignasiak of Saline and David Szymanski of East Lansing.

Representing the PGA are John Seltzer of Egypt Valley Country Club, Juan Martinez of Blythefield Country Club, Scott Hebert of Traverse City Golf & Country Club, Chad Kurmel, the assistant men’s golf coach at Michigan State University, Dan Urban of Gull Lake Country Club, Adam Schumacher of Point O’Woods Golf & Country Club, Ben Cook of Quail Ridge Golf Club, Tim Pearce of Birmingham Country Club, Jeff Roth of BOYNE Golf Academy, Ryan Lenahan of Kendall Golf Academy/Miles of Golf, Patrick Wilkes Krier of Kendall Golf Academy/Miles of Golf and Cody Haughton of Red Run Golf Club.

Find more information on the Golf Association of Michigan at GAM.org Find more information on the Michigan PGA at michiganpga.com

Follow live scoring below :
https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/10999495583684676306

FULLER CUP PAIRINGS
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, Blythefield Country Club
MORNING FOUR-BALL MATCHES (GAM team listed first)
9:00 - Michael Coriasso, Joe Montpas vs. John Seltzer, Juan Martinez
9:10 - McCoy Biagioli, Caleb Bond vs. Scott Hebert, Chad Kurmel
9:20 - John Quigley, Matt Zerbel vs. Dan Urban, Adam Schumacher
9:30 - Drew Miller, Julian Menser vs. Ben Cook, Tim Pearce
9:40 - Justin Sui, Drew Coble vs. Jeff Roth, Ryan Lenahan
9:50 - Mike Ignasiak, David Szymanski vs. Patrick Wilkes-Krier, Cody Haughton
AFTERNOON PAIRINGS (GAM player listed first)
1:30 - Michael Coriasso vs. John Seltzer
1:30 - Joe Montpas vs. Juan Martinez
1:40 - McCoy Biagioli vs. Scott Hebert
1:40 - Caleb Bond vs. Chad Kurmel
1:50 - John Quigley vs. Dan Urban
1:50 - Matt Zerbel vs. Adam Schumacher
2:00 - Drew Miller vs. Ben Cook
2:00 - Julian Menser vs. Tim Pearce
2:10 - Justin Sui vs. Jeff Roth
2:10 - Drew Coble vs. Ryan Lenahan
2:20 - David Szymanski vs. Patrick Wilkes Krier
2:20 - Mike Ignasiak vs. Cody Haughton

Campbell / Brown win the 2024 Pro Assistant Championship presented by Evolve Golf , Earth Networks & Winston Collection !

Plymouth, MI – Congratulations to the winning team of Garrett Campbell and Joe Brown of Bloomfield Hills Country Club. They finished -15 under par, shooting 65 in... the morning round and 64 in the afternoon. This put them 3 shots clear of the second place team of Payne Gniewek and Tyler DeGood of Thousand Oaks Golf Club shooting -12.

55 teams teed it up Monday at the brand-new Cardinal Golf Course at The Inn at St Johns in this 36-hole best ball event featuring teams of a professional and an assistant professional from the same facility. Professionals also had the option to bring and team with multiple assistants.

This is the first Section Tournament win for Garrett and Joe and also comes with a 25-year exemption into the Michigan PGA Tournament of Champions at Boyne.

This is the first time we have hosted an event at the new Cardinal Golf Course. The Cardinal course was crafted by architect Raymond Hearn. This beautiful course spans across 200 acres and incorporates challenging greens, classic bunkering, and many tree lined fairways. Many of the players complimented the facility and enjoyed the day playing there. Thank you to The Cardinal and all their staff for being so accommodating and helpful during this event.

We would also like to thank our sponsors of this event: Earth Networks, Winston Collection and Evolve Golf for supporting this event and the Michigan PGA Section. Evolve Golf was on site and conducted a Total Driving Challenge Contest on Hole #11. Tyler Kapcia from Kent Country Club won the Total Driving Challenge.

For final results click below:
https://mipga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/mipga24/event/mipga2436/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

We are three weeks away from our second annual Operation: Hero Challenge! The event will be hosted at Bedford Valley Golf Club on Monday, October 14th.

Two PGA HOPE Graduates will team up to compete in a 2-man best ball scramble along with a skills competition during the 18-hole round that... features the three fundamental skills utilized in golf: driving, chipping, and putting.

Graduates are teaming up to raise money for the Michigan PGA HOPE program in an effort to foster even more program locations and give other Michigan Veterans the same opportunity to participate in 2025. Each team has a goal of $1,000!

Visit the link below to view our currently registered teams and to learn more about how you can donate to help support the Michigan PGA HOPE program. All donations for any team or towards the general campaign are greatly appreciated!

https://michiganpga.com/pga-reach-michigan/fundraising/operation-hero-challenge/

We want to wish our four Michigan teams GOOD LUCK at the PGA Jr. League Regional this weekend at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin!

13u Orchards and 17u Great Lakes Bay Region teams qualified through the Section Championship, and the 13u and 17u teams from Milham ...Park qualified through the Regional Leaderboard!

We are excited to have these teams represent the Michigan Section! Click the link below to follow the results:

https://hpe.golfgenius.com/pages/10966902811471696506

RECORD-SETTING SCOTT HEBERT WINS THIRD MICHIGAN PGA MATCH PLAY TITLE

EAST LANSING – Scott Hebert of Traverse City Golf & Country Club won the Michigan PGA Match Play Championship for the third time, and in the process set a record for the most major championship wins in Michigan ...Section PGA history.
The 55-year-old head professional made five birdies in 14 holes and topped Scott Cook of The Mines Golf Club in Grand Rapids, 5 and 4, in the championship match Wednesday at Eagle Eye Golf Club.
It was a record 18th Michigan Section major title for Hebert, breaking a tie at 17 titles with fellow Michigan Golf Hall of Famer Jeff Roth of Boyne Golf Academy in Harbor Springs. In addition to his three Match Play wins, Hebert counts eight Michigan PGA Professional Championship titles, six Michigan Open Championship titles and a Tournament of Champions win, too.
“I’ve had a decent summer, had a chance at the (Michigan PGA Professional Championship) in Benton Harbor, and I was disappointed that I had to withdraw from the Michigan Open with a work commitment,” said Hebert, who earned $3,000 for winning the championship presented by PGA Tour.
“I was playing well then. But hey, it’s nice to finish out the year with one. As you say, it’s been a minute.”
Hebert’s most recent Michigan major title before Wednesday was in 2019 when he last won the Match Play, and that same year won the Senior PGA Professional Championship. With that national title he became just the fourth golf professional to ever win the Senior PGA and PGA Professional (2008) national titles.
Hebert earned his spot in the finals with a 1-up morning semifinal win over Darren Husse of Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc. Cook topped Michigan Golf Hall of Famer Ron Beurmann of Country Club of Jackson, 3 and 2, in the other semifinal.
The final four were part of 16 golfers who advanced to the final two days of the championship from earlier conducted chapter or senior organization match play rounds.
Hebert made three birdies on the front nine at Nos. 2, 6 and 9, but led just 1-up at the turn as Cook’s hot putter kept him in the match.
The match turned in Hebert’s favor on holes 10 and 11. Hebert hit it to three-feet for birdie on No. 10, then rolled in a 25-foot curling downhill putt at No. 11 for par and won the hole.
The two players halved the par 3 12th with pars, and then Hebert won 13 with a par and closed the match out with his final birdie at No. 14, hitting another approach shot inside five feet.
“He hits them really close a lot,” said Cook, the 34-year-old general manager at The Mines and a first-time finalist. “That’s a pretty good recipe.”
Hebert said he loved that the final two days of the championship were at Eagle Eye, the site of five of his Michigan PGA Professional titles.
“This is a championship golf course,” he said. “You have to hit good tee shots; you have to control your distance, and you have to know where to miss. To me, it’s the way golf should be. It’s not just bomb it and keep your putts below the hole. You have to control your golf ball here. Whenever we play a place like this, I always feel good about my chances.”

RESULTS: A complete bracket can be found at michiganpga.com