Michigan PGA

18 hours ago

PRACTICE DAY
Crystal Mountain Hosts Michigan PGA Women’s Open for 20th Time

It was practice day Sunday for Monday morning’s start of the 29th Michigan PGA Women’s Open Championship, and the 20th hosted by Crystal Mountain.
The players were checking out Crystal’s signature course – Mountain Ridge.
The field of 74 golfers will play 54 holes of stroke play through Wednesday to determine a champion, and the professionals in the field will compete for a share of the estimated $40,000 purse.
Crystal Mountain and the Michigan Section PGA welcomes spectators free of charge. ... See MoreSee Less

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Michigan PGA

3 days ago

Don't miss your chance to try and qualify for the 2022 PGA Tour's Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club on July 28-31.

The Michigan PGA Section will be running two Pre Qualifiers on July 20 at Fieldstone Golf Club and July 21 at Lyon Oaks Golf Club. Professionals and Amateurs with a 2 handicap or less can choose one of these pre qualifiers to enter.

The entry deadline is July 15. For more info and to register click below:
michiganpga.com/tournaments/pga-tour-qualifiers/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Michigan PGA

4 days ago

HOME SWEET HOME

Crystal Mountain Hosts Michigan PGA Women’s Open for 20th Time

THOMPSONVILLE – Michigan Golf Hall of Fame members, Michigan Amateur winners, players with LPGA and Epson Tour status and golfers from 11 states and two countries will be part of the field starting Monday when Crystal Mountain hosts the 29th Michigan PGA Women’s Open Championship.

The resort is celebrating two decades of hosting the Women’s Open, which once again will be played on Crystal’s signature course Mountain Ridge.

“This championship always has a unique field and it makes for great tournament golf each time,” said Justin Phillips, tournament director for the Michigan Section PGA, which created and has administered the championship from the start. “This is also our 20th consecutive year at Crystal Mountain. It is a special place and through their commitment to women’s golf and putting on such a great event every year they have certainly solidified their role as the home of one of the best women's state opens in the country.”

The field of 74 golfers will play 54 holes of stroke play through Wednesday to determine a champion, and the professionals in the field will compete for a share of the estimated $40,000 purse.

Crystal Mountain and the Michigan Section PGA welcomes spectators free of charge.

Last year’s champion, Tristyn Nowlin of Richmond, Ky., is not returning to defend. She is in graduate school at the University of Illinois where she played her collegiate golf.

Sarah Burnham, the 2020 champion now living in Temperance and with partial LPGA status this year, is returning.

Also back is 2019 champion Anika Dy of Traverse City, the former Crystal Mountain cart attendant and current University of Michigan golfer who just last week was the runner-up in the Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship to her younger sister Anci, a University of Indianapolis golfer.

Anci, fresh off her biggest amateur victory, is playing in the Michigan Women’s Open, too.

Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member and three-time champion Suzy Green-Roebuck, who won the first Michigan Women’s Open in 1994, won again in 1999, played on the LPGA Tour for several years and then showed she could still play by winning the Michigan Women’s Open again in 2016, is in the field.

Another Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member in the field is former LPGA Tour player Sue Ertl, an Ionia native who now lives in Bradenton, Fla. She is retiring this year as a teaching professional but coming home to play at Crystal Mountain once again.

Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, the head women’s golf team coach at Michigan State, Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member and the winningest amateur golfer in Michigan history, is playing once again and heading the usual large group of golfers with MSU ties. Her daughter, Olivia Stoll, now a Grand Valley State University golfer, is playing, too.

Caroline Ellis, Slobodnik-Stoll’s assistant, a former Spartan star, a four-time professional winner and now a reinstated amateur, is in the field. She was the stroke play medalist in last week’s Michigan Women’s Amateur and reached the quarterfinals of match play.

Mikaela Schulz, a University of Michigan golfer and the reigning GAM champion who was a semifinalist last week in the Amateur, is playing.

Michigan Section PGA vice-president Stephanie Jennings, who is also the women’s golf coach at Eastern Michigan University, is in the field.

Sarah White of Grand Rapids, an Epson Tour player and tour winner, is home to play in the Women’s Open as well, and Elayna Bowser of Dearborn, now a professional and the 2019 Michigan Women’s Amateur winner is returning.

Several out-of-state new professionals are playing in the championship that is open to non-Michigan residents. Most have recently completed their college careers and play in state opens as a way to test the professional waters.

The Mountain Ridge course, which will be played at par 72 and set up at about 6,115 yards for the championship, was designed by noted Michigan architect Bill Newcomb. It features some dramatic elevation changes, natural sand areas and holes cut through towering tunnels of trees.

ABOUT CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN: Crystal Mountain was established in 1956, and is a family-owned, four-season resort that is nationally recognized for its skiing, golf, and award-winning spa. Located in northwest-lower-Michigan, a short drive from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the resort features downhill and cross-country skiing, the Michigan Legacy Art Park, 36 holes of championship golf on two courses, Michigan’s only alpine slide, an outdoor water playground, a variety of lodging and dining options, year-round activities and kids programs, an IACC-approved conference center, weddings, real estate and the Crystal Spa. Visit crystalmountain.com.

To follow live scoring throughout the week click below :

mipga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/mipga22/event/mipga2227/contest/5/leaderboard.htm ... See MoreSee Less

Michigan PGA

2 weeks ago

JAKE KNEEN WITHSTANDS HIGH WINDS, WINS HALL FINANCIAL MICHIGAN OPEN

105th edition of the state championship was on The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa

ACME – White Lake’s Jake Kneen withstood the wicked winds best and emerged the champion of the Hall Financial Michigan Open presented by Turtle Creek Casino and Caesars Sportsbook Thursday.
Kneen won the state championship for the second time behind a closing 1-over 73 for a 7-under 281 total on the wind-whipped Bear course at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.
“Oh my gosh, I’m relieved, I mean it was just a stressful day,” Kneen said. “It was a grind out there, but getting the job done is just a huge sense of relief. I’m kind of in disbelief right now as well. I mean there was no time to think about how nervous I was, or anxious, or anything like that because it was playing so difficult out there. It was so windy, tough pins, tough course, so yeah, I just had to focus on the next shot and I feel like I did that incredibly well today.”
Kneen, whose first win was in 2018 when he was an amateur just out of Oakland University, was able to take home the first-place check for $12,500 this time around. His name will go on the historic James D. Standish Trophy for a second time.
The 26-year-old mini-tour professional started the final round five shots off the lead of Ann Arbor teaching professional Patrick Wilkes-Krier, who led for the first three rounds. Wilkes-Krier shot 81, sealing his fate with back-to-back double-bogeys at Nos. 16 and 17.
“I played terribly and I don’t really understand it,” Wilkes-Krier said. “I had no confidence and I played that way.”
Baker Stevenson, a mini-tour pro from Highland, shot a 72 for 283 and second place money of $8,200.
“It was a grind,” Stevenson said. “It was tough for everybody. Everybody made mistakes today and I’m just glad I got it around. I wasn’t looking at the leaderboard. I knew I was up there someplace, but I didn’t know where I stood.”
Wilkes-Krier, the runner-up a year ago, tied for third this time at 284 with Donnie Trosper, a mini-tour professional from Westland, who shot a closing 71. Josh Gibson of Grandville and Beau Breault of Howell tied at 286. Gibson shot 71, and Breault closed with a 75.
Kneen made two birdies at Nos. 2 and 3 to pull within three shots, then Wilkes-Krier flew the green at the par 3 No. 4 and made double-bogey to make it a one-shot difference. Kneen took his first lead at No. 10 with a par, but then made consecutive bogeys to fall two behind once again. Both made birdies at 14, Wilkes-Krier from five-feet and Kneen with a 28-foot downhill putt, but then Wilkes-Krier played to bogey at 15 and had the consecutive double bogeys.
Kneen said the long birdie putt at No. 14 from above the hole was the most critical shot because he trailed by one shot.
“I knew Patrick was in there close for birdie and I needed to make that to keep myself within shouting distance,” he said. “I rolled that in and it was great to have some momentum for the last couple holes.”
Kneen recently became engaged to Olivia Neumann, who was home working nursing shifts over the last two days. He called the win a big deal.
“I’m incredibly excited and honored to be a champion for the second time,” he said. “Gosh, it means everything. I mean it really does. I’ve had some difficult times. It’s obviously fun playing this sport for a living, but it’s difficult and I’ve contemplated giving it up here and there when things get tough. I’ve just powered through it though and have the best support system in the world. My parents (Scott and Wendy) are always there for me, and I can’t wait to get home to show Olivia the trophy and share this moment with her.” ... See MoreSee Less

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Michigan PGA

2 weeks ago

WILKES-KRIER OPENS FIVE-SHOT LEAD IN HALL FINANCIAL MICHIGAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE BEAR

ACME – Patrick Wilkes-Krier doesn’t remember if he has ever had a big lead heading into the final round of a golf tournament.
“I don’t play a lot of tournaments anymore,” said the Ann Arbor PGA teaching professional at Kendall Academy in Ypsilanti, who will hold a five-shot lead starting Thursday’s finale in the $85,000 Hall Financial Michigan Open presented by Turtle Creek Casino and Caesars Sportsbook.
Wilkes-Krier shot a 2-under 70 Wednesday on The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa for a 13-under tournament total. Jake Kneen, a mini-tour professional from White Lake and the 2018 Michigan Open champion on The Bear, was the closest pursuer. He shot 69 to check in at 8-under.
Joe Juszczyk, a mini-tour player from Dearborn Heights, was next at 6-under after he followed up a second-round 63 with a 73.
Four golfers were at 5-under, eight strokes behind, including Baker Stevenson, a mini-tour professional from Hartland and former Nicholls State University golfer who shot a sizzling 66 Wednesday.
The others at 5-under were Matt Thompson, the 2017 Open champion from Hillsdale who shot 71, University of Wisconsin golfer Coalter Smith of Grosse Pointe Farms, who shot 73, and former Michigan Amateur champion Beau Breault of Howell, another mini-tour player and close friend of Stevenson, who shot 68.
Kyle Gaines, a mini-tour player from Oxford, and University of Michigan golfer Will Anderson of Kalamazoo also moved up in the standings with rounds of 66.
Wilkes-Krier came from behind leader and eventual winner Bradley Smithson a year ago to force a dramatic sudden-death playoff. Smithson, a Michigan State University golfer and amateur from Grand Rapids, had his name added to the James D. Standish Trophy, and Wilkes-Krier got the first-place check.
This time Wilkes-Krier wants the check and the trophy.
“I want to win,” he said. “I’ve got a game plan I can adjust based on weather conditions, so it’s going to be mostly about trying to execute good swings and make good putts.”
He wasn’t enamored with his play in the third round, including a final bogey on No. 18 to close.
“I actually did a lot of good today and just didn't putt well on the back,” he said. “I played a couple of holes nice, but just didn’t get it going.”
He said he will be scoreboard watching tomorrow as well as sticking to his game plan.
“It’s a mixture of both for me,” he said. “I want to know where I stand, but then, yeah, when the times comes to hit a shot I’ll tighten up and just focus on that.”
Kneen, whose highlight in his 69 was making a 60-foot eagle putt on the par 5 No. 6 hole, remembers from his victory in 2018 that the Bear will make an impact in the final round.
“It will be a tough set-up and if we get wind, and it’s hot, who knows what can happen,” he said. “I know the forecast is calling for some higher winds and Mother Nature sure brought the heat today, but I played well, scrambled well when I was out of position. And you know, here we are with a chance. Patrick is a great player. I don’t think he is going to do anything crazy tomorrow so I have to go out there and control what I can control and just try to shoot the best score possible.” ... See MoreSee Less

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Michigan PGA

2 weeks ago

PATRICK WILKES-KRIER MAINTAINS LEAD IN HALL FINANCIAL MICHIGAN OPEN

105th edition of the state championship is on The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa

ACME – Several golfers gave chase, but Patrick Wilkes-Krier maintained his lead through two rounds of the Hall Financial Michigan Open Championship presented by Turtle Creek Casino and Caesars Sportsbook on The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.
The Kendall Academy teaching professional from Ann Arbor shot a second-round 3-under 69 Tuesday to follow his first-round double-eagle fueled first-round 64 for 11-under 133.
He has a four-shot lead over two hot chasers in the suddenly record summer heat – Joe Juszczyk, a mini-tour professional from Dearborn Heights, and amateur Colin Sikkenga of Kalamazoo who is headed into his final year at Oakland University. They each shot 9-under 63s, one off the course record, to land at 137.
“There is a lot of golf to go, and players going well under par out there, but I feel like my game is there,” Wilkes-Krier said. “Today I just kept waffling back and forth between terrible and then I'd make a couple of birdies, and then it would get terrible again and then I would make a couple of birdies again. So it's not far off. I hope to find it again over the next two days.”
Coalter Smith, a University of Wisconsin golfer from Grosse Pointe Farms, shot 65 to check in at 138, and Zach Sudinsky, a former Eastern Michigan University golfer who is now a professional, also shot 65 for 139.
Meanwhile, Jake Kneen of White Lake, a mini-tour professional and the 2018 champion, stayed in the mix with a 71 for 139, and Westland mini-tour player Donnie Trosper was also six off the lead at 139 after a 72.
Juszczyk didn’t realize he was one shot off the course record of 62. He was at 10-under through 15 holes and on pace but lipped out a birdie putt at No. 16 and failed to get up and down from the bunker for a bogey at No. 17.
“I wasn't really thinking too much about how I was playing,” he said. “I was just kind of, it’s cliche, but staying in the moment. I just was kind of telling myself that, you know, regardless of what you shoot today, the goal isn't to shoot a great round one day – it’s to put yourself back in position with a lot of golf left to play.”
Juszczyk, 35, made two eagles in his round on the par 5 No. 3 and the par 5 No. 15 hole and said the putts were dropping in the round that tied his best score in competition.
“I worked on a little something with my (putting) stroke this morning and it made a big difference,” he said. “Sometimes just focusing on one thing, one small change can kind of take your mind off any of the negative stuff that you might be thinking about or be worried about. I think that that was the difference today.”
Sikkenga, whose round featured six birdies in a 6-under 30 on the back nine, said the 63 was his best score ever in or out of competition.
“I just had a lot of looks today and struck the ball well, so it gave me a lot of birdie putts inside of 15 feet and I made a few of those which got the confidence up,” he said. “When you start to see the ball go in the hole it’s good.”
Sikkenga, 22, said he struggled during his spring college season with his putting.
“So that’s what I really been working on recently and it seems to be paying off,” he said. “I’m still striking the ball well and the putts are starting to drop. That really helps the rest of the game.”
The cut to the low 70 scorers and ties fell at 7-over 151. The 73 surviving golfers move on to the third round Wednesday in the 72-hole championship with the leaders going off at Noon. The Michigan Section PGA announced Tuesday the professionals will be playing for a purse of $85,000 over the next two days. ... See MoreSee Less

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Michigan PGA

2 weeks ago

DOUBLE-EAGLE DRAMA

Dramatic Shot Powers Patrick Wilkes-Krier at Hall Financial Michigan Open

105th edition of the state championship on The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa

ACME – Patrick Wilkes-Krier garnered one of the rarest of golf feats – the albatross or double-eagle 2 on a par 5 – and dramatically grabbed the first-round lead of the Hall Financial Michigan Open Championship presented by Turtle Creek Casino and Caesars Sportsbook on The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.
Last year’s runner-up in a playoff, Wilkes-Krier shot 8-under 64 Monday with the double-eagle on the par 5 No. 10 hole. He hit a 3-wood off the tee, and then a 4-iron 227 yards that caught the green and trickled into the hole.
“I didn’t see it, but everyone up there was clapping when the ball hit the green and then it was pretty obvious what happened from the second reaction,” said the Ann Arbor resident and teaching professional at Kendall Academy.
His 64 was three shots clear of the field of 156 golfers, and the double-eagle may be the first ever in the Michigan Open. Archived records are unclear or missing.
Kyle Dobbs, a teaching professional at Oak Pointe Country Club in Ann Arbor, and Donnie Trosper, a mini-tour professional from Westland, each shot 67 to stand second.
Jake Kneen, a mini-tour player and the champion in 2018, shot 68, as did six-time champion Scott Hebert, the head professional at nearby Traverse City Golf & Country Club.
Two other former champions, 2011 winner Randy Hutchison of Traverse City, and 2017 winner Matt Thompson of Hillsdale, checked in with 69s.
Defending champion Bradley Smithson of Grand Rapids, another MSU golfer, was in a group at 70.
A cut to the low 70 scores and ties will be made after Tuesday’s second round.
Wilkes-Krier, who has never had a hole-in-one, said it was his second double-eagle, but first in tournament play.
“Three-under on one hole will get you going no matter what and I was feeling good after that,” he said.
He was 9-under for the round after birdies at Nos. 13 and 14 and appeared to be making a bid for the course record of 10-under 62 set in the Michigan Open in 1993 by the late Brent Veenstra, but a bogey on the par 5 No. 15 hole derailed that.
“I just made a bad decision off the tee there and hit it in the hazard,” he said. “Then I kind of worked my way up the rough the rest of the way.”
He said he hit good iron shots early in the round and after finishing second a year ago is back with a purpose.
“Well, I want to win, so I think starting out this way is good, right?,” he said. “I show up to this event and I see all these good golfers, so I know it’s going to take a lot of good golf for another three rounds.”
Dobbs, 47, underwent hernia surgery in March and just recently started playing again. He said he had zero expectations.
“I’ve been taking it easy and I was kind of taking it easy today because I still don’t know what to expect, but I guess it’s true, beware of the injured golfer,” he said and laughed. “Coming to the Bear, I mean you can play some great golf and walk away with a frown on your face. Today, I was lucky and I would much rather be lucky than good any day. I didn’t have any fives on the card today. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.”
Trosper, 25, has finished third twice in the Open in recent years. He said he was grinding all day in his 67.
“I haven’t put four rounds together before up here, so if I can do that this week I like my chances,” he said. “I’m just going to keep grinding. That’s the kind of course this is. It makes you do that, at least it makes me do that.” ... See MoreSee Less

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