Harbor Springs, MI – It did not take long for the team of professional Chad Kurmel and his amateur partner Dan Ellis to pick up where they left off last year. After three strait pars to start the tournament they made 5 birdies and an eagle on the next six holes to shoot 29 on their opening nine on route to a (-11 ) under par round of 61 at the Boyne Highlands Ross Course on Monday.
119 teams teed it up in this scratch best ball pro-am event using the Ross and Heather Courses at Boyne Highlands and sponsored by Adidas. Teams played both the Ross and Heather Courses on Monday and then were repaired by score for their second round on Tuesday on the other course.
The Ross Course on Monday gave way to the lower scores as Kurmel and Ellis held only a 2 shot leading heading into the second round as the team of professional from Fox Hills Learning Center Brian Cairns and his amateur partner Jeff Champine had a (-9) under par round of 63. The father / daughter team of Tom Harding, professional from Carls Golfland and Elizabeth Harding sat 3 shots back after a round of 64.
The low round on day one at the Heather went to the team of professional Jack Seltzer from the Seltzer Golf Academy and his amateur partner Jerry Dagenais as they shot (-6) under 66.
Round 2 on the Heather started out a little slower for Chad and Dan going out in 35 on the front nine of the Heather. Birdies on #10 and #11 and then an eagle on the par five 15th hole proved to be enough as they finished with a 68, putting them at (-15) under for the tournament and a 3 shot victory.
Finishing alone in second was the team of George Bowman, professional from Oakhurst Golf & Country Club and his son Harrison. They followed up their 67 in round one on the Heather with a 65 in round two on the Ross, finishing at (-12) under for the tournament.
The team with Michigan State University ties will keep their name on the famed Walter Hagen trophy for another year. Chad is the professional at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers Golf Course and Dan is the Assistant Men’s Golf Coach at MSU.
We would like to thank our host site Boyne Highlands. Their staff and the resort continues to impress every year. The golf courses drew rave reviews from the players as the condition was excellent. New this year we had a skills contest on Monday on the newly installed Trackman Range. Boyne also put on a great cocktail party for all the players Monday night.
We would also like to thank our sponsor Adidas. This is the 4th year in a row that Adidas has been the sponsor of this event. They set up the Mobile Pro Shop again this year in the Country Club of Boyne where each player received $100 to spend there. We appreciate their continued support of this event and the Michigan PGA Section.
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