Alma’s Randy Lewis Is Golf Association of Michigan Senior Men’s Player Of The Year

The Golf Association of Michigan has named Randy Lewis as Senior Men’s Player of the Year.

Lewis won the GAM Senior Match Play Championship, the GAM Senior Tournament of Champions and was half of the team (with Roy Schultheiss) that won the GAM Senior Four Ball Championship.

Lewis also reached the semifinals of the US Senior Amateur.

“I wanted to win the Michigan Amateur and I wanted to win a USGA national event and I’ve done that,” Lewis said. “My goal now is just to keep improving. I’ve always enjoyed the practice and trying to improve. That’s the fun part for me – the process. I like the process of the game and the challenge to improve.”
Lewis called the GAM smart for noticing several years ago that increased opportunities for competition were needed for senior golfers.

Full press release follows:

Randy Lewis of Alma is GAM Senior Men’s Player of the Year

FARMINGTON HILLS – Randy Lewis of Alma, who reached the semifinals of the U.S. Senior Amateur and won three Golf Association of Michigan titles in 2014, is the GAM Senior Men’s Player of the Year.

Lewis, 57 and a Pine River Country Club member, topped the GAM Senior Men’s Honor Roll with 930 points. He won the GAM Senior Match Play Championship early in the season, played in the U.S. Mid-Am, a tournament he won in 2011, and reached the semifinals of the U.S. Senior Amateur to key his point total.

The three-time GAM Men’s Player of the Year was also the GAM Senior Tournament of Champions winner, and paired up with Roy Schultheiss of Bay City to win the GAM Senior Four Ball Championship.

“It was the first year I’ve really been able to focus on senior golf to the extent that I wanted,” said Lewis, a financial planner for Raymond James & Associates. “It was fun. I played in as many of the state events as I could.”

Ian Harris of Bloomfield Hills and TPC of Michigan Golf Club, the first to win the Michigan PGA Senior Open and the GAM Senior Championship in the same year, finished second with 704 points. He was also runner-up in the GAM Senior Match Play falling to Lewis in the final match.

Bill Zylstra of Dearborn Heights and the Michigan Publinx Golf Association, Greg Reynolds of Grand Blanc and Flint Golf Club and Mitch Wilson of Portage and the Moors Golf Club rounded out the top five. Complete Honor Roll listings can be found at http://www.gam.org.

Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood and Jennifer Elsholz of Grand Rapids were previously announced as the GAM Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year, and in the next few weeks the GAM will also announce the Senior Women’s Player of the Year, Junior Boys Player of the Year and Junior Girls Player of the Year.
Lewis, a two-time Michigan Amateur champion and member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, said golf is a fun part of his life and not just because of competition.

“I wanted to win the Michigan Amateur and I wanted to win a USGA national event and I’ve done that,” he said. “My goal now is just to keep improving. I’ve always enjoyed the practice and trying to improve. That’s the fun part for me – the process. I like the process of the game and the challenge to improve.”
Lewis called the GAM smart for noticing several years ago that increased opportunities for competition were needed for senior golfers.

“The seniors are either retired for are at a point in their careers where they have some flexibility and fewer family responsibilities,” he said. “And they can still compete. There is no guarantee you are going to fare as well as you would like because of the guys you play against. Like Ian Harris. I’ve played with him many times over the years and he hits it as good now as he ever did.”

Lewis plans to continue to work at his game and compete.

“I would love to win a U.S. Senior Amateur,” he said. “I have some age issues, and I had some back issues for six weeks this year. I used to be able to hit the ball pure all the time for a long time, but I can’t do that any longer and I’ve adjusted. Golf is still fun for me, and it’s an honor to be the Senior Player of the Year.”

The Golf Association of Michigan was founded in 1919 and is the governing body for amateur golf in the state. As a not-for-profit organization its purpose is to represent, promote, preserve and serve the best interests of the game. The GAM provides membership and a myriad of services to more than 60,000 golfers and more than 400 golf courses. It also conducts 19 amateur championships and oversees 14 USGA qualifying events.

Be sure to follow the GAM on Facebook and Twitter and find more information at http://www.gam.org.