GAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Barton Hills Country Club Hosts Starting Monday
ANN ARBOR – Barton Hills Country Club and its historic Donald Ross-designed golf course will host the 103rd GAM Championship presented by Carl’s Golfland Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 5-6.
August Meekhof of Eastmanville, the 2023 GAM Player of the Year who won the last two GAM Championships, has turned professional and is not eligible to compete. He made history a year ago at Travis Pointe Country Club by being the first golfer in 39 years to win the championship and have his name added to the K.T. Keller Trophy in consecutive years.
To crown this year’s champion, eligible GAM member (5.4 USGA/GHIN handicap index or better) will play 54 holes of stroke play over two days, including two rounds on Monday and a final round Tuesday after a 36-hole cut to the low 30 scorers and ties Monday night.
Ken Hartmann, senior director of competitions and USGA services for the GAM, said the classic golf course will favor those who hit precise drives and approach shots.
“A bomber can do well, maybe, but there’s holes where you just have to hit it to the right part of the fairway and that’s always the case on the greens,” he said. “We’ve had some great championships at Barton Hills. Veteran guys have won. Young guys have won. I don’t see a heavy favorite. And this year it looks wide open. It should be a great tournament.”
The historic Barton Hills course was restored to its original architectural roots with added length in 2012. The club invested over $1 million in the project without member assessment.
Barton Hills has a rich tradition of hosting tournaments, including many GAM and Michigan PGA tournaments as well as the 22nd U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship in 2008 and the 98th Women’s U.S. Amateur in 1998.
This year’s championship will mark the fifth time Barton Hills has hosted since 1996, including hosting in back-to-back years in 2016 and ’17. Previous champions at Barton include Randy Lewis of Alma in 1996, Marty Jeppesen of Ypsilanti in 2011, Tom Werkmeister of Grand Rapids in 2016 and Alex Scott of Traverse City in 2017.
Eric Emmel is the head golf professional, and Andrew Christesen is the golf course superintendent. The course measures 7,146 yards from the championship tees. Learn more at bartonhillscc.com
The GAM Championship traditionally boasts a strong field of GAM members and most of the top players in the state.
Scott Strickland of Bloomfield Hills, the 2013 champion, and two-time champion Casey Baker of Ann Arbor (2005, ’10) are former winners playing this year. McCoy Biagioli of White Lake and Ferris State University, the winner of Michigan Amateur Championship earlier this summer, heads the list of top collegiate players. Non-exempt players made their way into the championship’s starting field by earning spots in sectional qualifiers across the state.
The GAM Championship has a rich history. It dates to 1919 with two years in which it wasn’t played during World War II. Past winners include Michigan golf legends like James Standish, Chuck Kocsis, Bud Stevens, Glenn Johnson, and Pete Green, and more recently 2021 U.S. Amateur Champion and now professional James Piot, who won the championship twice.
INFORMATION, TEE TIMES, RESULTS: Visit GAM.org
Discover more from GolfBlogger Golf Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
