Bruce, Coriasso Win GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Championship

Grant Bruce, Michael Coriasso Win GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Championship

   BLOOMFIELD HILLS – Grant Bruce of Birmingham and Michael Coriasso of Royal Oak made an alternate-shot par on the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the 15th GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Finals presented by Shanty Creek Resort Thursday at Oakland Hills Country Club.

  It was the second time the fellow Detroit Golf Club members teamed up to win the popular championship that started in May with three qualifiers and 139 teams featuring a senior golfer (55-and-over) teamed with a mid-amateur golfer (25-and-over.) The duo also won in 2019.

  Eight teams played in the championship finals on the North course at Oakland Hills with Bruce and Coriasso shooting a 1-under 69 and tying with Mitchell Wayne and JJ Modell of Bloomfield Hills in regulation play (nine holes of four-ball or best-ball and nine holes of foursomes or alternate shot).

  The two teams matched pars through hole 18, then holes 1 and 2 alternating the formats by hole in the playoff before the par at No. 3 won it for Bruce and Coriasso.

  “We played very well, solid all day,” Bruce said. “We had a couple hiccups, but not much.”

  Coriasso said they never really struggled.

  “I can’t think of a hole where we were really in trouble, and we played the alternate shot well, and that’s what is the decider in these things,” he said.

  Bruce and Coriasso shot 33 in four-ball and then 1-over in foursomes, while Wayne and Modell shot 2-over in best-ball, then rallied with a 3-under 32 in alternate shot.

  Two teams tied at 71, two shots off the lead, including Greg Davies of West Bloomfield and Anthony Sorentino of Rochester Hills and Leo Daigle of Wixom and Michael Hohf of Oxford.

  Rick Herpich of Orchard Lake and Mike Anderson of Novi shot 73.

  Coriasso, 34 and a sales manager for Rocket Mortgage, said their games complement each other.

  “Grant is very long off the tee for a (senior), so him playing up a tee helps us,” he said.

  Bruce, 60 and a partner in commercial real estate at Signature Associates, said they enjoy playing together.

  “We’ve both been at (Detroit Golf Club) for a long time and we make a good team,” he said.

RESULTS: GAM.org and Golf Genius