Crandall Wins GAM Senior Championship 2024

Fenton’s Rick Crandall Claims His First State Title at GAM Senior Championship

    MUSKEGON – Rick Crandall of Fenton expected one of the senior golfers with a resume full of past wins to shine in the final round and win the 38th GAM Senior Championship presented by Golf Digest.

  Instead, he surprised himself, shot a shining 5-under 67 Tuesday at Muskegon Country Club and won his first GAM tournament and claimed his biggest win since he started playing golf at age 23 and started competing in tournaments at age 27.

  “I just wanted to go out and shoot a good score like in every tournament I play,” said the 57-year-old who works in computer automotive design for Strattec Security Corp. “I was happy to sort of be in contention after the first round. I never looked at the leaderboard all day. I think it was the 12th hole and one of the GAM (volunteers) came up and asked, ‘which one of you guys is Rick Randall,’ and that made me wonder if I was in the mix. I tried to stay oblivious though.”

   His 67, behind six birdies and one bogey, put him at 4-under 140 for the tournament, two shots ahead of two golfers – Peter Savarino of Ann Arbor, who was playing in the same pairing and shot 69 for 142, and Leo Daigle of Wixom, who shot 71. Savarino won a scorecard playoff to take home the runner-up trophy.

   Defending champion Greg Davies of West Bloomfield shot a closing 71 for 143 where he was tied with Rick Williams of Northville, who closed with a 72.

   A Super Senior champion among the players ages 65-plus ended up being a familiar name in GAM championship circles, and especially the GAM Senior Championship. Rick Herpich of Orchard Lake won among the older set for the fourth time in the championship since turning 65 in 2017.

  The 71-year-old standout made a closing birdie on the par 5 18th hole for a 79 and a 151 total, one shot better than Martin Peck of Plymouth, who shot a final 75 for 152.

  Jeff Knudson of Beverly Hills, who shot 78, was third among the Super Seniors at 153. Bob Carson of Auburn Hills, who shot 78, and Scott Lokers of Holland, who shot 80, were next at 154.

   Herpich was surprised he still had a chance for the Super Senior title after he made a quadruple-bogey 8 on hole 12.

    “I was playing pretty decent and then I just got unlucky,” he said. “My tee shot hit the limb of a tree and then bounced way into the trees and I had trouble getting out. I usually don’t look at the leaderboard, but I looked at 14 and realized I was still in there for the Super Senior. At 18 I hit a sand wedge in from about 73 yards and it was the perfect yardage for me. It was a straight uphill putt about two feet, I made it, and it always feels good to be a winner.”

  Crandall, a Flint City champion in the past, said he has always enjoyed GAM tournaments because they are run so well and provide such great competition.

  “The GAM just does a great job, so to win one feels really great,” he said. “I played really well on a tough golf course today, too, which is what I wanted.”

  Crandall stayed with his good friend and Michigan State Police Officer Cam Henke while playing in the tournament, and he has visited West Michigan often and played golf with Henke at several places. He had not played Muskegon CC prior to this week though.

  “What a great course,” he said. “It was really tough, but really fun to play.”

   Crandall said he started having a good day when he chipped in from just over the green on the first hole for birdie.

  “Our whole group went in the heather off the tee, and I had no idea how the ball would come out of there,” he said. “It was awesome to chip it in. It was kind of amazing. We were all in the heather and yet our group played the hole 1-under. I played well the rest of the way really, one bad shot at 16, but I hit a good drive at 17 and birdied 18. The guys in the group were great, too. Turned out to be a great day.”

RESULTS: GAM.org