Eight Teams Advance to GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Finals

Eight Teams Advance to GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Finals

   Eight teams from three qualifiers presented in the last two weeks are moving on to the fall finals of the 15th GAM Senior/Mid-Am Team Championship finals presented by Shanty Creek Resort.

  A field of 139 teams including 278 of the state’s top golfers, competed in the opening segment of the championship that features a Senior golfer (55-and-over) teamed up with a Mid-Amateur golfer (25-and-over).

  Western Golf & Country Club in Redford hosted a qualifier on Monday, May 13, and Oakhurst Golf & Country Club in Clarkston and Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club each hosted this Monday (May 20).

  Champion and runner-up teams were determined out of the teams at each qualifier site, but because of ties for second place at two sites Monday, there are eight teams moving on to the overall finals, Thursday, Oct. 10, on the North Course at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills.

  Scorecard playoffs determined the second-place trophy winners at Grosse Ile and Oakhurst Monday, but the other second-place teams were invited via tournament committee decisions to participate in the finals.

  At Western G&CC a week ago, the team of Greg Davies of West Bloomfield and Anthony Sorentino of Rochester Hills emerged as champions after a sizzling 8-under 64 in morning four-ball, or best-ball, and then a 79 for 143 in foursomes, also known as alternate shot, in the afternoon.

  “We had it going in the morning, making birdies on different holes,” Sorentino said. “Then we just tried to survive in alternate shot. I thought we were going to let it slip away but 8-under saved us. Greg played great as usual. It was fun in the morning, a lot of birdies.”

  Chris Bailey of Rochester and his partner Andrew Smith of Oakland Township finished second with rounds of 70 and 75 for 145 to move on to also move on to the finals.

  At Grosse Ile G&CC home-course knowledge proved useful once again as David Vaclav of Flat Rock and Matt Mahanic of Grosse Ile, a pair of club members, were winners of the qualifier at that site for a second consecutive year. They shot 65-72 for a 5-under 138 total and move on to the finals once again.

  “We putted pretty good today, we play well together and we’re good friends so there are not any getting mad stuff or anything like that,” Vaclav said. “We just played our games. Matt made some big putts, including a big par putt on 18 to finish there. Playing with him is easy and we look forward to another shot in the finals.”

  Two teams tied at 3-under 139, but Mike Anderson of Novi and Rick Herpich of Orchard Lake were awarded the trophies in a scorecard playoff. They had rounds of 70 and 69, including a key 33 on the back nine in alternate shot play.

  Also finishing at 139 were JJ Modell and Mitchell Wayne of Bloomfield Hills. They shot 67 and 72 and are headed to the finals as well.

   At Oakhurst G&CC, a pair of former champions in the Senior/Mid-Am Team from 2019, Grant Bruce of Birmingham and Michael Coriasso of Royal Oak, topped the field with a 3-under 69 in alternate shot play, or foursomes, after an even-par four-ball round for a 141 total.

  Jerry Dagenais and Michael Hohf of Oxford won the scorecard playoff in a tie for second. They shot 71-73 for even-par 144.

  Also finishing at 144 and moving on to the finals are Mike Zoerhoff and James Daniels of Caledonia. They shot 73 in best-ball and then 71 in alternate shot for their 144.

   Bruce said he and Coriasso, fellow Detroit Golf Club members, did a great job of keeping the ball in play through the day.

  “We were never really in trouble in the first round and then in the second round we covered up our mistakes a few times,” he said. “Michael hit a 5-iron to a foot on 18 for eagle, so that was definitely the highlight.”

PAIRINGS: GAM.org and Golf Genius