Lewis Is 2024 GAM Super Senior Player of the Year

GAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Randy Lewis of Alma Tops 2024 Super Senior Points List

    FARMINGTON HILLS – Randy Lewis of Alma stayed healthy in 2024 and had fun playing golf once again.

  “That’s the beauty of the game, finding satisfaction in things that maybe you didn’t when you were younger,” said the 67-year-old Michigan Golf Hall of Famer and Pine River Country Club member. “I was hurt in 2023 and barely played. I was thrilled to simply play a whole year without being hurt. That hasn’t happened for a while.”

  The healthy retiree won the Super Senior division of the GAM Senior Match Play Championship early in the season and capped the year with the Super Senior title at the GAM Mid-Amateur Championship.

  Those victories helped him top the Golf Association of Michigan’s (GAM) Super Senior Points List and he has been named the 2024 GAM Super Senior Player of the Year, Ken Hartmann, senior director of competitions and USGA services, announced today.

  Player of the Year point totals can be found on a pull down from the PLAY tab at GAM.org Carl’s Golfland is the presenting sponsor of the points lists.

  Last week, McCoy Biagioli of White Lake was named the GAM Men’s Player of the Year and Elayna Bowser of Dearborn was named the GAM Women’s Player of the Year. Over the next month the GAM will announce more Players of the Year in gender and age categories.

  Lewis earned 235 points over the season to top the Super Seniors just ahead of Ian Harris of Bloomfield and TPC Michigan, who was runner-up to Lewis in the Senior Match Play and runner-up in the GAM Super Senior Championship. He had 205 points.

  Greg Zeller of Jackson and the Michigan Publinx Golf Association (172.5), Jeff Knudson of Beverly Hills and the Michigan Publinx Golf Association (155) and Rick Herpich of Orchard Lake and Orchard Lake Country Club (150) rounded out the top five.

  One of the state’s most accomplished amateurs, Lewis is a Super Senior Player of the Year for the second time (2022) and has been a Player of the Year in three age categories.

  He was a two-time GAM Men’s Player of the Year and the GAM Player of the Decade in the 1990s, and after turning 55 he was the GAM Senior Player of the Year for four consecutive years. Highlights of his storied resume are the 2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, a start in the 2012 Masters Tournament, 37 starts in USGA championships and two Michigan Amateur titles.

  Lewis said he is honored to be a Player of the Year once again.

  “It’s always fun to see the guys and compete and the tournaments are at such great venues,” he said. “We’re lucky to have a great golf association in Michigan. The great tournaments keep you wanting to play and keep working on your game.”

  Lewis said the key for him is staying healthy.

  “I did the math one time, and I don’t know if I have hit a million balls (practice shots and tournament shots), but it’s pretty close,” he said. “The wear and tear on the body is a lot, and I’ve been fortunate to work with some athletic trainers the last few years who have helped keep me going.”

  “I quit comparing myself to the guy I was 15 years ago,” he said. “I just want to have fun playing, and now that I’m retired, I get the chance to play some of the great courses in Michigan that I never had the opportunity to play before. I’m looking forward to the competition but also just enjoying the game outside of competition. I feel fortunate to last as long as I have in this game.”

  Winning the Super Senior title at the Mid-Amateur at The Highlands in Harbor Springs was his highlight of the summer.

  “Boyne and especially the Heather (course) are special,” he said. “That second round of the Heather was a little return to my old self for a round. I hit it where I wanted to hit it and made the putts I needed to make. Those days are fewer and farther between.”

  Hartmann called Lewis a living Michigan golf legend.

  “He’s a true gentleman, an all-around great guy, never sticks his chest out, humble and let’s his game speak for itself,” he said. “As a player he is steady and his name is always near the top of the leaderboard, and it’s fun to watch him hit shots. He’s a true shot-maker who can pull off almost anything.”