Michigan Open Entry Deadline Is May 7

PLAY THE HALL FINANCIAL MICHIGAN OPEN: Deadline to Enter is May 7; Shanty Creek Resort Hosts Championship

   BELLAIRE – Golfers planning to test themselves against the state’s best players on one of Michigan’s top destination resort courses in the Hall Financial Michigan Open Championship presented by Make The Turn & Harbor Title must enter by Wednesday, May 7, at 5 p.m.

  As announced in December, the 108th edition of the historic state championship will be played in June (9-12) on the Cedar River Golf Course (photo above) at Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire. The championship has been played at Oakland University’s Katke Cousins Course in Rochester, the last two years.

  Hall Financial is the title sponsor for a fourth consecutive year. Make The Turn and Harbor Title Agency are the presenting sponsors.

  “We’ve had great championships with the continued tremendous support from Hall Financial, and our presenting partners Make The Turn and Harbor Title,” Justin Phillips, the Michigan Section PGA tournament director said. “Playing the championship up north on one of our state’s great golf destination courses, Cedar River at Shanty Creek Resort, adds another level of excitement. We anticipate another tremendous event.”

  The championship is open to Michigan residents and all registration and entry fee information for the qualifiers is on the Michigan Section PGA website (michiganpga.com).

  The qualifiers by date and site: May 12, Tam O’Shanter, West Bloomfield; May 13, Hawk Hollow, Bath; May 14, Thornapple Pointe, Grand Rapids; May 15, PGA Members Only at The Orchards, Washington Twp.; May 19, Traverse City G&CC; May 20, The Wyndgate, Rochester; May 22, Flint Golf Club; May 29, The Polo Fields, Ann Arbor; June 1, Black Lake, Onaway; June 7, 3-Spot Qualifier, A-Ga-Ming Resort Sundance Course, Kewadin.

   The Michigan Section annually conducts the state championship and has a successful history with Shanty Creek Resort. The Michigan PGA Professional Championship was played at the resort from 2000-2005.

   Cedar River is one of five courses at Shanty Creek and is an award-winning design by the late elite PGA Tour golfer and course designer Tom Weiskopf. It opened in 1999 and plays to a maximum of 7,001 yards with multiple tee positions.

  It was the World Golf Hall of Fame member’s first course design in Michigan and features isolated holes, generous tree-lined fairways, classic natural green settings, significant elevation changes and includes one of his trademark dramatic drivable par 4 holes (301-yard No. 13).

  Last June, Eric Lilleboe of Okemos kept the lead through the final three rounds and won the 107th Open on the Katke-Cousins course at Oakland University Golf & Learning Center. It was the second time the 36-year-old PGA Tour Americas player won the coveted state title and had his name added to the James D. Standish Trophy. He also won in 2019.

   First played in 1916, the Michigan Open annually attracts the top professional and amateur golfers in the state and its list of winners includes golf legends Walter Hagen, Al Watrous, Chuck Kocsis, Horton Smith and Dave Hill, and more recent Michigan Golf Hall of Fame inductees Randy Erskine, Buddy Whitten, Lynn Janson, Jeff Roth, Tom Gillis and Scott Hebert. Current PGA Tour member Ryan Brehm is a three-time winner of the historic James D. Standish Jr. trophy.