Morgan Wins GAM Super Senior Championship

John Morgan Holds On, Wins GAM Super Senior Championship 

  BLOOMFIELD HILLS – John Morgan of Novi lost his big first-round lead with a bad second-round start but managed to hold on and win the 9th GAM Super Senior Championship Tuesday at Bloomfield Hills Country Club. 

  Morgan, a Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member, closed with a 3-over 74 to go with a 69 from Monday for a 143 total and four-shot win in the championship for golfers ages 65-and-over. 

  “I sure let a lot of people back in the tournament,” he said of a bogey, double-bogey and double-bogey start in the final round. “And then I got it together and played 2-under the last 15 holes. It was a struggle today. I hit some really good shots but a lot of bad shots and had some three-putt (greens). I think all the putts I rolled in yesterday and the good breaks yesterday came back and kind of evened it out today.” 

  The victory gave the 66-year-old Morgan his second Super Senior trophy of the year. He won the Super Senior Division in the GAM Senior Match Play Championship earlier this summer. The former auto industry executive played sparingly in the last 20 years due to work, but retirement has put him back on top like the 1980s when he was GAM Player of the Decade. 

  “It’s having won both in match play and medal play that is a big deal to me,” he said. “I’m very honored.” 

  Stephen Jeske of Birmingham shot a final 71 for 147 and second place, four behind Morgan. 

  Gary Rymiszewski of Oxford was third with the low round of the day, a 69, and finished at 148 in third place. Bob Carson of Auburn Hills, who shot 73, and Wesley Pikula of West Bloomfield, who shot 75, were next at 150. 

  Gary Quitiquit of Highland topped the Legends Division for golfers ages 70-and-over that was also part of the championship. He shot 74 to close at 149 for his first GAM title. 

  Terry Moore of Grand Rapids, the Super Senior champ in 2015 who shot 74, and George Dillon Jr., of Midland, who shot 72, tied for second at 153. Jerry Heiss of Canton rounded out the top four with a 78 for 154. Dillon earned the Grand Legend award for having the low score among the golfers ages 75 and over. 

  Morgan said he didn’t let being 5-over par through three holes of the final round get to him. 

  “So, I kind of talked to myself knowing that I’m probably still winning the tournament,” he said. “You just have to figure it out, and I did, so I was happy with that. It was kind of exciting today with birdies and bogeys.” 

  Quitiquit said his first GAM win of any type means a lot to him. 

  “You know, I’ve played in a lot of them and been second a few times, but this is my first win,” he said. 

  It also came at a place, Bloomfield Hills CC, where he has history and has undergone recent significant course renovations. 

  “I worked here when I was in college, that would be the early 70s, and it was kind of fun to come back and play the course,” he said.  

  Quitiquit, 73, said his four-shot Legends’ win was aided by his short-iron play. 

  “I’ve been practicing my short iron game the last two days,” he said. “I’m a member at Prestwick (Village Golf Club) and we have a nice short range. That’s all I worked on, anything from eight-iron down and it was really helpful because the course was in great shape and the greens were so smooth and fast.” 

RESULTS: GAM.org