Werkmeister is Golf Association of Michigan Men’s Player of the Year

Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood has been named Golf Association of Michigan men’s Player of the Year.

In 2014, the 46 year old amateur:

• reached the semifinals of the US Mid-Amateur Championship
• won his sixth Michigan Mid-Amateur
• won his eighth the West Michigan Amateur Championship
• reached the round of 16 in the Michigan Amateur Championship
• was runner up in the GAM Tournament of Champions
• represented Michigan in the USGA State Team Championship
• finished fourth among individuals in the USGA State Team ChampionshipThat’s a heckuva year, and to cap it all, he was named to the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.

  Full press release follows:

• Kentwood’s Tom Werkmeister is GAM Men’s Player of the Year

  FARMINGTON HILLS – Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood, who highlighted his 2014 golf season by reaching the semifinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, has been named the Golf Association of Michigan Men’s Player of the Year.

  The 46-year-old internet salesman, Sunnybrook Country Club member and 2009 Michigan Amateur Champion topped the GAM Honor Roll with 990 points.

  Nathan Clark of Charlotte and Hawk Hollow Golf Club, who qualified for the U.S. Public Links Championship and finished second in the GAM Championship, was runner-up with 633 points. He was followed by Michigan Amateur Champion Henry Do of Canton and Miles of Golf/Kendall Golf Academy with 475 points, GAM Champion Ryan Johnson of New Boston and Carl’s Golfland with 455 and Alex Dombrowski of Gaylord Country Club, a Princeton University golfer, with 443. Complete Honor Roll standings can be found at http://www.gam.org.

  In the next few weeks the GAM will also announce the Women’s Player of the Year, the Senior Men’s Player of the Year, Senior Women’s Player of the Year, Junior Boys Player of the Year and Junior Girls Player of the Year.

  Werkmeister, who was also a GAM Player of the Year in 2009, ’10 and ’12, won an unprecedented sixth Michigan Mid-Amateur Championship this summer and in the spring won the West Michigan Amateur Championship for the eighth time.

  “It’s a great honor to be Player of the Year and it is one of my goals every year because it shows you had a great overall season,” he said. “Obviously the run I made at the U.S. Mid-Am did it for me this time, and I’m proud of that. There are a lot of great players in our state, so to win this is absolutely a great accomplishment for me.”

  Werkmeister also collected key Honor Roll points by reaching the round of 16 in the Michigan Amateur Championship. Among other highlights, he represented Michigan in the USGA State Team Championship and finished fourth among individuals, and was runner-up in the GAM Tournament of Champions to end the golf season.

  In 2013 Werkmeister was the first amateur golfer to win the Michigan Open Championship since 1975, and he was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in May of this year.

  “I played really well in the early spring, and then once the Hall of Fame happened I went into sort of a slump, surprised myself a little by winning the GAM Mid-Am and that kind of kicked off some really good play at the end of the summer,” he said. “Winning this tops it off as a great year.”

  The Golf Association of Michigan was founded in 1919 and is the governing body for amateur golf in the state. As a not-for-profit organization its purpose is to represent, promote, preserve and serve the best interests of the game. The GAM provides membership and a myriad of services to more than 60,000 golfers and more than 400 golf courses. It also conducts 19 amateur championships and oversees 14 USGA qualifying events.