Michigan Golf Journal August 2019

Joey Garber on PGA Tour in the Boyne Golf Academy), but even more importantly, just golf in Michigan,” said Ken Griffin, Director of Golf Sales and Marketing at Boyne, Garber’s sponsor. “I think overall, this is great for the game of golf in our state, that we’ve got a couple guys here (on Tour, including Jackson’s Brian Stuard). “It’s great for the young kids in Michigan to now have Michigan guys to look up to, that they can look to achieve this, and hopefully this is just another big boom for youth.” Garber is a northern Michigan poster boy. He grew up playing all sports, including a soccer obsession. But Garber also h it the ski slopes regularly at Boyne and was in the midst of Junior Olympic training before choosing to concentrate on golf. “I’ve got to say there’s a lot of Joey love up north,” Griffin added. And that’s not lost on Garber. “It kind of defines a little bit of who I am,” Garber said about his northern Michigan upbringing. “I’m fortunate to grow up in a place that has great golf courses, including Boyne golf. I’m very fortunate to be from Petoskey and to have Boyne on my side.” All in all, Garber said in Detroit how grateful he was to be playing golf in front of ‘hometown’ friends, fans and family – and to be properly recognized. “It’s so nice to see familiar faces and to hear people yelling my name,” he said. “Most of the time, wherever we are, people are yelling ‘Rickie’ (Fowler) or ‘Tommy’ (Fleetwood) at me instead of Joey, so it’s nice to be called by my name,” Garber quipped in reference to the long hair that flows out from underneath his cap. Going one step further on being an often- misidentified rookie on Tour, due to looking similar to Fowler and Fleetwood, even Hall of Famer Nick Faldo got involved. During the live telecast on CBS during the 3M Championship, Faldo said about Garber when he was putting on the 18 th green: “It’s been rumored that he and Tommy Fleetwood were ambassadors to Herbal Essence Anti-residue Hydration Shampoo and Conditioner… just checking on them, keeping up on global news.” Gee, thanks, Sir Nick. More importantly, thank you, Joey, for being a great ambassador for the Great Lakes State.