Michigan Golf Journal June 2021

21 June 2021 www.michigangolfjournal.com Allyson Geer-Park: Geer-Park set marks and records across Michigan as a Junior golfer – including winning the 2015 and ’16 Michigan Women’s Amateurs at the youngest age in history (age 14), and the 2018 GAM Championship. The Brighton native turned pro in mid-2020 after Covid-19 abruptly ended her multiple record- setting college career at Michigan State – where she was named All-Big Ten first team all four years. Geer-Park was instrumental in the team winning two consecutive Big Ten Championships. She played in three Meijer LPGA Classic tournaments as an amateur, and in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019. James Piot : Currently an amateur at MSU, the 2018 GAM Championship winner had the best summer of his golfing life in 2020 and only seems to be improving. He was stroke play medalist then finished runner up in match play at the 2020 Michigan Amateur. He soon followed with the second- best score at the U.S. Amateur – a sizzling 69- 65-134 at Bandon Dunes in Oregon. His 65 was the lowest round; a 7-under par performance. He won two college tournaments in the fall of 2019 and one more in early 2021 after year-long Covid-19 restrictions on college golf were lifted. He earned All- Big Ten this spring too and earned a trip to the NCAA Finals. Jake Kneen : Kneen grew up playing amateur events from his home base in White Lake and later at Oakland University, where he earned Horizon League Freshman of the Year (2015) and Player of the Year in 2018, when his scoring average led the conference. That same summer he won the professional Michigan Open as an amateur and has won multiple times on mini tours since. Kneen’s big break came in July 2020 when he Monday-qualified into the PGA Tour’s 3M Classic in Minnesota by scoring an 8-under 63. More PGA Tour events are his top goal for the up-and-coming Michigander. MGJ