Michigan Golf Journal November 2021

Michigan Amateurs The dates and location for both the men’s and women’s prestigious Michigan Amateurs in 2022 have been announced. Great Oaks Country Club will host the Michigan Women’s Amateur for the second time, on June 13- 17, 2022 . In 2009, Britney Hamilton of Lake Orion, then a Western Michigan University golfer, made a dramatic 20-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to beat Natalie Brehm of Mount Pleasant and Michigan State University 1-up in the championship match. Brehm came back the following year to win her own Am title, at St. Clair CC. “It’s a perfect course for this championship because it’s designed with the right yardages for players of all levels, so we have a good selection of tees to use,” said Ken Hartmann, senior director of competitions for the administering Golf Association of Michigan. “The bunkers are well- placed, and the hills and elevation changes make it important to hit the ball to the right spots,” Hartmann said. “The winner will have to play a complete game.” Hawk Hollow Golf Course near Lansing will host the men’s tournament, which dates back to 1906. The defending champion is Patrick Sullivan of Grosse Pointe and the Univ. of Michigan. Not often does a public course host the Michigan Amateur, but the last time it did was at Hawk Hollow’s sister course Eagle Eye. Hartmann said the golfers will find a challenge that is different from playing Eagle Eye in 2016. “You can swing it some at Hawk Hollow, but there are things to think about with trees, bunkers and penalty areas,” he said. “Like Eagle Eye, it’s always in great shape, and holes 15 through 18 are great finishing holes. You really have to play well on those holes to finish a round, and that will add some excitement to match play, too.” The Michigan Amateur will be contested June 27 – July 1 on the first 18 holes of the Hawk Hollow course (27 available). The course has hosted a U.S. Senior Open qualifier in recent years, as well as a GAM Women’s Mid-Amateur and the Atlas Trophy Matches. Both Amateur tournaments require two rounds of stroke play to determine who moves on to match play, making it one of the most grueling formats to determine a champion. MGJ Michigan Amateur 2022 News By Tom Lang