Golf News Michigan While most college students were home with family for the holidays, Michigan State Golfers, James Piot, Valery Plata and Brooke Biermann were joined by Haily Borja, from the University of Michigan to compete with 85 men and 41 women collegiate golfers at the Wigwam Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona, in the Patriot All America Invitational. Plata, the BIG Ten Player of the Year, made the most of the trip, when she birdied the final hole to finish at 12-under par and win the women’s division by three shots. players, from across every NCAA Division, to compete in the 54hole stroke play event. Each participant honors a severely wounded or fallen soldier by carrying a bag bearing that hero’s name. This was the first year a women’s division was held. A participant in the 2014 Patriot All America Invitational, Patrick Martinez from the University of Michigan said, “This was a life-changing event for me. I will never think of golf the same way again. I feel so grateful for our soldiers.” Connor Howe, from Georgia Tech, posted a final round 63 to get to 15-under par and win the men’s division by three shots over Notre Dame’s Jackson Palmer. MSU’s James Piot finished at five-under par good for T-19. His MSU teammate Troy Taylor finished at one-under par for the 54 holes, good for T-38. MSU’s Valery Plata Wins Patriot All America Invitational Plata said about her victory, “It feels really special – I’m just really happy to be able to get it done. It was a hard day today at the beginning so I’m just happy that things worked out my way today.” Plata’s teammate from MSU, Brooke Biermann finished at 4-under par for the 54 holes to garner a T-14. Coming in at 1-over par, Hailey Borja, from the University of Michigan, was T-23. The Patriot All America began in 2011 and invites elite collegiate Michigan Golf Journal
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