Rickie Fowler Won The Rocket Mortgage Classic
The PGA Tour visited Detroit Golf Club for the fifth Rocket Mortgage Classic and fan favorite, Rickie Fowler came away with his first win on the PGA Tour since the 2016 Waste Management Open. Fowler had fallen outside of the Top 50 in the world and this win put him squarely back into the mix as one of golf’s elite players.
Since 2019, the Rocket Mortgage Classic has invested more than $6.8 million into Detroit charitable organizations, including more than $3.8 million through its landmark “Changing the Course” digital inclusion effort. Learn more about this year’s beneficiaries and how ‘Connect 313’ helps the community at: https://www.rocketmortgageclassic.com/beneficiaries.
Michigan Hosts Two LPGA Tournaments
Michigan golf fans have been supporting LPGA events in the state for many years and 2023 was no different. The Meijer LPGA Classic and Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational (DGLBI) were held in Grand Rapids and Midland with worthy champions crowned and needed dollars generated for Michigan charities.
Meijer LPGA Classic
This year’s winner in Grand Rapids, Leona Macguire chose to continue a tradition started by 2021 Meijer LPGA Classic winner, Nelly Korda and continued by 2022 winner, Jennifer Kupcho, by donating $25,000 of her first-place check to the ‘Kid’s Food Basket.’
Macguire is one of the current rising stars on the LPGA and is the perfect champion to represent the Meijer LPGA Classic.
Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational
Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol teamed up to win the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Midland.
This was the second LPGA win for Knight, who won the 2019 Volunteers of America Classic. For the 28-year-old Szokol this was her first LPGA Tour win, but she also won the 2018 IOA Classic on the EPSON Tour.
The Dow GLBI donates to charities across the Great Lakes Bay Region and has awarded more than $1.5 million since its inception in 2019.
PGA Tour Champions Visited Warwick Hills for the Ally Challenge
With 34 PGA Tour wins, three of which came at Warwick Hills and 66 worldwide victories, Vijay Singh collected his fifth PGA Tour Champions win at the Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc.
Singh got a little help from Paul Goydos, who five putted the 17th green to hand the title to Singh.
It was Singh’s first PGA Tour Champions title in nearly five years. His last win came at the 2018 at the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
The primary beneficiary of the proceeds from the Ally Challenge is the United Way of Genesee County. Since its inception in 2018, The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren has donated a total of more than $4.5 million in support of local charities in the greater Flint area and beyond.
EPSON Tour
The EPSON Tour provides a series of professional tournaments for young women trying to advance to the LPGA Tour.
Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship
Wake Forest alumna, Siyun Liu started the final day of the Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship in a four-way tie for the lead with Amelia Garvey, Lindsey McCurdy, and Min-G Kim. In that last round she battled inclement weather, her nerves, and a charging Amelia Garvey to secure a one-shot victory at Battle Creek Country Club.
In 2022, Liu worked as an intern for EPSON America and one year later she became a first-time EPSON Tour winner.
She had been showing signs of playing winning golf, coming into the tournament, with a tie for ninth at the LOTTE Championship on the LPGA Tour and another top ten at the EPSON Tour’s Casino Del Sol Golf Classic.
Island Resort Championship
This was the 12th year that Sweetgrass Golf Club at the Island Resort Casino in Escanaba hosted the EPSON Tour. The field of 156 young women from all over the world competed for the $225,000 purse and their chance to earn an automatic exemption onto the 2024 LPGA Tour.
In her rookie season, Tsai Cheng Tseng won the 2023 Island Resort Championship in just her second start on the EPSON Tour. This was not her first professional win, she previously won the 2022 SAMPO Ladies Open in Taiwan. But, the $33,750 first-place check earned her full membership on the EPSON Tour and leg up on making it to the 2024 LPGA Tour.
Michigan Golf Fans Support Professional Golf
Michigan has a great history of hosting professional golf tournaments and 2023 proved to be another successful season. Michigan golf fans love to watch the best players in the world compete on local courses, plus their support helps local Michigan Charities.
