Jimmy Chestnut of Royal Oak fought off final-round nerves he had not confronted for a long time and won his second GAM Championship in August, 12 years after his first.
With a 7-under tournament total the 38-year-old attorney rallied to catch and pass Ann Arbor’s Tyler Copp (winner of the Michigan Amateur in late June), who shot 6-under in the 99th edition of the GAM Championship
“I’ve won the Michigan Amateur and the GAM, and now the GAM again and to win three of the big GAM events is a big deal for me,” Chestnut said. “It kicks me up a notch, I guess to another level in my mind, and to do it 12 years later is special.”
Chestnut’s first GAM Championship makes the last golfer to win the GAM Championship and the Michigan Amateur in the same year (2008).
James Piot of Canton, the current MSU standout, checked in third at 5-under – just before heading to Bandon Dunes to play in the U.S. Amateur, where he was runner up medalist in stroke play qualifying. He was knocked out in the second round of match play. (see story next page)
