Petoskey native Joey Garber is a regular now on the 2018 Web.com Tour, where he has two top 10 and two more top 25 finishes so far this season. In 2016 he made it into a few PGA Tour events via Monday qualifiers and hopes to return on a regular basis.
During a stellar Junior career he won three major tournaments in Michigan in 2010 alone – the Division 2 high school state title, the Michigan Junior State Amateur and the crowning Michigan Amateur against all the adults – the summer before joining the golf team at University of Michigan.
He spoke with Michigan Golf Journal recently while on the road between Web.com tournaments: 
QUESTION: How do you feel about where your game is right now?
“I feel my game is trending, which is nice. And I played well in the right weeks, (those with) the biggest purses of the season. That makes me comfortable knowing I’m going to get into every event the rest of the year. Now I just want to get better every week and I’ve done that. I just need to make a few more putts and I think I’ll be in good shape.”
Q: If you could bottle up things about the Petoskey area to take on the road with you, what would it be?
“Just the people, and that environment. I mean I’ve been so fortunate to grow up there and be around what I think can be an overlooked golf community. With all the great golf courses we have and for me to grow up in that environment, with the people who love golf so much, really fuels me and I take that with me everywhere I go.”
Q: What are your favorite tournament memories in Michigan as a junior player?
“That would be winning the Michigan Amateur, definitely the highlight, right after high school graduation. Then a couple weeks later I won the Michigan Junior Am and I think I’m the only golfer to ever win both of those in the same year. It was pretty cool having my parents there and it was kind of my send off moment of Michigan Junior golf and heading to the national stage.”
Q: Did your move to Georgia (transferring from University of Michigan) significantly change your golf game?
“I think it did. For me the environment down there and the proving ground that Georgia has in producing players that ultimately go and win on the PGA Tour – that instills a confidence in you and I think success breads success and we have had a situation down there with so many good players and we competed day in and day out. That part of it made me a better player and made me realize how good everyone is at golf these days. The talent goes so deep. To be exposed to that and start to understand and believe in how good of a player I could be, that was huge for me.”
Q: There are several other Michigan guys out on the mini tours (like Matt Harmon and Ryan Brehm) … Do you feel support between each other or is golf still about the rivalries?
“No, there’s a connection there for sure. I have always looked up to Ryan and Matt, even played in a final round with Matt (mid-May) and we had a good time. It’s nice to play with a familiar guy, a Michigan guy. To have them around and to have that, we all root for each other. We want as many guys from Michigan out there that we can get. We’re proud of where we’re from and we think of golf in Michigan as superior, and it’s helped us get to be where we want to be.”
