Clarkston, MI – For the second straight day at the 99th Michigan Amateur Championship, only two players Tim Katanski (Ypsilanti) and Johnathan Pauli (DeWitt) broke par at Oakhurst Golf & Country Club. Katanski followed his first round of even-par 71 with a 69 today to capture medalist honors. Katanski’s two day total of 140 edged defending Champion Tom Werkmeister (Kentwood) who shot 70-73-143, and Pauli who shot 73-70-143 and Nick Carbary (Kalamazoo) who shot 71-72-143.
“I had a good feeling coming in here,” Katanski said. “Oakhurst’s superintendent (Kyle Celmer) has this course in phenomenal shape and the greens are rolling great. It’s a comfortable yardage into the holes and the fairways are very generous. I only missed one fairway all day on hole # 9. I love the layout of this course. I think Oakhurst is a fair test and has plenty of room to hit the ball perfectly.”
Werkmeister bogied the last three out of the four holes.
The Championship continues on Thursday morning at 7:15 a.m. with the beginning of match play. The 64-player field was completed after David Brownback (Haslett) captured the final spot in a playoff. The ten players who finished at 156 had an immediate hole-by-hole playoff for one spot. Two rounds of matches will be played on Thursday to reduce the field from 64 to the “Sweet Sixteen.”
The leaderboard following Wednesday’s second round of stroke play at the 99th Michigan Amateur Championship played on the par-71 Oakhurst Golf & Country Club.
Tim Katanski, Ypsilanti 71-69-140
Jonathan Pauli, DeWitt 73-70-143
Nick Carbary, Kalamazoo 71-72-143
Tom Werkmeister, Kentwood 70-73-143
Eric Lilleboe, Okemos 73-71-144
Matthew Thompson, Battle Creek 70-74-144
Martin Jeppesen, Ypsilanti 73-71-144
Payne Gniewek, Trenton 74-71-145
Showing posts with label Matt Thompson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Thompson. Show all posts
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Familiar names atop Michigan Amateur first-round leaderboard
Clarkston, MI – Difficult conditions at Oakhurst Golf & Country Club led to plenty of high scores in the first round of stroke play qualifying at the 99th Michigan Amateur Championship on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. The championship field of 156 Michigan players faced a constant swirling wind, 3 to 4 1/2-inch rough, and green speeds stimping at 10 1/2. Only two players shot under par, and 71 players shot 80 or over.
Defending champion, Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood, and University of Michigan junior-to-be Matt Thompson of Battle Creek, last year's runner-up, both shot 70. The duo attributed their solid rounds to consistency and talked about the difficulty of the greens.
“I got off to a good start and turned at one over”, Thompson said. “I birdied holes #16 and #17 which calmed my nerves. This course fits my game. It’s probably one of the toughest courses that the Michigan Amateur Championship has ever been played on.”
Werkmeister had this to say: “I played really badly yesterday during my practice round and didn’t know what was going to happen today,” he said. “I was consistent. I had two birdies on holes #5 and #7 and one bogey. I played the tough par 3’s even par – so I was happy with that. It was very windy and we did get caught in the rain early on but overall I’m happy.”
Stroke play continues Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. Following Wednesday’s round, the 36-hole stroke play medalist will be determined and a hole-by-hole playoff will take place, if necessary, to cut the field to an even 64 players for match play. Match play begins Thursday morning with two rounds of matches on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
* Here is the leaderboard following Tuesday’s first round of stroke play at the 99th Michigan Amateur Championship played on the par-71 Oakhurst Golf & Country Club:
Matthew Thompson, Battle Creek 37-33-70
Tom Werkmeister, Kentwood 34-36-70
Nick Carbary, Kalamazoo 37-34-71
Tim Katanski, Ypsilanti 36-35-71
Greg Reynolds, Grand Blanc 37-35-72
Jeff Champine, Rochester Hills 35-37-72
Martin Jeppesen, Ypsilanti 37-36-73
Eric Lilleboe, Okemos 36-37-73
Erik Schleicher, Grosse Pte Shores 38-35-73
Eric Spencer, Bloomfield Hills 37-36-73
Kevin Klemet, White Lake 37-36-73
Steven Fedewa, Howell 36-37-73
Jonathan Pauli, DeWitt 36-37-73
Anthony Sorentino, Shelby Twp, 35-38-73
Monday, June 21, 2010
99th Michigan Amateur set to tee off at Oakhurst in Clarkston
Golfers teeing it up in this week's Michigan Amateur will have their hands full with the treacherous greens of the Oakhurst Golf & Country Club in Clarkston.
The 99th Michigan Amateur, run by the Golf Association of Michigan, tees off with stroke play on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by 64 players who then advance to match play starting Thursday until a champion is crowned Sunday.
Tom Werkmeister, 42, of Kentwood, returns to defend his title.
"It's been a privilege being champion," he said at media day Monday. "I've lived on a cloud the past 12 months. It's something that you can never take away from me."
Werkmeister beat the University of Michigan's Matt Thompson in last year's final, but even he concedes Thompson will be tough to beat this year. Thompson, a sophomore, was all-Big Ten after setting a Wolverine scoring record average of 72 for 18 holes during the season.
"I can't see him staying an amateur much longer," Werkmeister said.
Thompson hopes to seal the deal this summer.
“I was able to compete to (nearly) win some tournaments (within the last year),” Thompson told mlive.com. “I put myself in position and was close to the lead going into the last rounds. Hopefully I can get in position and figure out how to close some of those tournaments out.”
Oakhurst should be a great match-play venue, according to all involved. There are several potential drivable par-4s, notably the 303-yard 16th hole. Dean Horn, the president of Oakhurst, said the course, which opened in 1998, has never been in better shape. The beautiful 40,000-square-foot clubhouse will provide many a comfortable home base for all involved.
Michigan golf legend Dan Pohl, who won twice on the PGA Tour, said the Arthur Hills course has the toughest set of greens he's ever had to read.
"The eyes show you one thing and the ball will go the opposite," agrees Bruce Baringer, a four-time club champion who will have the home-course advantage this week.
Ken Hartmann, the senior director of rules and competitions for the GAM, said the par 3s will make or break the players.
"No. 8 (200 yards), No. 12 (189 yards) and No. 14 (175 yards) are pretty nasty," he said.
Oakhurst plans to use the tournament to showcase its course and facilities. The club has added 35 new members this year, despite the economic challenges of the golf scene in metro Detroit. The club, built inside a 400-home community, boasts 300 members, a large pool, tennis courts and a market next to the clubhouse.
"There is a heartbeat here," Horn said. " ... We like to think the best years are ahead of us."
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