Berritt Kelpin wins the Michigan Open with impressive performance

It was a record-setting and historic performance that won the Michigan Open this week.

Berritt Kelpin, a 22-year-old Kalamazoo golfer, plowed the field over at the 95th Michigan Open Championship presented by DTE. The recent University of Iowa graduate closed with a 4-under-par 68 Thursday for a resounding 23-under-par 265 tournament total at The Orchards Golf Club in Washington Township. It earned him an $8,000 first-place check as well as the coveted James D. Standish Jr. Trophy and a place in history. His eight-shot margin over runner-up Jeff Cuzzort, a Nationwide Tour player from Grosse Ile, matched the mark set in 1948 by Michigan Golf Hall of Fame legend Chick Harbert, who won the Michigan Open four times, won seven times on the PGA Tour, won the 1954 PGA National Championship and was a Ryder Cup captain.

“Probably a lot of it hasn’t sunk in,” Kelpin said. “It was my first pro event and I played so well and managed to tie that record. It’s kind of surreal right now, but it was a great week. I mean I played well the whole week.”

Andy Ruthkoski, the 2007 Michigan Open champion from Muskegon; mini-tour golfer Willie Mack III of Flint; and low amateur Brian Hayward, a Grand Rapids CPA, tied for third at 14-under-par 274. Clark Klaasen, a mini-tour player from Grand Rapids, was next after shooting a 65, the low round of the day, for 275. Cuzzort, who won $4,800 for second, had three bogeys to start his round, and said he let the nervous Kelpin off the hook.

“I could see he was nervous,” he said. “He had a double-bogey (No. 5 in the hazard), but I just never got anything going. Bogey the first three holes – that’s not what I wanted to do. It’s kind of opposite of what I needed to do to put pressure on.”

Kelpin said the help of his uncle, Greg Gagie, who caddied for him, was a critical factor, and he said he talked on the phone with his teacher, Charley Vandenberg of Thousand Oaks in Grand Rapids, each day of the week.

"I feel like talking with (Charlie) and having my uncle there to calm me down when the going got tough was big,” he said after making 29 birdies and an eagle during the four rounds. “I knew I could win, but I don’t think I really expected this in my first professional event.”

Kevin Helm, the executive director of the PGA, and Ron Dalby, owner of The Orchards, announced that the 2013 Michigan Open will also be played at The Orchards. Kelpin plans to play some mini-tour golf and prepare for PGA Tour Qualifying in the fall.

The Orchards Golf Club set to host the 2012 Michigan Open

The 95th Michigan Open Championship presented by DTE Energy will return June 11-14, 2012 to The Orchards Golf Club in Washington Township.

The Orchards Golf Club is becoming known as metro Detroit's go-to site for tournament golf (outside of Oakland Hills Country Club, of course). The Orchards has hosted a number of Michigan PGA and Golf Association of Michigan events, and most notably was the site for the USGA 2002 National U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship won by current PGA Tour professional Ryan Moore. The picture is of the par-4 18th hole, which plays downhill and over a pond.

“The Orchards Golf Club is extremely pleased and honored to again host The Michigan Open in 2012," Orchards head professional Jeff Stalcup said in a statement. "The course presented a terrific challenge to the players at the 2011 Michigan Open, and we look forward to an even more competitive event this year. Having hosted the 2002 USGA National Amateur Public Links Championship and the 2011 Michigan Open, we are confident that The Orchards will again provide the venue that will result in lasting memories for the players and spectators."

The Michigan Open will feature 156 of the best amateur and professional golfers in Michigan. Randy Hutchison from Traverse City won the event last year with a 16-under par, 272 total, taking home $10,000 and giving him his first Michigan Open victory.

Hutchison wins Michigan Open; Oakland Hills secures 2016 U.S. Amateur

There's plenty of tournament news going on in Michigan in the heat of summer.

The state's premier event -- The Michigan Open -- ended July 14 when Randy Hutchison, a 24-year-old mini-tour professional from Traverse City, birdied the final hole, the 18th at The Orchards Golf Club, to beat Matt Thompson.

But the biggest news comes from the state's premier tournament venue. Golfweek just reported that Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township will host the 2016 U.S. Amateur. Not interested in amateur golf, you say? This has wide-range implications. Getting an Am is usually just a stepping stone to securing a U.S. Open. The U.S. Open is scheduled through 2019, giving Oakland Hills an opportunity to host in 2020.

Oakland Hills' South course has hosted six U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships, one Ryder Cup and one previous U.S. Amateur, won by Ricky Barnes in 2002.

With Michigan suffering a PGA Tour drought since the 2009 Buick Open left town, the state will surely welcome back the world's best golfers with open arms.

As for the Michigan Open, it was a breakthrough win for Hutchison.

“I knew I had to make a birdie, and I didn't expect him to make a bogey,” Hutchison said of the final hole drama. “My last birdie had been on the sixth hole, so I was due for one.”

Hutchison hit a sand wedge shot to just two feet for the final birdie, while Thompson missed the green with a 7-iron shot, just missed making a chip shot from left of the green and finally missed a seven-foot par-saving putt. Hutchison then knocked his final short putt in for the win and fist-pump celebration. “It reminded me of a putt I made at a qualifier to get in a Buick Open (2009),” he said. “I had good thoughts and just knocked it in.”

Hutchison, a former Michigan State golfer, won $10,000 and heads back to the NGA Hooters Tour. His final birdie gave him a 2-under-par 70 for a 16-under-par 272 total. Thompson, a Battle Creek resident who will be a senior on the University of Michigan golf team in the fall, finished at 273 with a 68.

Brian Ottenweller, a former University of Michigan Michigan player now on the mini-tour circuit, finished at 275 and in third place with a 67. Muskegon pro Andy Ruthkoski, the 2007 Open champion, shot 70 for 279 and fourth place, and Ann Arbor amateur Martin Jeppesen, an Eastern Michigan University golfer, shot 66 for 280 and fifth place. Sixth place went to mini-tour pro Ryan Lenahan of Grosse Pointe Shores, who shot a course-record 63 for 281. PGA Tour star Mike Weir was the previous record-holder at 65.

Hutchison was feeling great about his win.

“It's always great to play in the Michigan Open, and to get my first professional win in this tournament is great,” he said. “Winning with my parents here – it's just great, exactly the way you want it.”

Thompson, who was also second in the 2009 Michigan Open, missed at being the first amateur to win a state Open since 1975.

Summer in full swing in Michigan

With July 4th having been celebrated, we are in the heat of the summer golf season in Michigan. The next two months will make or break the bottom lines of many area golf clubs. Let's hope the weather holds up for a fine summer.

Here's a few notes to keep up on the Michigan golf scene:

1, Greg Johnson of the Grand Rapids Press beat me to the punch in writing about the new men's golf coaches at Michigan (Chris Witten) and Michigan State University (Casey Lubahn). I'll let him tell the story how these two Grand Rapids high school standouts are good friends but still rivals. See his story here.

2, With the Michigan Open just around the corner, I got a chance to check out The Orchards, the Washington Township course that hosted the 2002 U.S. Publix Championship. This is the first of back-to-back Michigan Opens for the Robert Trenton Jones Jr. course that opened in 1993. The track should be a fine test for the state's top pros July 11-14. When I played the course in June, it was already in tournament shape. The greens roll true. Above is a picture of the pond guarding the 18th green. Orchards head professional Jeff Stalcup will have his hands full, not only helping run the tournament but he'll be playing as well. "I don't have any expectations," he said when asked about his chances of playing well.

3, For players looking for some competitive action, a new event, the Michigan Pro-Am at Shanty Creek, should get the juices flowing.
The Golf Connection's first stateside Destination Pro-Am will be held September 7-11. This premier pro-am event will showcase the beauty and appeal of northern Michigan for professionals and amateurs from the United States and Canada. Entries are now open at www.michiganproam.com
“The Michigan Pro-Am and Shanty Creek Resorts will allow us to provide our attendees with a destination golf experience unlike anything we currently offer in the Caribbean,” says Tom Jaronski, Tournament Director and President of The Golf Connection. “Our September event dates are perfect for U.S. teams from the Sun Belt looking to escape the heat of a long summer, and a great way for Canadian clubs north of the border to extend their tournament season.”
The 54-hole event will be contested over Shanty Creek Resorts’ The Legend, designed by Arnold Palmer, the Tom Weiskopf-designed Cedar River Golf Club, and Schuss Mountain Golf Club.
All players and guests will enjoy the hospitality and northern charm that Shanty Creek Resorts offers including the newly renovated Lakeview Resort and Conference Center at Summit Village, which overlooks Lake Bellaire and northern Michigan’s beautiful landscape.
Tournament packages, which start at $1,749 per person (double occupancy) if booked by August 1, include four-nights lodging, all meals, three tournament rounds plus additional unlimited golf, evening dinner receptions with hosted beer and wine, tournament favors and more! Visit www.michiganproam.com for more details.
“We are very excited to showcase Shanty Creek Resorts to club professionals and amateurs from around the country”, said Chris Hale, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Shanty Creek. “Our location in northern Michigan and the quality of championship golf courses make Shanty Creek a natural fit for the Michigan Pro-Am and to showcase northern Michigan as one of the top golfing destinations in the country.”
With the support of the Michigan PGA Section, golfers in need of a Club Professional will be paired up with an in-state PGA Club Professionals. The Golf Connection LLC welcomes entries from individual players and teams without host professional, providing all amateur players meet the entry requirements outlined on the tournament website.
"We welcome PGA Professionals from Michigan and across the country to enter a team and participate in this exciting event,” said Kevin Helm, Executive Director for the Michigan PGA. “We will also arrange for any of our local Michigan PGA Professionals to play with groups that do not have a host Professional. Our Section Members are proud of what our state has to offer and look forward to the opportunity to host and participate with amateur players coming to experience golf in northern Michigan."

Orchard Lake CC preparing for 2010 Michigan Open

The Michigan Open is set to return to Orchard Lake Country Club for the second straight year June 14-17 for its 93rd edition.

Thanks to a little luck from Mother Nature, the historic club’s classic design was one of the few area Oakland County courses to escape the winter unscathed. Ice damage forced some of OLCC’s neighboring clubs to re-sod greens and fairways.
The Harry Colt-C. H. Alison design looked in prime shape during a visit last month. The rough was starting to thicken and the greens as smooth as glass.

“We were lucky,” OLCC head pro Brian Dice said.

The buzz surrounding this tournament will surround defending champion Ryan Brehm, a former Michigan State University star trying to make his way to the PGA Tour. The Oakland Press reported in April that Brehm will defend his title, but Dice indicated that U.S. Open qualifying could prevent his return. Brehm’s power dazzled fans and competitors alike in 2009. He successfully drove the fourth and sixth greens, outmuscling the field to shoot 20-under-par. He bested Jeff Roth, a former champion, by eight shots.

“Orchard Lake Country Club is a great fit for my style of golf,” Brehm told the paper. “The firm and fast greens emphasize good course management and precise approach shots and the par-5s are a good combination of risk and reward.”
His 264 was three short of the record set by Michigan legend Chick Harbert.

Although the course got rave reviews from players, the tournament will move to The Orchards, a public course in Macomb County for 2011 and 2012. I don’t think you can go wrong with either venue. Orchard Lake is shorter and void of ball-gobbling water hazards, yet its rolling terrain and elevated sloping greens make scoring a challenge.

The Orchards, home of the 2002 USGA’s National Public Links Championship, features tighter tee shots and the potential to rack up penalty shots for balls lost in wetlands. Both should provide a dramatic theater for one of Michigan's most historic tournaments.

For more visit http://michigan.pga.com/.