Houtteman wins $10,000 at Boyne's Tournament of Champions

Tournament season in Michigan hit its zenith, as several big events proclaimed winners.

Turns out, Scott Hebert, a six-time Michigan Open champ, isn't the only stud teaching out of the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme.

Lee Houtteman of Traverse City won the Boyne Tournament of Champions on the Alpine course with a birdie on the first playoff hole. The 50-year old teaching professional finished regulation at 5-under par along with Andrew Ruthkoski and Jeff Cuzzort in the 54-hole event at Boyne Mountain Resort.

Houtteman entered the final round tied for third and one shot behind leaders Cuzzort and Korey Mahoney. Mahoney struggled at the finish with bogeys on two of his last 4 holes while Houtteman birdied four of his last seven. Cuzzort birdied the last hole in regulation to earn his spot in the playoff.

All three players laid up on the par-5 18th hole. Houtteman stuck a gap wedge to four inches for an easy tap in birdie, while Cuzzort and Ruthkoski both missed their birdie putts.

“I’ve won pro-ams and chapter events,” Houtteman said after receiving the $10,000 winner’s check. “But this is special. Unbelievable. There are great players in this tournament. Heck, just last week I saw J.R. Roth playing on TV with Hale Irwin at the U.S. Senior Open. I’m thinking I have no chance.”

Mahoney finished with a final round 71 and tied for fourth with Hebert, a former champion.

The Tournament of Champions is a unique 54-hole event that pits men, women, juniors, seniors, professionals and amateurs against each other. They all have won a Michigan major golf tournament. The equalizer for the diverse field are three sets of tees on Boyne Mountain’s Alpine Course. The forward tees play to 5,905 yards and are used by all women and men age 70+. The middle tees measure to 6,562 yards and are played by men 50+ and any junior men with high school eligibility remaining. The back tees are used by all men 49 and under and measure 6,938 yards.

This is the first year Houtteman played from the middle tees. He admits “it helps me on at least 3-holes and is probably good for a couple of strokes per round.”

Not to be overlooked, Christine Meier, a Rochester Hills resident who plays at Michigan State University, won the 95th Michigan Women’s Amateur at Prestwick Village Golf Club by defeating Meagan Bauer, 1 up.

The victory was sweet, considering it came over a current University of Michigan player. “I guess the third time is a charm,” said Meier who was the runner-up last year and was ousted in the semi-finals the year before.

Bauer played near flawless golf on the back nine, but a couple of bogeys on the front hurt her in the long run.

“I played as well as I could have on the back,” said Bauer. “Christine is very consistent, that is what makes her tough to play against. You have to make birdies if you’re going to have a chance at beating her because she is going to make her pars.”

This month, you'll see fewer and fewer events as the high-school kids gear up for fall sports.

Brehm wins Michigan Women's Am, Pressel visits Carl's Golfland

ST. CLAIR -- It was an all green and white final at the 94th Michigan Women’s Amateur at St. Clair River Country Club. Michigan State University senior Natalie Brehm (Mount Pleasant) defeated incoming freshman Christine Meier, 4&3.

Brehm was the 2009 runner-up and was driven to win this year.

“I was really hoping I wouldn’t end up getting the second-place trophy again,” said Brehm. “It was fun to play against Christine. She played really well and I can tell you from what I saw today we are going to have a great team at MSU this year.”

The only thing that could have made the day more perfect for Brehm was if her brother Ryan could have been in attendance. He was runner-up in the Men’s Amateur in 2006 and won the championship in 2007. That makes the Brehms the first brother-sister tandem to win the state amateur.

“He’s playing in Alabama this week but I talked to him on the phone last night and he said he really wished he could be here,” Brehm said. “It is really cool that we both were amateur champions. I guess its kind of historic.”

Both Brehm and Meier, of Rochester Hills, struggled with putting through the first seven holes of the championship round. Brehm had back-to-back birdies on the par-5 8th hole and par-4 9th and kept pulling steadily ahead after making the turn. Her birdie putt on 15 clinched the match.

“It was great because I didn’t have to play that par 3 on 16 again,” said Brehm. “I really struggled with that hole this morning and it gave me some problems earlier this week. But I felt like I played a lot better overall this afternoon.”

Both semifinal matches went to 18 holes with Brehm defeating Lindsey Lammers (Milan/University of Detroit) and Meier defeating her sister Amy Meier (Ohio State University).

“It was just a battle this morning,” said Brehm. “I didn’t feel like either one of us was playing our best golf and it came down to the last hole.”

Meier said it was fun to play two familiar foes in one day; her sister and her teammate.

“It was just a lot of fun and Natalie is such a sweet girl,” said Meier. “It was a great tournament and it's exciting just to make it to the final. And my coach was on my bag yesterday so feel like I got a little taste of what it's going to be like playing for the Spartans.”

There were may Spartan supporters in the gallery which Meier and Brehm both appreciated.

“It was great to hear ‘Go green! Go white!’,” said Brehm. “So many people from the club and the community came out to watch us and support us. It really means a lot and the atmosphere at the tournament was just wonderful.”

SPECIAL VISIT: Female players around the state should take advantage of Michigan's own Morgan Pressel returning home to host a clinic 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, at Carl's Golfland in Bloomfield Hills. Pressel, from Grosse Pointe, is fresh off an eighth-place finish at the Ricoh Women's British Open.