Drew Preston of Ada wins 101st Michigan Amateur

I'm off to Ireland today for the 2012 Irish Open, so I don't have much time to devote to a full take-out of the 101st Michigan Amateur. I'll leave the storytelling to one of the best golf writers in the state, Greg Johnson. See his story below.

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP – Drew Preston of Ada always looked up to Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood while growing up playing golf in the Grand Rapids area.

“It really couldn’t be scripted better,” he said after topping Werkmeister 2-up in the championship match of the 101st Michigan Amateur Championship on the Oakland Hills Country Club North course Friday afternoon. “It feels awesome to beat a guy like Tom. I remember looking up to him and thinking I want to be able to play with him someday. Now, I’m here, and it’s pretty gratifying.”

Preston, 21, called it a long week. He even dashed to Ohio to take a final exam on the history of Nazi Germany at Bowling Green State University after playing in Monday’s opening round. He has 12 credits remaining at BGSU, but has used up his golf eligibility where he won twice in four years but slumped his final season.

“I been working and going to school and practiced about eight days before this to have a good showing year,” he said. “This was a very hard year in college golf. This is best felt about my game in a long time. I needed it. I do have pro aspirations, but with some of the scores I was shooting there for a while, I was kind of you know, not too sure about it.”

Werkmeister, a 44-year-old internet salesman who won the 2009 Michigan Amateur, struggled with his game on the back nine after playing three consecutive matches with extra holes before the final.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said after losing an early 2-up lead and never trailing until No. 15.“I certainly played rather poorly and gave a lot of holes away. I mean he did what he had to do to win the holes. We both struggled out there on the back. He didn’t struggle as bad.”

Losing to a fellow West Michigan golfer made it easier to take, Werkmeister said.

“I like Drew, he’s a great kid,” he said. “I’ve known him for a handful of years. He has a great family. He’s a really nice kid so I can’t help but feel good for him.”

Preston, who is considering a professional career, took his first lead on No. 15 when Werkmeister played to bogey. At 18, he made a 12-foot birdie putt after hitting a wedge shot from a side-hill lie in the left rough to close out the match.

“It’s so great to win here at Oakland Hills,” Preston said. “I mean, the history here is amazing. To be a champion here – I can’t even get my head around that yet. It will take a while to sink in.”

In the morning semifinals, Werkmeister beat another Grand Rapids area golfer. Brian Hayward battled him for 19 holes before Werkmeister won with a birdie on No. 1.Preston meanwhile, topped his former college teammate, Wes Gates of Novi, 4 and 3. Gates, who is still a BGSU student and golfer, had a highlight shot of the morning. He made a hole-in-one on the fourth hole with a 5-iron shot from 201 yards. It was the third ace of his life, and second while playing golf with Preston.

Semi Finals Match Play Results:

Tom Werkmeister, Kentwood, def. Brian Hayward, Grand Rapids, 19 Holes

Drew Preston, Ada, def. Wesley Gates, Novi 4&3

The North course at Oakland Hills Country Club set to host the 2012 Michigan Amateur

It's hardly "the other course."

But that's how the North course at Oakland Hills Country Club is essentially treated by most golfers. It hasn't hosted the U.S. Open, the Ryder Cup or the PGA Championship like the South has. But club members and golf insiders know the North course is just as strong as its sister, albiet a little shorter and a little more forgiving.

Yet it will still be plenty of a challenge for players in the 101st Michigan Amateur, set for June 18-22. Randy Lewis, the Alma resident who played in The Masters this spring, will return to the course where he won his only Michigan Amateur, way back in 1992.

"It's too bad it's an alternate course to the South. It is one of the best courses in Michigan by far," Lewis said at a recent media day. "It should set up well for match play. There are a lot of good holes. You don't have to kill it (with the driver). It is all about where you place it (the ball)."

The par-70 design will play shorter than most Michigan Amateurs - at roughly 6,700 yards - but Golf Association of Michigan tournament setup man Ken Hartmann, the senior director of rules and competitions for the GAM, said it will give players all they can handle. Tricky slick greens - many are elevated - demand precision. The two par-5s are the course are no gimmees, either.

"No one is going to tear it up," he said about the two-day stroke play event that serves as qualifying for match play. "It is going to be a good test. If you get above the hole, it is going to be dicey."

Follow www.gam.org for day-to-day results.

Forest Dunes still a magical place

The Forest Dunes Golf Club in Roscommon is celebrating an awkward 10th anniversary this summer.

Technically, 2011 should be its 12th anniversary, but after the 7,141-yard course was designed by Tom Weiskopf in 1999, it was shuttered the entire 2000 season before being revived to finally open in 2001.

The financial challenges that hindered the club from the start are still there (it is for sale), but there's no doubting this club's star power. It is one of the most dramatic, thought-provoking, soul-stirring layouts anywhere, ranking 20th on Golf Digest's list of top 100 public courses. The 22,000-square-foot timber clubhouse and 20-acre practice area are just as good. And the professionalism brought by Troon Golf, the management company, further enhances the experience.

And this side of Oakland Hills Country Club, there might not be another club in Michigan more pristine than Forest Dunes. Superintendent Jim Bluck is one of the best. His attention to detail -- such as handwatering fairways and greens -- had the course looking like a Miss America candidate when I played it earlier this week. The greens were running a cool 12 on the stimpmeter. Find me another club, public or private, in the state sporting those green speeds in this heat. There is only one other course in the state with A-4 bentgrass greens.

Weiskopf's masterpiece doesn't have a weakness. There is infinite variety. Seemingly every shot has a hero line that comes with a price if it isn't executed. The front nine cuts through northern woods with the back nine opening to sandy waste areas and meadows.

I hate course reviews that list hole by hole, but to do justice to Forest Dunes, I'll need to point out all the strong candidates to be the signature hole. There are more than half a dozen.

* The par-5 fifth, called "Mason Trail," is the longest hole on the course at 602 yards and requires two precise shots just to stay in position to hit the green for a third.
* The 375-yard sixth hole -- "Gamble" -- showcases Weiskopf's expertise for risk-reward. Playing safely up the left side of the split fairway sets up a blind approach that is extremely difficult. The other choice is to bomb a drive 200 yards from the blue tees over a bunker, while avoiding a tree in the middle of the split fairway, for an easier approach. I chose the latter and was rewarded with birdie.
* Two trees -- hence the name "goalpost" -- flank each side of the seventh green. If you're out of position like I was on this 531-yard par 5, you must decide between going over or under these obstacles to hit the green.
* The fairway of the par-4 eighth, "Forest Edge" doglegs hard right to reveal a green fronted by a pond and the striking setting near the lake and clubhouse. Everything from the fairway and green funnels to the water, so be very careful here.
* The 203-yard ninth (seen below) is the most scenic on the course. Players hit over the lake to a green in the shadow of the clubhouse.
* Although the 10th is another hole with a split fairway, I love the 12th, a sweeping 397-yard par 4 among the trees that bends left off the tee. A pond guards the front right portion of the green.
* The 13th is short at 373 yards, but the green is the toughest on the course with severe falloff zones on the right side. The hole name, "Twins", comes from the two trees along the fairway that can block the approach.
* Another feature worth pointing out, the sunken green at the end of the par-5 558-yard 15th hole, is superb, but the course's crescendo comes at No. 17, a wickedly fun drivable par 4. Or is it? I've played Forest Dunes a handful of times and never seen anybody do it. The tee shot is so intimidating with a massive waste bunker up the entire left side that even a layup shot is unnerving. The green bleeds from right to left, so any shot coming from the fairway on the right to the pin on the right has almost no chance of sticking close. I was lucky enough to hit the fairway along the proper line with a 7 wood and make birdie to close out my match.

The par-5 18th is very strong as well. The 19th hole -- no, not the bar -- provides one more opportunity to settle all bets. This "bye hole" plays roughly 100 yards over a pond to a large, canted green with a bunker in the middle.



Those who stay for dinner are rewarded with a fine menu and service.

There are drawbacks to coming to Forest Dunes -- the insects can be overbearing, the price tag isn't cheap ($130-$155) and the course is off the beaten path in the middle of the Huron National Forest.

But to those who love golf, this is one of the handful of rounds in Michigan that will stick with you a lifetime. It's that good.

Stay-and-play packages are available for six homes on property. For more, visit Forestdunesgolf.com.

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.