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.

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."

Future Wolverine Joey Garber wins Michigan Amateur

Surrounded by a near-record crowd of family, friends and club members, 18-year old Joey Garber of Petoskey won the 99th Michigan Amateur Championship at Oakhurst Golf & Country Club, 2 & 1 over Eric Lilleboe of Okemos.

Garber took control of the match right out of the gate by winning the first three holes.

“It’s all about getting into the moment and getting the lead,” said Garber. “He’s a good player and he played everyone really well this week. “My caddie (Jimmy Dewling) and I had a game plan before I teed off on the final match to turn at all square and then start my push on the back. I’ve played holes 10 through 18 really well this week. I knew those holes had to be where I took the lead.”

It didn’t go exactly how Garber had planned, because Lilleboe won three holes in a row to go 1 up after 9 and kept the lead until hole No. 12, where Garber won the hole to bring the match back to all square. Garber proceeded to win 13 with a par.

“He deserved to win,” said Lilleboe. “We’re friends, we’ve played together a lot up north and he’s a really good player. I just finished up my senior year at Ferris State University and my last amateur tournament will be the U.S. Amateur Qualifier at Boyne – The Heather Course on July 22 before turning professional this fall."

Garber has won four GAM Championships in the last four years, but "I really wanted to win this championship; it’s the most important tournament in the state.”

Garber is also the third youngest player ever to win the Michigan Amateur Championship. The second famous amateur ever to live, Chuck Kocsis won it in 1930 at the age of 17, and Korey Mahoney won it at age 18 in 2002.

By winning the Michigan Amateur, Garber receives an automatic five-year exemption into the Michigan Amateur Championship, as well as The Western Amateur, Susquehana Amateur in Pennsylvania, the Michigan Open and the GAM Championship.