Jason Harrington Player of the Year for 2009

This season we will have a player of the year award which will be given to a player that has accomplished great things while playing on our tour. The criteria will of course be victories, top 5's and sportsmanship. This award will be named the "Jason Harrington Player of the Year Award". Jason will be the 2009 winner of this award for his exemplary play this past season and I am sure that everyone will agree he was someone that made the game of golf and this tour better when he played. Jason was tragically taken from us in January of 2010 all of on the tour will miss him and his great love of the game.

MIAGT tackles Cattails

With a calm morning breeze and no precipitation in the forecast the Michigan Amateur Golf tour was on a quest to tame the baffling Cattails of South Lyon. This course is one of the shortest the golfers will face all season, but its length is not to be taken lightly. The course does not have a lot of water or trees lined down the fairway, but there are a lot of approach shots that require pinpoint accuracy to carry the high grass and successfully land on the sloping fairways and undulating greens. 

In the championship flight one of two MIAGT golfing gladiators Chris Dotson showed up and the other half of that tandem Dallas Cochrane did not compete. Dotson coming off an impressive major win over Cochrane at Sugarbush was vying for his third consecutive victory on tour.

Dotson from Davidson, Michigan shot 2 under par-34 at the turn and managed to keep his composure by shooting a round of 4 over par-76 to pull off the golfers hat trick.  “ It feels good no doubt, but I would have rather won it under 68 than a 76 but it still feels good,” said Dotson.  Wondering did the absence of Cochrane contribute to the slight loss of concentration on the back nine for Dotson. “Yeah it definitely factors in, the last time we played at the major championship, we fought it out pretty hard and I slipped up there too. Maybe it’s just me mentally on the back just trying to close it out, and maybe I just need to work a little more on my closing skills mentally. I did the same thing today that I did when I played against him, I opened the door for them again and I just can’t do that, I gotta learn to close it out,” said Dotson.

Kelly Rosengren was the runner-up and David Leveque finished third in the championship flight.

John Mellen from Auburn Hills, Michigan won the A-flight by posting a 3 over par-75, which was the best score of the day.  Mellen was on target to perhaps break par on this course until the eighteenth hole where one of his shots became victim to the high grass.

“It was a great score today, it actually should have been a lot lower, I just made two mistakes and that’s pretty much it during the whole round, but I’m pretty happy with what I shot all around,” said Mellen.

Consistency and patience seemed to be the key for Mellen through out the tournament.  “I only hit the driver three times off the tee, I hit a 4-iron and I was placing the ball pretty much in the fairway all day and that was my high point of the day.  I concentrated on every shot and the whole day just felt good, I just got the feeling that I was going to play well from the time at the practice range and on the putting green. It’s a great feeling to win and the shots that I had today I will work on them and try to repeat them at the next tournament,” said Mellen.

Todd Hurley who is also the Assistant Tour Director was the runner up, Hurley followed Mellens 75 with a 78. “It will help me get off the tee in future events, I hit the three wood well today and I left the driver in the bag.  Now I have a lot of confidence in the three wood which has been a struggle for me all year,” said Hurley.

Frank Scriberras of Sterling Heights added to his point total by taking home the third place prize.

Tour Director Curtis LaFore has found his swing groove and has captured his second consecutive victory of the season. Fresh off a 27 hole Sugarbush major LaFore followed up his performance by posting a stunning 9 over par-81 to take home the B-flights hardware. “Sugarbush I played a very conservative round of golf and I’ve been working with a new instructor on my swing and it really paid off.  I felt comfortable swinging the club, in this tournament I left the driver in the bag most of the day and I played conservative shots and it seemed to come together,” said LaFore. There was no specific number LaFore was gunning for, except he knew par would be his friend on this course. “I was trying to make pars, I was working hard to scramble to make par and I got up and down quite a bit.  This round didn’t feel as comfortable as my round at Sugarbush as far as shooting good scores, it was relatively close to the same number but I felt like I had to work a lot harder for some reason,” said LaFore.  

Randy Barton took home the second place honors in the B-flight and Dan Holt finished third.

Bud Nettleton won the C-flight with a score of 12 over par-84, which happens to his best round of the year. Nettleton wanted some redemption on the course that gave him a little trouble last year. “Actually I felt really good when I came in this morning and it really feels good, it really feels good to win.  Last year I didn’t do that well and today I’ve shot the best round I have all year, I was hitting straight off the tees and my irons were doing well and I putted real well, so you can’t ask for more than that.  Nettleton has the momentum on his side and the goal of possibly moving up to the B-flight by the end of the season. 

“Well I tell ya, it is just really sweet to do well here today and hopefully I can play next week and we’ll see how it goes, I definitely want to get up to B-flight before the season is over,” said Nettleton.

Greg Brown was the C-flight runner-up and Jason McHugh came in third.

Milind Joshi completes the field by winning the D-flight with a score of 17 over par-89.  Joshi wanted to hit his target for the day of 88 and he wasn’t too far off pace with his score of 89. “ My target was 88 because last year at this course I shot 88, I wanted it to be 88 or lower but 89 is not bad. Playing this course last year made me a little comfortable and it helped me a lot, I was able to visualize the course during my pre-game routine. Joshi has set his aim high for the remainder of the season. “ I would like to get the state championship as well as the national championship, I’m aiming for that,” said Joshi.

The D-flight runners up were Bill Kane and Sharon Ellis who once again finish in one of the top spots just missing the winner’s circle.

By Robert Moore

         Chris Dotson                   John Mellen                   Curtis LaFore               Bud Nettleton                Milind Joshi

MIAGT at Forest Akers Golf Course

Lansing, MI- Forest Akers Golf Course on the campus of Michigan State University and home of the Spartans Golf Team was the next rendezvous spot for The Michigan Amateur Golf Tour.  On a course with narrow fairways and hazards lurking close to every hole, fairway, and green, only precise ball placement would allow one to walk away with a good score. Dallas Cochrane who won his third tournament of the season last week was not in the field, which opened the door for another golfer in the championship flight to step up and seize the moment.

Chistopher Dotson did just that as he managed to edge out Donald Hartman of Ovid, Michigan and Kelly Rosengren from Brighton, Michigan to walk away with a close victory in the championship flight, as only one stroke separated the three golfers.

Dotson, who is from Flint, Michigan shot 6-over-par 78 to win the championship flight in his third week on the MIAGT.  Dotson a graduate from the Professional Golfers Career College was eager to test his skills and said this course played well for him.  “This course played into my hands because I draw the ball a lot and there were a lot of doglegs that were right to left which worked out great for me,” said Dotson.

Staying safe aided in his victory and he’s looking forward to the next tournament at his home course Sugarbush in Davidson, Michigan. “I didn’t get into a lot of trouble today but the pin placements were some of the toughest I’ve seen since I’ve been on tour. I had a lot of uphill putts for birdie, I didn’t make a lot but I still managed to stay pretty safe. This win is a momentum builder for me, I struck the ball well which will help when we play at Sugarbush, because if you spray the ball there you can only punch the ball back to the fairway because the tree line makes it hard to advance the ball,” said Dotson.

 Fred Buechel won A flight shooting a great 81 on a tough Forest Akers course.

Bruce Purvis won the B-flight by posting an 84, with Andre Pelletier finishing second shooting 86 and Lamar Boyd shooting 87 for third. Purvis was unavailable for comment.

Runner-up Pelletier from Grand Rapids, Michigan in his second event since joining MIAGT knows what he needs to work on to keep his scores coming down. “Putting and playing the right club at the right time, I left the driver in my bag and played my three wood,” said Pelletier.

Boyd from Flint, Michigan who finished third recently moved up to B-flight from C-flight and commented on the move. “I didn’t see a problem with the distance in the tees. At Eagle Crest I was laying up a lot so that wasn’t the problem, it’s not the length, it’s the direction, that’s what the problem was,” said Boyd.

Boyd who has played Sugarbush had some advice for playing the course. “With Sugarbush you just have to be patient, if you miss a fairway you just have to punch it out and play for bogey, if you do that you’ll be alright.  If you take too many chances there it’ll hurt you and you’ll lose a lot of balls,” said Boyd.

Matthew Schulte from Warren, Michigan won the C-flight by shooting 11-over-par 83 to gain his first win of the season. Runner-up Daniel Kelih shot an 88 and Wade Tipton shot a 90 to finish third.  Schulte exceeded his expectations by posting a number better than he anticipated. “Typically a 90 will get you in the top five, so I was gonna try to shoot a 90 and see what happened. I shot a 44 on the front nine and I saw that the lowest was a 42 and I figured I needed to do about the same on the back and I had the best back nine I could ever ask for,” said Schulte.

Schulte shot 3-over par 39 on the back nine and put himself in a position to score on just about every hole, which was key in his victory. “I was hitting the ball very good today but obviously it’s making the putts.  I put myself in position for birdies, pars and I actually made an eagle putt today. Posting a score in the 80’s will give me some mental confidence, to know that I can shoot a back nine like that and win, it will relax me a little bit,” said Schulte.

D-flight winner Milind Joshi from Livonia, Michigan managed to win his second MIAGT tournament with a handicap hole win over Southfield native and last weeks Ravines winner Ryan Adams. Joshi’s and Adam’s score was two strokes better than Derick Adams who finished third.

Joshi had a plan for the tournament and even though it didn’t go exactly the way he wanted he still walked away with the honors. “I wanted to shoot in the low 90’s but my front nine was not so good, so I stopped using my driver and started using my 3-iron. My putting was going good today, my short game was better than previous tournaments,” said Joshi.

Joshi has his eyes set on doing well at the next major and he has the common goal as all the other golfers, to win a major. “Long courses I like because my drives are my strongest point in my game right now, I have never won a major and I am looking forward to this course,” said Joshi.

The Michigan Amateur Golf Tour would also like to say congratulations to Dallas Cochrane, Frank Scibarrsas and Ryan Adams for winning in the West Tour Major at the Ravines on June 21, 2008.

By Robert Moore

         Chris Dotson                 Fred Buechel                  Bruce Purvis                  Matt Schulte                Milind Joshi

MIAGT Takes On Eagle Crest

 

Ypsilanti, MI- Eagle Crest Golf Club, home of the Eastern Michigan University Eagles was the next stop for The Michigan Amateur Golf Tour. The course is one of the shortest courses the competitors have seen in quite some time. Though length may not be an obstacle here, the water, which plays on twelve holes and the no bail out areas, can make for a long day if your shots are not precise. The rain showers, which were scheduled to come, never showed up and made the course prime for posting good scores.

Don Ward of Sterling Heights in his first year on tour and playing in his fourth event managed to win the championship-flight by shooting 4-over-par 76.  Ward was pleased with his performance and the results following his round. Ward’s strategy seemed to pay off as he stuck to his game plan.  “ I was just trying to get through the front nine with a low score because the back nine just tears me up.  Fifteen and sixteen I hit my best two drives ever on those holes, so par, birdie, and 38-38 I’m extremely happy, so I can’t ask for more than that, “ said Ward.

Ward is motivated by the victory and is optimistic about the future and looks forward to events on the schedule in the championship flight.  “It’s nice to finally break 80, like our foursome today everyone broke 80 playing the tips, it was a good time, I just want to keep breaking 80 and not embarrass myself,” said Ward.

Kelly Rosengren from Brighton was the runner-up in the championship-flight, he took second after a handicap hole, which determines the winner in ties. “ I was just trying to play my game and stay within myself and I knew it was close coming down to the end.  I pulled a drive on hole eighteen and was behind a tree and made bogey, that’s how it ended up. Today lets me know that I’m good enough to win, I just need to play my game and things will fall into place,” said Rosengren.  

A-flight winner Aaron Kelly from Ann Arbor picks up his first victory on the MIAGT after playing in only his second event.  Kelly shot  8-over-par 80 to capture this week’s title and say he looks forward to competing. “ I miss competitive golf and this is one the best tours out here, so I want to just to get out here and try my skills at it.  I got some new Nike irons yesterday and I just wanted to see how they play, and they played really well,” said Kelly. 

Position was vital for Kelly to pick up a victory on this course. “You gotta watch your spots, you gotta try and keep it out of the trees but it’s a great course and in great condition,” said Kelly.  Kelly knew that he needed to be near the top of the leader board in order to have a chance of winning. “When I made the turn I knew I was close to the top, maybe three of four, but somebody told me that someone went really low on the front nine. I knew I had to break forty to be in contention, I made a lot of five foot par putts, so my putter probably saved the day for me, said Kelly.

Tyler Kim from Novi won the B-flight division by shooting 11-over-par 83 despite a controversial call on the putting green. “It was my goal to win at least once and I did it, there was a controversy today, I happen to walk the putting line and I accidentally tapped my line of putt with my putter and my playing partner called me on it.  There was a lot of discussion and evidentially it is a penalty, even with the penalty I was still able to hang on and win so I’m happy,” said Kim.

Kim said, “This was a tough course” and doesn’t mind the results and feels that he is on target for the rest of the season.   “My target was to shoot 41-41, I thought that if I shot 82 that would win it.  I guess I have to keep it up and hopefully I can shoot somewhere around 82, if I do that I may be able to win another one,” said Kim.  

LaMar Boyd from Flint won the C-flight by shooting 7-over-par 79 in his second event of the year. “I didn’t think 79 was going to get it today and I left a lot of shots out there. Off the tee, I was trying not to use my driver and I was taking irons but I was missing fairways, if I could have laid up in better position I might have parred some of those holes that I scrambled for bogey on,” said Boyd.

Boyd feels that he had some high points, which contributed to his score. “Getting out of trouble, my approach shots helped a lot today.  I was real calm today for whatever reason, I don’t know if it was the guy that was with me or what.  I didn’t know I was in the seventies until we added it up, it’s the best that I’ve shot so I can’t be too upset about it,” said Boyd.

Bill Kane from Harsens Island is the next competitor to win back-to-back events on the MIAGT. Kane achieved this feat by putting up a score of 91 and taking home the D-flight title and commented on his experience. “Unbelievable, it’s a great feeling, today I wanted to shoot in the 80’s but I shot 91, so I’m super happy with that,” said Kane.

Kane thanks his study guide DVD “practice like the pros” for helping his game improve.

“Today I didn’t use my driver at all except on one hole, I pulled out the three wood to keep it straight. I’ve been practicing the short game a lot more than any long game because we spend so much time close to the green, so its all been chipping and putting for me for the last two weeks and it has improved my score a lot,” said Kane.

Sharon Ellis D-flight runner-up to Kane for the second straight event knows where she came up short and knows what she must do to get her second victory on the MIAGT.

“My putting is what hurt me today, I was 7-over on par 3’s which pretty much hurt me and put me in second place. I know I just need to go out and work at getting a little closer to the pin,” said Ellis.

The MIAGT would like to congratulate Michael Case and David LeVeque for qualifying for and competing in the 91st Michigan Open, which was played at The Grand Traverse Resort.

By Robert Moore

         Don Ward                    Aaron Kelly                     Tyler Kim                    Lamar Boyd               William Kane

Fieldstone Plays tough

 Auburn Hills, MI.- The Michigan Amateur Golf Tour has managed to dodge the wrath of Mother Nature again as the rain held off until the end of the tournament.  However, the wind gusting at more than 25 miles per hour managed to stick around and made the challenging course play even tougher.  Course management was the name of the game today if anyone had plans of shooting a low score and if you miscalculated your club selection, expect to pay a minimum of a stroke if not more.

In the championship division, winner Dallas Cochrane had a plan and stuck to it as he made the turn leading all scores with an even par 36.  “ I figured when I started 75 or 76 would have been a good score to take,” Cochrane said.  As Cochrane made the turn for the back nine he had two obstacles to overcome, a vicious wind and runner-up Troy Craine who trailed Cochrane by just a stroke after nine.  “The wind didn’t have a effect until the back nine when we came back upwind two or three holes.  Coming back into the wind I struggled, my approach shots I was going two clubs more and I was still coming up short,” said Cochrane.

The only area he was unhappy with was his driver accuracy. “I’m gonna work on keeping it in the fairway, if I can keep it down the middle I’ll be just fine,” said Cochrane.  Despite hitting only two fairways Cochrane managed to sink three birdies, which helped secure his first MIAGT victory of the year.

Salvatore Latella wrapped up the A-flight division by shooting an 81 to take home his MIAGT first trophy of the season despite not having a specific number he wanted to shoot.  “Based on my prior performances I just wanted to have a good round, I’d like to break 80,” Latella said. His highlight of the day came from his driver and putter and once on the green it seemed as if he couldn’t miss regardless of how far he was from the cup.

“Amazing enough I hit every fairway today, really my putting was just great today a lot of one putts, a lot of one putts contributed to the 81 today,” Latella said.

Ball placement on the course is the key to scoring and winning does give you a bit of momentum for future events. “ I’ve played seventeen events including last year and this is my first win, so it’s really going to motivate me to be out here and to have a good time and I definitely want to have a few more,” said Latella.

The B-flight division was very close too, as only two strokes separated the winner Tim Corcoran from second and third place competitors, Tyler Kim and Bruce Purvis.

“It’s always nice to finally play well these events because it’s a little test of golf and I seem to mess up every time I play and it’s nice to play a decent round,” said Corcoran.

The wind didn’t seem as strong on the front and waited to see what type of game you had on the back nine. “Some the holes it was two and possibly three club difference just going dead into that wind, it really played with me a little on the back side for the greens, the wind was moving the ball,” Corcoran said.

 Building off this victory and moving forward is something Corcoran is eager about. “It definitely gives me some confidence placing with a second at the last tournament and winning this one, so it give me some confidence and I’m striking the ball pretty well and it feels pretty good and adds more confidence for me,” said Corcoran.

C-flight winner Bud Nettleton had a goal of shooting an 89 or better which was his best score of the season last year. This one was as close as it gets as Nettleton and Bill Landis went toe to toe for the MIAGT trophy.  The two ended with a score of 89, but Nettleton took home the prize on the handicap hole, which determines the winner in the event of a tie. “I enjoy playing on the tour, my goal is to move up to B-flight by the end of the year but I gotta start playing better than what I’ve been playing,” said Nettleton. 

Nettleton plans to pace himself for the long season one event at a time. “ I enjoy playing with the tour, there are a bunch of great guys out here and I want to be down in Hilton Head again. I had a bad week at the last event and with the win today I should be somewhere near the top ten in the points standing,” said Nettleton.

D-flight winner Milind Joshi was unavailable for comment but he won the flight by posting a 92, six strokes better than John Darrah the runner-up and Ryan Adams the third place finisher.

By Robert Moore

         Dallas Cochrane              Sal Latella                     Tim Corcoran                  Bud Nettleton               Milind Joshi

ONE CHALLENGING COURSE

Northville, MI- With gusting winds and gray skies looming Mother Nature tried to spoil the Michigan Amateur Golf Tours parade at Northville Hills Golf Club on Saturday May 3,2008.   MIAGT Director Curtis Lafore has only one bit of advice and that’s to bring your rain gear and expect to play.  With the stage set it was time to tee it up and give it your best shot on this well manicured course with its fair share of hazards, undulating fairways and lighting fast greens.
David Talsma a rookie on the MIAGT made the long commute from Allegan, MI., located between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids to compete in the tournament.  Talsma wasted no time making his presence felt as he won the championship flight by posting a 6 over par-78, just two strokes better than Kelly Rosengren and Chris Hadley.
 “ The greens were very slick compared to anything that I’ve played on before, they were lighting to me but they rolled true, what you putted is what you got, where you hit it is where it went.  It’s a fair course, it’s a great course, there’s room to spray the ball around but you’d better watch out in some certain areas,” said Talsma.
Referring to the fact that this course can be very unforgiving if you don’t know where to place your shots, which could cost you a stroke and possibly a ball.
“Depending on the pin placements there were couple of holes that pin placement wise you definitely needed to be on one side of the fairway or the other, course knowledge and carry of some bunkers came into play for sure and I got away with a couple of them, but a little course knowledge would have definitely helped,” said Talsma. 
Talsma plans to work on a few things to free up his swing and wants to improve as the season continues. Talsma has already achieved one of his goals and that was to win an event, now he wants to continue to be competitive to see where he ranks compared to other top golfers around the state.
 Scott Hall another MIAGT first year player shot 16 over par-88. Hall picked up his first victory in the A-flight, squeezing out a one shot margin of victory over James Mlynarczyk and Fred Buechel.
This is the first year Hall has ever played tournament style golf and found out about the tour by searching the Internet.  Hall was quite exuberant with his results from today. “The course was a quality choice and the greens were very challenging and very quick, they were tough but fair it was a pleasure to putt on them,” said Hall.
With this being only the third round of golf Hall has played all year he doesn’t have any expectations for the rest of the season.  “I’m just taking it as it comes and if everybody else is as good of guys that I’ve been playing with so far I’m looking forward to the rest of the year,” said Hall.    
Jeremy Beal won the B-flight division finishing the day 16 over par-88 and that put him two strokes ahead of Tim Corcoran and Brian Barwick who finished second and third. This is also Beal’s first year on the MIAGT. Bryon Gough a competitor in the championship flight referred Beal to the tour. Beal hasn’t played competitive golf since playing in high school and looks forward to having a competitive season. “ I’m not really in it for the points this year I just want to get the feel of competitive golf.  Of course I want to win every tournament I play I don’t know anyone out there who doesn’t expect to win and I expect to win.  88 I’m not happy with it not happy at all, I know there’s lots of improvement to be done, hopefully I’ll take this win build the confidence and take it into next week and we’ll see where we go from there,” said Beal. 
Beal is unsure whether he’ll play the next event at Fieldstone Golf Club in Auburn Hills, Michigan due to possible commitments at work. “ It will be a game time decision we’re open Saturdays and I’m a manager and if I need to be there I’ll be there first,” said Beal.
Dilip Joshi a returning MIAGT member won the C-flight division shooting 13 over par-85 two shots better than Zoltan Takacs and Bill Braham.  Joshi has been playing golf for about seven years and is trying to encourage some of his friends to come join the tour.
“ I love it because it is a very casual but still a competitive place to play and every time you play you play a new course.  It’s a good environment for you to practice and to get good,” said Joshi.  Joshi has high expectations for not only the season but for the next event.  “I plan to win otherwise what’s the point in playing, I’m competitive by nature so that’s another reason to play this tournament.  I still enjoy it if I don’t win but I plan to win,” said Johsi.
Sharon Ellis is not only a rookie on the MIAGT she’s also the first female competitor to win a flight division. Ellis heard about the tour from a co-worker and decided to give it a whirl and did an awesome job in her debut. Ellis was elated to hear that she had the early lead with a couple of groups still on the course. With every golfer in, Ellis soon found that she won the D-flight division by shooting 20 over par-92, two strokes ahead of Andy Dart and Bill Kane.
 Ellis loves the competition and looks forward to participating in the flight where the majority of golfers are male. “Actually by competing it’s going to force me to practice a little more and to get better.  I love competition and I seem to put more effort into every shot and hopefully my game overall will get better,” said Ellis.
This is the first year Ellis has played tournament golf after playing a variety of courses over the last 15 years and looks forward to the next tournament at Fieldstone GC.  “It’s a beautiful course, well manicured, the greens are usually excellent.  I haven’t played there yet this year but usually I enjoy that course and I want to come in first place,” said Ellis.
MIAGT welcomes women to the tour, “Come on out here we don’t mind, it’s competitive and a lot of fun so come on out,” said Kane a D-flight golfer. “ She played very well, she should be able to compete with us,” said Dart the runner up in D-flight.
MIAGT Tour Director Curtis Lafore was pleased with the efforts of the day.  “Everybody had a great time, we had an sensational turnout and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  We have some room for improvement, getting some players moving around the course a little faster, but I think everyone enjoyed it even though we were here for quite a while,” said LaFore.
LaFore has done a great job marketing the MIAGT to promote the game of golf. “I’ve taken on the responsibility and I’ll do my best to make Michigan one of the top tour states. I hope to see the MIAGT as an entity that players are very envious of players who participate this tour.  I want it to be a prestigious title to say I play on the MIAGT and all that it entails, which means we play by the rules and do our best to promote the game of golf,” said LaFore.
LaFore wants to see the tour flourish and provide a great venue for amateur golfers who want to test their skills to see how they measure up to some of the best golfers in the state. “We are very proud of the women on the tour and the woman who won was an avid golfer and she fits right into the tour so any man, woman, teenager it doesn’t matter anybody can come out and compete and win. We’re also proud this is the first win for a woman on the tour and all that entails and hope to see more out on the tour,” said LaFore.
 
By Robert Moore

        David Talsma                Scott Hall                       Jeremy Beal                     Dilip Joshi                     Sharon Ellis