SCOTT STRICKLAND SHOOTS NEAR-RECORD 64 IN WINNING 92ND GAM CHAMPIONSHIP

SCOTT STRICKLAND SHOOTS NEAR-RECORD 64 IN WINNING 92^ND GAM CHAMPIONSHIP

By Greg Johnson

Strickland

  BIRMINGHAM – Scott Strickland started his final round with an eagle and birdie and then blitzed to a six-shot win Tuesday with a 8-under-par 64 at Birmingham Country Club in the 92^nd GAM Championship presented by Carl’s Golfland.

   “It was one of those things where every shot you hit is kind of on line and you just visualize and the confidence seems to build and build,” said the 30-year-old Birmingham resident and wealth manager for Morgan Stanley.

  Strickland just missed an eagle putt on the par 5 No. 18 hole to fall short of the course record by one shot, but was elated with his first major amateur title.

   “It feels really good, for sure. I’ve known I had it in me. It was just a matter of executing and doing it. I feel like I’ve been close for a long time. Today it just kind of came all together.”

   Strickland, a member of Oakland Hills Country Club and Bloomfield Hills Country Club, worked with Oakland Hills caddie David Enderby, and finished with a 54-hole total of 208, six better than the 214 posted by Casey Baker of Ann Arbor, who shot a closing 71.

   Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood, the Michigan Open champion earlier this summer, shot 70 and finished third at 215. Jeff Champine of Rochester Hills, who shot 75 for 216, and Anthony Sorentino of Rochester Hills, who shot 76 for 217, rounded out the top five. Six golfers, including defending champion Jared Dalga, tied at 218.

  Baker, a two-time GAM champion and Carl’s Golfland employee who played in the same group as Strickland, said it was one of the best rounds of golf he has witnessed.

  “From start to finish every shot he hit was dead solid,” Baker said. “He played great. He drove it straight, hit it straight. I thought I still had a chance after I birdied 10 and 12, but he kept making birdies and at that point it was get out of his way and let him do his thing.”

  Strickland, a former Miami of Ohio golfer, said it was the biggest win of his golf career, and the first non-country club championship title since junior golf. The closing 64 with one eagle and seven birdies against one bogey tied his competitive best ever. He shot 64 at Oakland Hills North in winning the club championship in 2012.

  “I made eagle at (No.) 1 when the (second shot) landed short of the green and jumped over the bunker and rolled up to a foot,” he said. “That’s always a good way to start. Then I made a good birdie at 2 with a tap-in. I hit (the second shot) to less than a foot.

  “Then I just tried to stay focused and only think about the target and not worry about the score. I really didn’t know what I shot until I was done.”

 

	Last Name	First Name	Hometown	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
1	Strickland	Scott	Birmingham	72	72	64	208	Champion
2	Baker	Casey	Ann Arbor	72	71	71	214	Runner-up
3	Werkmeister	Tom	Kentwood	70	75	70	215
4	Champine	Jeff	Rochester Hills	71	70	75	216
5	Sorentino	Anthony	Rochester Hills	71	70	76	217
6	Clark	Nathan	Charlotte	72	72	74	218
	Dovre	Eric	Waterford	74	72	72	218
	Bowser	Evan	Dearborn	75	75	68	218
	Dalga	Jared	Grand Rapids	75	73	70	218
	Rabourn	Ben	Grand Rapids	72	75	71	218
11	McKalko	Steve	Troy	74	69	76	219
	Zylstra	Bill*	Dearborn Hts.	73	75	71	219
	May	Jason	Sterling Hts	75	72	72	219
	Morrow	Nick	W. Bloomfield	77	70	72	219
	Hayward	Brian	Grand Rapids	70	72	77	219
16	Quigley	John	St. Clair Shores	74	73	73	220
	Heinze	Josh	Canton	75	72	73	220
18	Farner	Peter	Kalamazoo	70	78	73	221
	Cunningham	Nick	Grand Blanc	73	75	73	221
20	Marks	Michael	Midland	79	68	75	222
21	Willnow	Alex	Adrian	74	76	73	223
	Grim	Scott	Shepherd	75	74	74	223
	Castellani	Carson	East Lansing	76	72	75	223
24	Bastion	Brad	Clinton Twp.	76	75	73	224
	Truesdell	Bailey	Grand Blanc	71	75	78	224
26	Dombrowski	Alex	Gaylord	76	75	74	225
	Anderson	Chip	Ada	78	73	74	225
	Kollin	Max	Farmington Hills	73	75	77	225
29	Cunningham	Chris	Milford	78	73	76	227
	Stevens	Tom	Northville	76	75	76	227
	Chapman	Andrew	Traverse City	72	74	81	227
32	Williams	Nick	Farmington Hills	75	75	82	232
	White	Brett	Caledonia	75	74	DQ
	Gieseker	Phil	Saline	75	74	DQ