August Meekhof: GAM Men’s Player of the Year
By Greg Johnson
August Meekhof became just the 13th golfer in 102 years to win back-to-back GAM Championships and just the 10th Michigan golfer to win the GAM title and the Michigan Amateur Championship in the same summer.
“It felt great in the moment when I came from behind and won the GAM this summer,” said the Michigan State University golfer from Eastmanville near Grand Rapids. “I didn’t have the greatest start. It was great to get both the GAM Championship and Michigan Am.
“The Am is something I wanted to win for a long time so doing that was such a great feeling, and then to win the GAM again was also pretty special. You are playing against the best guys in the state in both of those tournaments. It’s not easy to win when there are so many good players.”
His historic wins in the state’s top two amateur tournaments put him at the top of the GAM Points List for the season. Player of the Year point totals can be found on a pull down from the PLAY tab at GAM.org.
Meekhof, 22 and a member at Wuskowhan Players Club, scored 685 points, and Jimmy Dales, a University of Wyoming golfer from Northville and a Meadowbrook Country Club member was second with 550 points.
University of Michigan golfer Will Anderson of Portage and Moors Golf Club, the runner-up to Meekhof in the Michigan Amateur, had 460 points to finish third.
In his youth, Meekhof also won GAM Boys’ Player of the Year.
Meekhof said he will make a significant golf decision following the conclusion of his senior year of golf for MSU this spring.
“I’m planning to turn professional (in 2024), just not sure when yet,” he said. “There’s a lot to consider and think about. I might stay amateur for part of the summer, or I might turn pro when the (MSU) season is over. I just haven’t made the decision yet.”
The USGA offering an exemption to the 2024 U.S. Amateur to the winner of the Michigan Amateur in 2024 is something Meekhof said will be considered when he makes his decision on when to turn professional.
