GAM CHAMPIONSHIP: August Meekhof Makes History With Repeat Win

August Meekhof became the first golfer to win back-to-back GAM Championships in 39 years at Travis Pointe Country Club on August 1.

The MSU golfer from Eastmanville shot a final round 5-under 66 for a 7-under 206 total, two shots clear of the field in the 102nd GAM Championship. He also became the 13th golfer to win consecutive GAM titles and the 10th Michigan golfer to have won the GAM title and the Michigan Amateur Championship in the same summer.

“That’s awesome,” he said when told he had made some history. “It means a lot. These events are always so hard to win, so if I’m putting myself in contention pretty much in every event I’m pretty happy with that.”

Yuqi Liu of Ann Arbor, a University of Michigan golfer who led by three shots after the second round, shot a closing 73 for 208 and second place.

“I started off pretty strong and then some bad breaks. Tried to fight back but in the end was a little short.” Liu said after his round.

Ferris State University golfer Caleb Bond of Williamston and Bryan Haase of Interlochen tied for third at 209. Bond, the freshman of the year last season in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, shot a closing 67, and Haase shot a second consecutive 71 after an opening 67.

The last golfer to win back-to-back GAM Championships before Meekhof was Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member John Morgan, the GAM Player of the Decade in the 1980s who won in 1983 and ’84. The last golfer to win the GAM Championship and the Michigan Amateur in the same year prior to Meekhof was Jimmy Chestnut in 2008.

The GAM Championship has a rich history. It dates to 1919 with two years in which it wasn’t played during World War II. Past winners include Michigan golf legends like James Standish, Chuck Kocsis, Bud Stevens, Glenn Johnson, and Pete Green, and more recently U.S. Amateur Champion and now professional James Piot, who won the championship twice.