GAM WOMAN’s PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Elayna Bowser
By Greg Johnson
Elayna Bowser tried professional golf after her stellar amateur career, which included winning the 2019 Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship and being a standout golfer for Loyola University Chicago.
“I gave it a good go for four years,” she said. “I can sit here and say I gave it my all and it led me to why I decided to switch back to amateur golf. I didn’t want to continue the route I was going and end up hating the game.”
She returned to the amateur ranks in 2024 and quickly made an impact by winning the GAM Women’s Mid-Amateur championship, and later in the summer reaching the round of 32 in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Those accomplishments combined with what she called one of her most consistent years of golf competition put her at the top of the Golf Association of Michigan Points List, and she has been named the 2024 GAM Women’s Player of the Year.
Bowser, 27 and a real-estate agent, earned 652.5 points to top the points list. Bridget Boczar of Canton, a Baylor University golfer and the winner of the GAM Women’s Championship for a second consecutive year, had 550 points. Shannon Kennedy of Beverly Hills, an MSU golfer and this year’s Michigan Women’s Amateur Champion, was third with 490 points.
Bowser said she previously considered 2019 as her best year in golf because of her Michigan Women’s Amateur win and her success as a college player.
“I’m surprised how consistently I competed this year because I can’t devote the time to golf that I could before,” she said. “I won my first tournament back as an amateur though and played well the rest of the summer.”
The continued support by her father, Brett, and her brother, Evan, who is now a PGA professional in Florida, meant she could never just quit the game.
“Professional golf was a struggle, mentally, physically, emotionally but my dad and Evan are always there for me,” she said. “We’re a golf family. We’re all “golfaholics.” They are going to enjoy me being player of the year as much or more than I enjoy it.”
