New Classification: Michigan Championship Winners Will Receive Automatic Bids into 4 USGA National Finals
By Greg Johnson
Starting this year, the winners of four Michigan amateur golf championships conducted by the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) will receive more than trophies, the great championship honor and their name etched in the state’s golf history.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) announced changes to its championship qualifying process, including exemptions for state champions. This means the winners of the Michigan Amateur Championship and Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship will earn automatic exemptions into the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur, respectively, and the winners of the Michigan Girls’ Junior State Amateur Championship and Michigan Junior State Amateur Championship (boys) will earn exemptions for the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur, respectively. The latter national Junior Amateur will be contested this year at Oakland Hills in July. The Local Qualifier open to other golfers is scheduled for June 10 at Country Club of Lansing.
Previously, the champions of the four Michigan tournaments had to additionally compete in qualifiers with other qualified golfers to earn starting spots in those four USGA national championships mentioned above.
The new automatic qualifying spot for winning your state championship is part of the reason these top Michigan amateur events were moved to the month of June, but doing so makes our 6th month of the year JAM PACKED with all kinds of important tournaments, ranging from the pros to Michigan amateur ranks.
June will see the likes of the traditional timing of Father’s Day weekend for the Meijer LPGA Classic, but also the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Dow Championship LPGA. The latter two were moved up from their normal dates in July. Also, The Epson Tour is playing June 7-9 in Battle Creek, and a week later at the Island Resort on Sweetgrass Golf Course in the U.P. – as are June dates for the (pro) Michigan Open at Oakland University and the Michigan Women’s Open at its traditional Crystal Mountain location.
The GAM will host one of 45 Local Qualifying tournaments for the U.S. Amateur on July 1 at Oakland University’s Katke-Cousins course in Rochester; as well as host a U.S. Women’s Amateur Local Qualifier on July 9 at the University of Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor.
The U.S. Junior Girls’ Local Qualifier is June 17 at Forest Akers West Golf Course at Michigan State in East Lansing.
Michigan amateurs have fared well at the national level over the last two decades.
Last summer, Kimberly Dinh of Midland was the first GAM member golfer to win the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, and is the third GAM member to win a national USGA title in the last three years – and the sixth to win a USGA national championship in the last 21 years.
James Piot of Canton became Michigan’s first U.S. Amateur Champion in 2021, and Kim Moore of Portage won the inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open in 2022.
In 2002 Greg Reynolds of Grand Blanc won the U.S. Senior Amateur, Randy Lewis of Alma won the 2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship (which placed him in The Masters in 2012) and Tom Werkmeister of Hudsonville was co-medalist as Team Michigan won the USGA State Team Championship in 2016.
