Ovid’s Jerry Gunthorpe Tops Senior Men’s Points List
By Greg Johnson
A series of great things have transpired as a result of Ovid’s Jerry Gunthorpe grabbing amateur golf’s attention with his runner-up finish in the 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, played this year in-state at Country Club of Detroit.
“I look at it more now as how do I move forward next year with the opportunities it has afforded and the full golf schedule I have,” Gunthorpe said. “Of course, when I think about what happened it still burns. I don’t think that will ever go away. It was the not the result I wanted. I was right there.”
Gunthorpe, who made bogeys on the final two holes and lost 1-up to Gene Elliott of Iowa in the heartbreaking championship match, has been named the Golf Association of Michigan’s Senior Men’s Player of the Year. Gunthorpe was either tied or leading all day in the final, until the very last putt.
The Lansing area plumbing and heating company owner is a GAM member through Owosso Country Club. Tom Gieselman of Commerce Township and Oakland Hills Country Club, who made news with Gunthorpe by reaching the quarterfinals of the same U.S. Senior Amateur, was second in points.
“Player of the year is not something I strive for but it is a kind of validation for the year,” Gunthorpe said. “It’s always good to be on top of a list, but I’m usually focused on just playing my best and how I can do better next year and keep moving forward.”
Gunthorpe plans to take advantage of the exemptions that came his way from his finish in the U.S. Senior Amateur. He plans to play in the U.S. Senior Open, the U.S. Amateur and the Senior Amateur again, and possibly the British Senior Amateur overseas.
Gunthorpe isn’t sure what to attribute his success in golf to at age 58.
“I keep thinking I’ve competed my entire life and I’m able to compete more now and play more now,” he said. “I still hit it a long ways and that’s an advantage with the older guys. Last summer I put together some of my best scores ever in competition. There’s a comfort level I’ve reached and things are clicking. I do what I do, prepare and the results seem to follow.”
