Fenton’s Rick Crandall Claims His First State Golf Title at GAM Senior Championship

“I just wanted to go out and shoot a good score like in every tournament I play,” said the 57-year-old, who works in computer automotive design for Strattec Security Corp. “I was happy to sort of be in contention after the first round. I never looked at the leaderboard all day. I think it was the 12th hole and one of the GAM (volunteers) came up and asked, ‘Which one of you guys is Rick Randall,’ and that made me wonder if I was in the mix. I tried to stay oblivious, though.”

His 67, behind six birdies and one bogey, put him at 4-under 140 for the tournament, two shots ahead of two golfers – Peter Savarino of Ann Arbor, who was playing in the same pairing and shot 69 for 142, and Leo Daigle of Wixom, who shot 71. Savarino won a scorecard playoff to take home the runner-up trophy.

Defending champion Greg Davies of West Bloomfield shot a closing 71 for 143 where he was tied with Rick Williams of Northville, who closed with a 72.

A Super Senior champion among the players ages 65-plus ended up being a familiar name in GAM championship circles, and especially the GAM Senior Championship. Rick Herpich of Orchard Lake won among the older set for the fourth time in the championship since turning 65 in 2017.

The 71-year-old standout made a closing birdie on the par 5 18th hole for a 79 and a 151 total, one shot better than Martin Peck of Plymouth, who shot a final 75 for 152. Jeff Knudson of Beverly Hills, who shot 78, was third among the Super Seniors at 153. Bob Carson of Auburn Hills, who shot 78, and Scott Lokers of Holland, who shot 80, were next at 154.

Herpich was surprised he still had a chance for the Super Senior title after he made a quadruple-bogey 8 on hole 12. “I was playing pretty decent and then I just got unlucky,” he said. “My tee shot hit the limb of a tree and then bounced way into the trees and I had trouble getting out. I usually don’t look at the leaderboard, but I looked at 14 and realized I was still in there for the Super Senior. At 18 I hit a sand wedge in from about 73 yards and it was the perfect yardage for me. It was a straight uphill putt about two feet, I made it, and it always feels good to be a winner.”

Crandall, a Flint City champion in the past, said he has always enjoyed GAM tournaments because they are run so well and provide such great competition. “The GAM just does a great job, so to win one feels really great,” he said. “I played really well on a tough golf course today, too, which is what I wanted.”  Crandall stayed with his good friend and Michigan State Police Officer Cam Henke while playing in the tournament, and he has visited West Michigan often and played golf with Henke at several places. He had not played Muskegon CC prior to this week though.

“What a great course,” he said. “It was really tough, but really fun to play.” Crandall said he started having a good day when he chipped in from just over the green on the first hole for birdie. “Our whole group went in the heather off the tee, and I had no idea how the ball would come out of there,” he said. “It was awesome to chip it in. It was kind of amazing. We were all in the heather and yet our group played the hole 1-under. I played well the rest of the way really, one bad shot at 16, but I hit a good drive at 17 and birdied 18. The guys in the group were great, too. Turned out to be a great day.”

Pos.	Player	To Par	R1	R2	Total
1	Crandall, Rick	-4	73	67	140
	Fenton
T2	Savarino, Peter	-2	73	69	142
	Ann Arbor
T2	Daigle, Leo	-2	71	71	142
	Wixom
T4	Davies, Greg	-1	72	71	143
	West Bloomfield
T4	Williams, Rick	-1	71	72	143
	Northville
6	Ignasiak, Mike	E	70	74	144
	Saline
T7	LeVan, David	3	75	72	147
	Ann Arbor
T7	Sawchuk, Terry	3	72	75	147
	Lake Orion
T9	Karlstrom, Gunnar	4	73	75	148
	Clarkston
T9	Hudson, Ken	4	72	76	148
	Lake Orion
T9	Vaclav, David	4	74	74	148
	Flat Rock
T12	Dagenais, Jerry	6	77	73	150
	Oxford
T12	Cairns, Michael	6	75	75	150
	Troy
T14	Abood, Andrew	7	78	73	151
	Lansing
T14	Christie, Chuck	7	73	78	151
	Beverly Hills
T14	Herpich, Rick	7	72	79	151
	Orchard Lake
T14	Zoerhoff, Michael	7	73	78	151
	Caledonia
T14	Buettner, Kerry	7	74	77	151
	Grandville
T19	Wolberg, Lyle	8	79	73	152
	Farmington Hills
T19	Maddalena, Steve	8	79	73	152
	Jackson
T19	Peck, Martin	8	77	75	152
	Plymouth
T19	Bruce, Grant	8	77	75	152
	Birmingham
T19	Wright, Lindsay	8	77	75	152
	Oxford
T19	Peterson, Pat	8	75	77	152
	Bloomfield Hills
T19	Fitzstephens, Michael	8	74	78	152
	Schoolcraft
T26	Eriksen, Mark	9	78	75	153
	Clarkston
T26	Kotas, Judson	9	77	76	153
	Grosse Pointe Farms
T26	Knudson, Jeffrey	9	75	78	153
	Beverly Hills
T29	Comito, Frank	10	77	77	154
	Macomb
T29	Carson, Bob	10	76	78	154
	Auburn Hills
T29	Lokers, Scott	10	74	80	154
	Holland
T29	Garr, Daniel	10	76	78	154
	Rochester Hills
T33	Kurant, Kyle	11	79	76	155
	Muskegon
T33	Didato, Joe	11	79	76	155
	Troy
T33	Roberts, Timothy	11	79	76	155
	Ann Arbor
T33	Dowling, Chris	11	77	78	155
	Byron Center
T33	Schultz, David	11	76	79	155
	St. Joseph
T33	Klemet, Kevin	11	76	79	155
	White Lake
T33	Bailey, Chris	11	76	79	155
	Rochester
T40	Fugenschuh, David	12	81	75	156
	Ann Arbor
T40	Leedle, Jim	12	79	77	156
	Fenton
T40	Watson, Robert	12	79	77	156
	Saint Joseph
T40	Kavka, Mark	12	79	77	156
	Troy
T40	Senkowski, Tom	12	77	79	156
	Rochester Hills
T40	Leach, John	12	76	80	156
	Macomb
T40	Michalak, Joe	12	76	80	156
	Birmingham
T40	McCoy, Glen	12	75	81	156
	Port Huron
T48	Goodyke, David	13	82	75	157
	Holland
T48	Eberhard, Tom	13	81	76	157
	Seabrook Island
T48	Sullivan, Sean	13	81	76	157
	Grosse Pte Farms
T48	Borio, Edward	13	81	76	157
	Beverly Hills
T48	Luft, Dan	13	80	77	157
	Bloomfield Hills
T48	Zeller, Greg	13	80	77	157
	Jackson
T48	Adams, Craig	13	80	77	157
	Spring Lake
T48	Perrine, Ron	13	77	80	157
	Holt
T48	Harris, Ian	13	76	81	157
	Bloomfield
T57	Trotta, Len	14	83	75	158
	Beverly Hills
T57	Mei, Michael	14	82	76	158
	Plymouth
T57	Cohen, Brian	14	80	78	158
	Wixom
T57	Moran, Michael	14	79	79	158
	Canton
T57	Martin, David	14	77	81	158
	Saline
T57	Jones, Mike	14	77	81	158
	Interlochen
T57	Ramsby, Michael	14	74	84	158
	East Lansing
T64	Boyea, Shawn	15	81	78	159
	Commerce Township
T64	Fedewa, Michael	15	77	82	159
	Canton
T66	Mossel, Troy	16	82	78	160
	Caledonia
T66	Harris, Cliff	16	81	79	160
	Charlevoix
T66	Gillig, Dan	16	79	81	160
	Portage
T66	Raymond, Mike	16	78	82	160
	Jackson
T70	Goldstein, Steve	17	84	77	161
	Ann Arbor
T70	Saputo, Pete	17	83	78	161
	Bloomfield Hills
T70	Beaudry, Tim	17	80	81	161
	Riverview
T73	McIlraith, Glenn	18	85	77	162
	Livonia
T73	Ojeda, Peter	18	85	77	162
	Ann Arbor
T73	Chicka, Ken	18	84	78	162
	Shelby Township
T73	DeHaan, Thomas	18	83	79	162
	Grand Rapids
T73	Smith, David	18	81	81	162
	Novi
T78	Smoker, Dennis	19	85	78	163
	Coldwater
T78	Telzerow, Brian	19	85	78	163
	Grand Rapids
T78	Kallgren, Chris	19	84	79	163
	Battle Creek
T78	Anderson, John	19	83	80	163
	St Joseph
T78	Kohn, Mike	19	81	82	163
	Belding
T78	Hoogewind, Mark	19	81	82	163
	Grand Rapids
T78	Wiley, Matthew	19	81	82	163
	Westland
T78	Becker, James	19	80	83	163
	Grosse Pointe Farms
T86	Stacy, Thomas	20	88	76	164
	Bloomfield Hills
T86	Emig, Dave	20	83	81	164
	Muskegon
T86	Parker, Michael	20	83	81	164
	Lapeer
T86	Reinholdt, Gordon	20	82	82	164
	East Gwillimbury
T86	Healy, Shawn	20	83	81	164
	Rockford
T86	Price, William	20	81	83	164
	Grand Blanc
T92	Lebarre, Mike	21	82	83	165
	Battle creek
T92	Lee, Dave	21	80	85	165
	Grand Ledge
T94	Potluri, Satesh	22	85	81	166
	Canton
T94	Bonamici, Gregg	22	84	82	166
	Grosse Ile
T94	Robinson, David	22	82	84	166
	Sterling Heights
T94	DeSana, Chris	22	81	85	166
	East Jordan
T98	Moore, Terry	23	84	83	167
	Grand Rapids
T98	Martin, Leo	23	83	84	167
	Canton
T98	VandenBosch, Kurt	23	83	84	167
	Zeeland
T98	Wahl, Chuck	23	83	84	167
T98	Ward, Donald	23	81	86	167
	Sterling Heights
103	Donohue, Daniel	24	88	80	168
	Novi
T104	Tyler, Michael	25	89	80	169
	Richmond
T104	Van Cleave, Tom	25	90	79	169
	Northville
T104	Snyder, Scott	25	82	87	169
	saginaw
107	Leestma, Jeff	26	90	80	170
	Hudsonville
T108	Champion, Jim	27	83	88	171
	St. Joseph
T108	Moraw, Carl	27	81	90	171
	Waterford
T110	Fulkerson, David	28	89	83	172
	Oakland
T110	Quitiquit, Gary	28	86	86	172
	Highland Township
T110	Noom, Jeff	28	85	87	172
	Ada
T110	Piunti, Nick	28	83	89	172
	Grosse Ile
T110	Barbour, Jim	28	83	89	172
	Grand Rapids
T115	Potter, Keith	29	88	85	173
	Farmington Hills
T115	Hopkins, Jeff	29	84	89	173
	Muskegon
T117	Peabody, Brian	30	90	84	174
	Grosse Pointe
T117	Simmons, Don	30	88	86	174
	Northville
T117	Taylor, Matt	30	87	87	174
	Fort Collins
T117	Davidson, James	30	85	89	174
	Grand Haven
T117	Leach, Tim	30	85	89	174
	Southgate
122	Luebke, Daniel	31	86	89	175
	Muskegon
T123	Yeager, Phillip	32	89	87	176
	Grand Rapids
T123	Vanboven, Jim	32	85	91	176
	Canton
T123	Arouca, Dennis	32	84	92	176
	Traverse City
T123	Williams, John	32	84	92	176
	Farmington
127	Ruthkoski, George	33	87	90	177
	Muskegon
128	Dorer, Scott	34	85	93	178
	Holt
129	Hehn, Jay	35	82	97	179
	Gladwin
T130	Witkowski, Todd	36	88	92	180
	Hudsonville
T130	Flood, Todd	36	83	97	180
	Grosse Pointe Shores
132	Ferris, Scot	38	92	90	182
	Grand Rapids
133	Hodges, Charles	40	92	92	184
	Caledonia
134	Kragt, Bob	41	98	87	185
	Jenison
135	Nelson, Thomas	47	94	97	191
	West Bloomfield
136	Tramski, Harold	54	103	95	198
	Port Huron
WD	Gunthorpe, Jerry	–	73	WD	WD
	Ovid
WD	Wilson, Mitch	–	74	WD	WD
	Portage
WD	Hegarty, Jim	–	83	WD	WD
	Grand Rapids
WD	Camalo, Craig	–	84	WD	WD
	Ann Arbor
WD	Steel, Spencer	–	WD		WD
	West Bloomfield
WD	Maurer, Kip	–	WD		WD
	Plymouth