The Golf Association of Michigan annually selects Players of the Year in age and gender categories and Ken Hartmann, senior director of competitions and USGA services for the GAM, considers the 2020 award winners similar in several ways.
“They are all models of consistency and you never see any of them way down a leaderboard in their tournaments,” he said. “They all have a great work ethic in common, and they don’t take the game for granted. It’s a very strong group, all very deserving of the award. Let’s put it this way, nobody snuck into this group. They worked hard, played hard and earned it.”
The 2020 selections, headed by James Piot and Anna Kramer as the top male and female golfers, were made based on Player of the Year points kept for the GAM Honor Roll and compiled from GAM tournaments as well as other significant USGA or state accomplishments. Player of the Year point totals can be found here.
This year’s nine winners include: Piot of Canton as Men’s Player of the Year, Kramer of Spring Lake as Women’s Player of the Year, Steve Maddalena of Jackson as Senior Men’s Player of the Year, Julie Massa of Holt as Senior Women’s Player of the Year, Rick Herpich of Orchard Lake as Super Senior Player of the Year, PJ Maybank of Cheboygan as Junior Boy’s Player of the Year, Ariel Chang of Macomb Township as Junior Girl’s Player of the Year, Will Preston of Ada as 15-and-under Junior Boy’s Player of the Year and Lauren Timpf of Macomb as 15-and-under Junior Girl’s Player of the Year.
Here’s a closer look at the group:
Piot is a Michigan State golfer whose season was highlighted by being the runner-up in the Michigan Amateur Championship and earning the No. 2 seed at the U.S. Amateur Championship.
“I had a stretch (during the Michigan Amateur) where I was 11 under in 21 or 22 holes over two matches,” he said. “That’s when I realized I can get my game to another level, that I’m capable of doing what I want to do with golf.”
Kramer is a University of Indianapolis golfer whose season was highlighted by winning the Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship. She was stroke-play medalist and only one of her matches went to the 18th hole.
“I focused on trying to have fun and not be so uptight if I hit a bad shot or had a bad hole,” she said of her summer golf. “I really tried to enjoy that I was getting to play, that I could have fun out there. I found when I stay positive it is a lot easier to play well.”
Maddalena is one of the country’s top-ranked senior players. His season was highlighted by winning the Michigan Senior Open in a sudden-death playoff with fellow Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member and professional Jeff Roth of Boyne Golf Academy.
“It was one of my goals this year – to try and repeat as Senior Player of the Year – and I was fortunate to do that,” he said. “The competition is great and it doesn’t get easier. Every year a new group of guys turn 55 and make it even more competitive.”
Massa was named the Senior Women’s Player of the Year for an unprecedented sixth consecutive year. She built her point total with wins in the GAM Senior Women’s Championship and the GAM Senior Tournament of Champions.
“I feel so honored to be Player of the Year in a year where we were also so happy just to be able to play,” she said. “I think (winning Player of the Year) happens because I just enjoy the game and the competition. I enjoy trying to make myself better, learn more each year and in the end just have fun at it.”
Herpich won three GAM titles over the summer taking the GAM Super Senior Championship (age 65-plus), topping the Super Senior Division of the GAM Senior Championship and posting a win in the GAM Senior Tournament of Champions.
“I had an awesome year,” he said. “Having this kind of year is what I’ve worked for since I retired. I love competing and I love playing and it is an awesome feeling right now.”
Maybank, 15 and a sophomore who attends school online, won all three GAM junior tournaments he entered – the Michigan Junior State Amateur Champion, the GAM Junior Kickoff Championship and the GAM Junior Invitational.
“It was a great summer,” he said. “It showed me my hard work was paying off and just to do that in the state of Michigan with all the good players feels like a great accomplishment.”
Chang, 17 and a senior at Utica Eisenhower High School, shot a record-setting 9-under 62 in winning the Michigan Junior Girls’ State Amateur Championship and also won the GAM Junior Kickoff Championship.
“I know that I worked really hard, but honestly, being Player of the Year is a shock to me,” said Chang who will play collegiate golf at the University of Detroit Mercy. “There are so many players in the state who have accomplished so many things, and it is so hard to win.”
Preston, 14, a freshman at Grand Rapids Catholic Central, won his first GAM title in the spring at the GAM 14-and-under Match Play Championship and closed out the year by topping the 15-and-under division in the GAM Junior Invitational.
The humble Preston thanked his competitors after winning the Match Play title.
“They all pushed me to play my best,” he said. “They are all good guys and they played hard. I really had to focus.”
Timpf, 13 and a Macomb Lutheran North student, had perhaps the most remarkable summer of any GAM golfer. She won four consecutive GAM age-group tournaments, finished second in another and was the only golfer to push Kramer to the 18th hole of a match in the Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship.
“It was a great summer and it showed me my hard work is paying off,” she said. “It made me want to keep working to see what else I can accomplish.”
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