HIGHLAND – Prestwick Village Golf Club will make Michigan golf history once again by hosting the 100th Michigan PGA Professional Championship in August.
The private club surrounded by a family-focused community hosted the 100th playing of the Michigan Open Championship in 2017 as well as the 97th, 98th and 99th Opens. This is the first time it will host the Michigan PGA Professional Championship that brings together the top Michigan PGA Section professionals in the state.
“Prestwick Village and its PGA professionals, course superintendent, maintenance staff and the club management and staff have a proven track record for hosting championships,” Justin Phillips, tournament director for the Michigan Section PGA, said.
“We had a great run with four Michigan Opens there, including the 100th Michigan Open, and we expect the same kind of great tournament week in 2021 with the Michigan PGA Professional Championship. Most of our playing professionals are very familiar with the club’s great golf course and we know it will be a worthy site for the championship.”
The 2021 field will play 54-holes over three days for an estimated purse of $55,000. The state championship for Michigan Section golf professionals also serves as the starting point and qualifier for major championship golf.
The nine low scorers from the 100th championship qualify to participate in the 2022 PGA Professional Championship. That tournament, in April of 2022 at OMNI Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas, determines a national champion as well as sending that tournament’s low 20 finishers on to the 2022 PGA Championship in May of 2022 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.
Earlier this year Caledonia’s Ben Cook made a 12-foot eagle-putt on the par 5 No. 18 hole at Flint Golf Club to set a tournament scoring record and win the 99th Michigan PGA Professional Championship. The Yankee Springs Golf Course professional was married two days before the championship and then shot 20-under for the three rounds to win by eight shots. He is expected to defend at Prestwick.
Eight-time champion Scott Hebert of Traverse City Golf & Country Club and five-time champion Jeff Roth of Boyne Golf are also expected to play at Prestwick.
Brent Goulding, the director of golf at Prestwick Village and one of the state’s top playing PGA professionals who will be part of the field, said the opportunity to host the 100th Michigan PGA Professional Championship after having hosted the 100th Michigan Open was something the club was eager and excited about doing.
“It will add to Prestwick Village’s resume as a major tournament facility,” he said. “The character of the golf course has been well-received by the membership and tournament players, and tour players and eventual tour players who have played the course have complimented the overall condition of the course and the consistent speed of the greens. The condition and style of the course that Eric Davey (head golf course superintendent) puts forth is second to none and the players will find it perfect for competition and be excited about playing it as they have in the past.”
Award-winning Prestwick will challenge the golfers with variety, including some holes that are links style, traditional parkland style and some that are carved through woodlands. Located just north of Milford in Highland Township on 426 acres of rolling terrain, Prestwick was designed by architect Ron Garl. The course can play to as many as 7,142 yards but features six tee positions.
Davey and his maintenance staff also maintain one of the nation’s top-ranked golf ranges/practice centers.
The Michigan PGA Professional Championship dates to 1922 and past champions include Michigan golf legends Walter Hagen, Chuck Kocsis, Chick Harbert, Al Watrous, John Barnum and Walter Burkemo. The winner receives the Gilbert A. Currie Trophy.
The Michigan PGA Professional Championship in 2020 was presented by Club Car and OMEGA with supporting sponsors Titleist/Footjoy, TaylorMade, Nike, Golf Channel and the PGA Tour. Sponsorship for the 2021 championship will be announced at a later date.
See michiganpga.com for more information.
