August Meekhof of Eastmanville Tops 2019 Junior Honor Roll
FARMINGTON HILLS – August Meekhof of Eastmanville didn’t reach all of his 2019 golf goals, but he reached one half of a two-part primary goal he has harbored since his start in the game.
He signed a letter of intent with the golf program at Michigan State University.
“It has been my goal ever since I was little – to become a college golfer and after that be on the PGA Tour,” he said. “It’s awesome Michigan State gave me the opportunity. They offered me early and I’m grateful for their interest in me and their commitment to me.”
Meekhof, 18 and the son of Doug and Connie Meekhof, is the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) Junior Boy’s Player of the Year, Ken Hartmann, GAM senior director of rules and competitions, announced today.
GAM Players of the Year are determined by the Honor Roll points system and totals can be found on a pull down from the Championships tab at gam.org. Over the next two weeks the GAM will announce more Players of the Year from among the junior ranks.
Previously, Dan Ellis of East Lansing and Yurika Tanida of East Lansing were named the Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year, Steve Maddalena of Jackson was named the Senior Men’s Player of the Year, Julie Massa of Holt was named the Senior Women’s Player of the Year and Ian Harris of Bloomfield was named the Super Senior Player of the Year.
Meekhof, currently playing on the Allendale High School varsity basketball team and taking college courses through Grand Valley State University, highlighted his golf season by taking the early lead in stroke play at the U.S. Junior Amateur at Inverness Club in Toledo. He eventually tied for 16th to make it through to match play where he lost in the first round of matches.
“I made a couple of mistakes in match play, but I had the lead in the tournament through 27 holes and that was encouraging to know I can play with the best juniors in the world,” he said. “It was an awesome experience.”
A GAM member through the Meadows at Grand Valley State, Meekhof won the overall title in the GAM Junior Kickoff Championship, attempted qualification in the U.S. Amateur, made match play at the Michigan Amateur Championship and competed on the American Junior Golf Association circuit.
It helped him build an Honor Roll point total of 1,120 points, well ahead of runner-up Coalter Smith of Grosse Pointe Farms and Country Club of Detroit, who had 745 points and reached the semifinals of the Michigan Amateur.
Tommy Sullivan of Grosse Pointe and Country Club of Detroit, who won the stroke play portion of the Michigan Junior State Amateur Championship, was third with 713 points.
GAM Junior Invitational Champion Justin Sui of Lake Orion and Twin Lakes Golf and Swim Club (658) was fourth and Patrick Deardorff of Clarkston and Oakland University Golf and Learning Center, the winner of the Michigan Junior State Amateur Championship, rounded out the top five (657).
Kyle Wolfe, who directs the junior tournaments for the GAM, said it is clear Meekhof has put time and effort into getting his game to an elite level.
“He reached the next step in his development and had a great year locally and nationally,” he said. “He has gotten stronger and he is able to swing fast with a lot of control. That will allow him to play at the next level because he can drive it out there and also keep it in play.”
Meekhof, who is naturally right-handed but plays golf from the left side because it felt more comfortable as a beginner, said his tee-to-green play has improved the most the last few years, and that he continually works on his short game.
“One hundred yards in – you can’t work on that enough,” he said. “You can’t be satisfied.”
