HARBOR SPRINGS – Chet VandenBerg of Portage won the 44th GAM Mid-Amateur Championship presented by Stifel Investment Services Thursday at The Highlands at Harbor Springs.
Chet VandenBerg with the Glenn Johnson Trophy
And then he put it in perspective.
"I passed out and fell in the bathroom in a hotel in July and almost died because I broke my nose and was drowning in my blood," he said. "I woke up just in time. The Lord was watching over me. I'm so grateful, so thankful I'm here and getting to play golf at Boyne."
VandenBerg, 37 and a territory manager for Corteva Agriscience, shot a final-round even-par 72 for 139 on the Arthur Hills Course to secure a one-shot win over a pair of past champions, Scott Strickland of Bloomfield Hills, who shot 69, and Nate Clark of DeWitt, who closed with a 74.
Austin Kreger of St. Clair Shores, who shot 71, and Evan Johnson of Grosse Ile, who shot 73, tied at 142 and rounded out the top five.
VandenBerg called the win a culmination of his years in golf going back to Kalamazoo Christian High School and stretches of life and golf in Grand Rapids and Florida over the years.
"It's one of those things where you get to be 37 and you're not really sure if you are ever going to get a chance to win this," he said. "With the younger guys coming in to the Mid-Amateur, like Evan Johnson today, he just turned 25. It just gets so tough."
VandenBerg shot a flawless 2-under front nine in the final round and built a three-shot lead only to bogey holes 10 and 11. A birdie on 14 put him up by two shots, and he had that lead when he got to the tee on No. 18. He played to a bogey with the shot to spare.
"I played really good, solid golf," he said. "I had a couple of hiccups today, but I didn't hit any bad shots. I was consistent. My ball-striking was good, and I tried to play to the center of the green and stay below the hole as much as possible. Getting above the hole out here can get a little tricky."
VandenBerg was not the only champion determined on Thursday, and not the only champion named VandenBerg.
Michigan Golf Hall of Famer Kevin VandenBerg, a native of Mattawan and now a resident of Pulaski, NY, who is not related to Chet, won the Senior Division Championship (age 55-and-over) for the third time in the last four years.
He shot a closing 69 on the Donald Ross Memorial Course for a 140 total for the two days and won by three shots.
John Leach of Macomb, who shot 72, finished second at 143, and David LeVan of Traverse City, who shot 72, was next at 144.
Mike Anderson of Novi, a past Mid-Amateur champion, shot 76 for 147 and tied with Steve Nichols of Lansing, who also closed with a 76.
Another Michigan Golf Hall of Famer, Steve Maddalena of Jackson, won the Super Senior Division (65-and-over) for the first time. He has won the Senior Division twice previously.
He made a birdie to win on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with Kerry Buettner of Grandville. He shot a final 71 on the Ross course and Buettner, the first-round leader, shot 74 for 141.
Greg Zeller of Jackson, who shot 72 for 142, Michigan Golf Hall of Famer Randy Lewis, who shot 75 for 146, and Ian Harris of Bloomfield, who shot 74 for 148, rounded out the top five.
Clark, who finished third in the overall Mid-Amateur, was awarded the trophy for being the Mid-Senior (45-and-over) winner.
Kevin VandenBerg, who won the Mid-Amateur title in 2000, said winning again at Boyne was a joy.
"I love coming up here," he said. "The golf courses are great. It's always fun. I've stayed and played on the weekend in the Kircher Cup with my friend Dennie Kane for 36 years. It's a tremendous week because of that, and to win in this only adds to it all."
Maddalena, 66, said his Super Senior win was a lesson in perseverance.
"I just kept hanging in there," he said. "Kerry got out to a good lead but came back a little and gave me an opening. I just tried not to make any mistakes and my putting, which hasn't been great lately, was better today."
He said he missed the same seven-foot birdie putt in regulation play so he knew which way it broke on No. 2 in the playoff.
"It helped to hit it there," he said. "I knew it broke right."