108th Michigan Open at Shanty Creek

One of Michigan’s most storied and historic golf tournaments will be played June 9-12 in the great ‘Up North’ once again.

After the last two years competing in Southeast Michigan, the Michigan PGA Section needed a new home for 2025, and the folks at Shanty Creek raised their hand.

“It’s precisely what we were hoping for,” said Steve Scheuermann, PGA Director of Golf Operations at Shanty Creek. “We feel we have tremendous championship golf at Shanty Creek and that lately it wasn’t being talked about as much as some of the other golf courses in Michigan.”

Last June, Eric Lilleboe of Okemos kept the lead through the final three rounds and won the 107th Open. It was the second time the 36-year-old PGA Tour Americas player won the coveted state title and had his name added to the James D. Standish Trophy. He also won in 2019.

First played in 1916, the Michigan Open annually attracts the top professional and amateur golfers in the state and its list of winners includes golf legends Walter Hagen, Al Watrous, Chuck Kocsis, Horton Smith and Dave Hill, and more recent Michigan Golf Hall of Fame inductees Randy Erskine, Buddy Whitten, Lynn Janson, Jeff Roth, Tom Gillis and Scott Hebert. Current PGA Tour member Ryan Brehm (Mt. Pleasant and Traverse City) is a three-time winner of the historic James D. Standish Jr. trophy.

“For me, Cedar River is one of the best golf courses in Michigan,” Scheuermann said. “Tom Weiskopf was a brilliant architect, and the way that he used the contours and the rolling terrain and the strategic landing zones for your tee shots. It has very fair greens, they are not as hilly as the Arnold Plamer Legend Course. But there’s some challenging pin placements, that’s no doubt. It feels good, I like the layout and I think the players will love it.”

For younger players who like to ‘bomb and gouge’, Scheuermann said there are some holes where there’s room to do so.

“However, if you miss the fairway, or miss the green especially, you’re going to pay for it,” he said. “The Open tournament director has asked us to make the rough a lot thicker and longer than it usually is. So, if you miss the green because you went for it on a par 5, and your ball doesn’t stay on the green, you’re not getting up and down.

“I think the first five holes are going to make or break the tournament for some of the golfers,” he added. “No. 1 is very difficult, especially if the pin is in the back right corner of the green, depending on where your tee shot is on what will probably be an uneven lie. Very challenging. Then No. 5 is a very difficult par 4 hole, where you don’t want to overdrive the ball too far.”