109TH MICHIGAN WOMEN’S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

By Greg Johnson

   EAST LANSING – Byron Center’s Macie Elzinga had the Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship on her mind.

   “It stung a lot last year, coming up short, and I was thinking about it all year long,” she said.

   The sting is gone, and she can think about winning it now for years to come, especially since her name will go on the historic Patti Shook Boice Trophy as the champion of the 109th edition of the state championship, played at Eagle Eye Golf & Banquet Center.

   The 19-year-old Bowling Green State University golfer outlasted 2019 champion Elayna Bowser of Dearborn 2 and 1 in the championship match in mid-July, a year removed from losing in the semifinals. Bowser is a former pro and now sells real estate.

    “It’s my biggest win by far,” she said. “Last year kind of put it in my mind that it was possible, but I knew it was coming into this year, and I was just trying to take in one match at a time.”

  With the win she also earned an exemption from the USGA into the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship later this summer at Bandon Dunes in Oregon.

  “That’s pretty cool,” she said. “I’ve been to one (U.S. Girls’ Championship), but never the Women’s Championship, so I’m really excited for it. And it’s Bandon Dunes, so you have to be excited.”