MICHIGAN GOLF HALL OF FAME: Threesome Elected
Michael Harris, John Lindert, Roger Ostrander to be Inducted in October
By Greg Johnson
BIG RAPIDS – Michael Harris, a championship winner at the junior, collegiate and professional golf levels; John Lindert, a PGA golf professional whose dedicated service to the game includes being elected President of the PGA of America; and the late Roger Ostrander, a respected rules official from local to international levels, have been elected to the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame (MGHOF).
The threesome will be inducted Oct. 26 at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Club, home of the Ken Janke Sr. Golf Learning Center that houses the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame (MGHOF). This 2025 class will bring the number of inductees to 143.
In addition, the MGHOF has voted to present just its seventh Special Award in history to Loretta Larkin of Dexter, who has served as the administrator for the MGHOF for 29 years.
Harris, 47, formerly of Troy and currently residing in Brookfield, Wis., started winning championships at the junior golf level, and as an adult amateur he won the GAM Championship, the Horton Smith Invitational Championship, won the Northeast Amateur, played in the U.S. Amateur in 1996 and was a standout collegiate golfer at the University of Michigan, winning six tournaments and medalist honors at the Big Ten Conference Championships in 1999. As a professional he was the Canadian Tour Order of Merit Winner in 2005, won the 2005 Michigan Open and five times returned home from tour golf to win the Michigan PGA Tournament of Champions at Boyne Mountain. He also played in the U.S. Open twice, in 2000 and 2006 before injuries ended his competitive golf career.
Lindert, 68, the head golf professional at Country Club of Lansing, has seemingly filled every leadership role possible for the Michigan PGA, and since 2006 has served, been appointed to and elected to serve in various roles with the PGA of America. He was elected president of the PGA in 2022 becoming just the third Michigan PGA member to ever serve in that position.
Ostrander, known nationally in golf as Dr. O, died of cancer in 2015 at the age of 74, but not before a career as an oral surgeon in Grand Rapids, and then a second career as a rules official. He softened the hard-line of the rules of golf with an approachable, outgoing personality and served as a rules official for over two decades. He worked hundreds of state pro and amateur events earlier on, then went on to serve the USGA officiating at six U.S. Opens, nine U.S. Senior Opens and 14 U.S. Amateurs while also being on the USGA Mid-Amateur Championship Committee for 18 years.
Larkin, 62, has served as the administrator of the MGHOF since 1996. She manages and maintains financial records, the non-profit status of the hall of fame, the nominating and voting procedures, organization and management of the induction ceremonies, creation of the annual program publication, coordinating and cataloging of the memorabilia collection and all communication to current members and committee members. She currently also works as director of organizational and human resources for the Golf Association of Michigan.
For more information and to learn about the current members of the Hall of Fame, visit mghof.org.
