ROCHESTER – Trenton’s Laura Bavaird has been there and done that as a competitive golfer, but she found another first in golf Tuesday.
The two-time Michigan Women’s Amateur champion, collegiate standout at Western Michigan University and winner of the 2010 Canadian PGA Women’s Championship as a tour professional, won the 27th GAM Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Twin Lakes Golf & Swim Club.
It was her first Mid-Amateur title and her first GAM title since being reinstated as an amateur in 2021. She did it by following up a first-round 5-under 65 on Monday with a 2-under 70 in the final round for 135, 10 shots clear of the field.
“I mean, once a competitor, always a competitor, whether that’s amateur or pro, so it’s important for me to retain that identity,” said the 39-year GAM Foundation director. “I work hard to maintain my game for that reason.”
Defending champion Elayna Bowser of Dearborn, who shot a closing 70, and 2022 champion Chelsea Collura of Riverview, who shot 76, tied at 145.
Cathleen Wong of Parkersburg shot 75 for 152 and Stephanie Ross of Owosso shot 76 for 153 to round out the top five.
A Senior Division champion and a 19-24 age group champion were also determined.
The Senior champion was the GAM’s most decorated golfer, 11-time Mid-Amateur champion Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll of Haslett, who won for the second consecutive year since moving to the Senior Division.
The 19-24 winner was Elise Fennell of Caledonia, an Illinois State University golfer who was recently named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year.
Slobodnik-Stoll, the head women’s golf coach at Michigan State, shot 71 for a 1-under 141 total for the two rounds. Lori Schlicher of Lewiston, last year’s GAM Senior Women’s Player of the Year, shot 73 for 147 and second.
Donna Benford of Linden, who shot 77 for 153, Pam Tyler of Grand Rapids, who shot 74 for 154, and Donna Tepper of Grosse Pointe Park, who shot 80 for 155, rounded out the top five in the Senior Division.
Fennell won the 19-24 age group competition by six shots. She shot 70 Monday, including her first ever hole-in-one (6-iron, 161 yards, hole 16), and followed with a 76 Tuesday for a two-day total of 146.
Rachel Krieger of Commerce Township, a Grand Valley State University golfer, shot 77 for 152, and tied with Taylor Kondel of Grand Blanc, a University of Detroit Mercy golfer who shot 77. Ava Weeks of Troy and Northwood University, who shot a final 79, was fourth at 156.
Slobodnik-Stoll was pleased she was able to win despite not having spent much time on her own golf game in recent weeks. She was busy coaching the Spartans through the NCAA Championships, and last week she caddied for one of her players, Brooke Biermann, in the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
“Being on the bag last week was inspiring and so I tried to take what I saw there and absorb it in place of having time to practice,” she said. “I hit some good shots. I’ve got some stuff to work on, and I’ve got a big summer lined up of tournament, but yes, winning always feels good.”
Fennell said Tuesday’s round was tougher with the gusting winds causing her some problems.
“Yesterday was a lot better,” she said. “The wind was difficult, and I misjudged some distances, but I was happy with how I grinded through everything and just hung in there.”
Fennell, too, plans a busy summer of tournaments before heading back to Illinois State.
“I want to keep working hard and get better,” she said. “That’s really the goal for the summer.”
Bavaird said she was elated to finally win the Mid-Amateur after two previous runner-up finishes in the championship in recent years, and she was pleased she finished the second round with a good back nine.
“This morning was pretty tough,” she said. “The wind was the opposite of yesterday, so I was uncomfortable a lot. Yesterday everything just felt the way it’s supposed to feel. At least I finished strong today.”
RESULTS: On the Golf Genius App or at GAM.org
