MSU's Smithson becomes fifth amatuer to win Michigan Open

Jun. 18—ACME — It was only fitting to come down to the wire for Bradley Smithson to earn a wire-to-wire victory at the 104th Michigan Open.

Smithson, a 20-year-old Michigan State University golfer, topped Ann Arbor pro Patrick Wilkes-Krier in two playoff holes to finish 13-under and win the 2021 Michigan Open Thursday at Grand Traverse Resort's The Bear in Acme.

He's only the fifth amateur in the 104-year history of the tournament to take home the crystal trophy. Three have won the Open in the last eight years.

"This is definitely the biggest win of my life," Smithson said.

It didn't come easy for Smithson, who swapped leads with Wilkes-Krier for the entire back nine after leading the first three days. Both golfers said after the round it felt like match play.

Wilkes-Krier went up two into the final hole after Smithson double bogeyed 16 with bunker trouble and bogeyed the par-3 17 after hitting the fringe with his iron shot. Smithson was visibly frustrated, shaking his head as he walked off the green. Just two holes earlier Smithson clung onto a one stroke lead.

"It was a terrible iron shot that I hit into a spot you couldn't do a whole lot with," Smithson said. "I wasn't very happy to leave the 30-footer short right in the center."

Then things got interesting. Wilkes-Krier's approach shot sailed wide left of the green. Meanwhile Smithson plopped one on the fridge to the right of the pin.

Smithson sank the 14-footer into the wind for birdie and Wilkes-Krier chipped on and missed his par putt to force playoff holes.

But Wilkes-Krier bounced back rather fast as the two golfers replayed No. 18. His approach shot landed within a few feet of the hole for a surefire birdie. Smithson's approach, much like Wilkes-Krier's in regulation, went wide left and missed the green.

What came next was nothing shy of spectacular. Smithson used a 60-degree wedge and chipped in for birdie. There was bits of "Go Green; Go White" mixed in with the roar.

Smithson said it was his biggest shot in a long time.

"I knew I had to make it," Smithson said of the chip. "I tried to pick a bit of an aggressive line so I knew if I hit it and it rolled too much with a little topspin it would go in."

The second playoff on No. 16 wasn't as close. Wilkes-Grier's tee shot fell short and he couldn't get it onto the green in regulation. He ended up with a bogey. Smithson only needed to make a short putt for his third straight birdie. He made it, then his dad Gary Smithson — a PGA professional — met him at the cart path for a hug.

Wilkes-Krier, 37, teaches golf at the at the Dave Kendall Academy at Miles of Golf in Ypsilanti and is also a former mini-tour player.

"To be honest, he choked it away a little bit toward the end of regulation, and then I choked it away," Wilkes-Krier said. "So I felt like when we were driving out to the playoff hole ... this is probably how it was meant to be determined."

Smithson will be a junior at MSU next year and holds sophomore eligibility. He missed his freshman season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He's ranked second on the team with a 73.4 scoring average.

"I wouldn't really say it changes my plans, but it strengthens my goals," Smithson said. "I expect myself to be competing like this every week. So to actually see it all come together and play the whole week like this was good to see."

Wilkes-Krier still takes home a $12,000 check as the top professional among the field of 156. The purse for professionals finished at $80,000. Amatuer golfers can compete for pro shop gift certificates, which for Smithson was $750.

The golfer with best round in the tournament wasn't even in the top three tee times.

Canton native Donnie Trosper took third after a bogey-free 65 and rocketed into third place at 9-under. He shot 76 in the first round and was 13-under for the final three. His 18th hole birdie completed a streak of bogey-free golf for 31 holes.

Thirteen-year-old Max VanderMolen of Richland made state history as the youngest golfer to qualify for the Open and the youngest golfer to make the cut. He shot 20-over for the week at The Bear for a 65th place tie. He birdied nine holes.

Four TC golfers finish in top-10

Though none were in contention for the title Thursday, Traverse City area locals dominated the top-10.

Former TC Central and Hope College golfer Winton Munch stayed under par for the second day in a row and moved into a fourth place tie at 6-under for the week.

Munch had the best par-4 scoring in the field with 5-under, 26 pars and 10 birdies. He had the second most par breakers with 22, behind Smithson's 24. Munch tied with Mercer golfer Tyler Copp who was 4-over on day four.

Alex Scott, the 24-year-old who golfed at TC West and Grand Valley State, tied with the golfer who beat him last year. Defending champion Brett White and Scott both finished 4-under after Scott shot an even 72 Thursday. They tied at 6th.

Scott Hebert, the six-time defending champion who's the course professional at Traverse City Golf and Country Club, played well Thursday. The 52-year-old shot 2-under to tie at eighth place with amatuer Grant Haefner. He shot 7-under on the front nine this week and was tied for second among the field in par-3 scoring.

Thomas Hursey, a 21-year-old Suttons Bay high school graduate who plays at Ferris State, had the best par-5 scoring in the Open with 15-under, nine birdies and three eagles. He tied for 10th at 1-under with a final round of 1-over. Hursey broke par 21 times, tied for the third best among the field with Wilkes-Krier.

Zachary Bialik, 26 from Manistee, finished tied at 27th at 7-over. Interlochen's Bryan Haase also finished 7-over after shooting 76 Thursday. Haase was tied for 5th after the first round.

Patrick Colburn, 26 of Traverse City, shot 2-over Thursday to finish the tournament 15-over.

Follow Andrew Rosenthal on Twitter @ByAndrewR