Repeat winner: A Q&A with two-time Northern Michigan Open champion Kasey Hocquard
It’s never easy to win something twice in a row, especially in golf.
When it comes to the Northern Michigan Open, Cheboygan’s Kasey Hocquard is one of a handful of golfers to pull off the feat, winning the championship back-to-back in 2007 and 2008.
It’s been a unique golf career for the 2004 Cheboygan High School graduate, who also walked on and became a member of the Saginaw Valley State University men’s golf team years ago.
Hocquard recently chatted with the Daily Tribune in a Q&A interview, discussing his Open victories, being inspired by his father, Kim, as well as the life of being a father himself.
Q: Right off the bat, you’re one of six golfers to win back-to-back Northern Michigan Open titles. What does that feat mean to you today?
Hocquard: To tell you the truth, more than anything, it’s just being able to win it even once. It’s so hard to win any golf tournament, and being able to do it back-to-back is pretty special.
Q: Do you recall competing in your first Northern Michigan Open? If so, how would you describe that experience?
Hocquard: I don’t remember my first one, to tell you the truth. At the time you had to be 18 years old (to play), so I want to say that it was probably my summer going into college, so that 2004 year. To tell you the truth, I don’t remember. I think my first win was when me and Jon Micoff were battling it out, it went to extra holes in (2007), and I made an eagle on No. 7, the first playoff hole, to win. I remember that.
Q: You come from a golf family. When was it that you really found an interest in golf and who was the person who introduced you to it?
Hocquard: One hundred percent my dad (Kim). When he worked at Wheeler Motors, he used to drop me off (at the Cheboygan Golf & Country Club) in the morning before work. I’d play golf all day long, and then he’d come out afterward and we’d play more golf, and it was obviously a hobby, a safe place for kids to hang out, and he’d let me charge lunch and Powerades and Gatorades, and I’d literally play golf all day long. Sometimes I’d play 54 holes a day. It was a lot of fun. And, also, Chuck Gronda and Tony Ingersoll were kind of the two first people (that also helped get me into golf). Chuck, especially, not so much Tony, but when Chuck was the high school golf coach, he’d let me practice with the high school golf team when I was in sixth, seventh grade.
Q: I wasn’t around for your younger days of golf, including your high school days. How were you able to make yourself into a premier golfer in this town?
Hocquard: To tell you the truth, in high school I wasn’t very good. For the time, I guess I was pretty decent. Golf has since taken off quite a bit in the last 20 years. You’re seeing people like PJ (Maybank III), who’s obviously phenomenal, and if I compared myself to where I was at 16, and where PJ is, it’s not even in the same ball park. At the time, it was a little different. The (American Junior Golf Association) was there, but I was never able to play in those things. I really took off when I walked onto the (Saginaw Valley State University) golf team, and the head coach at the time was Andy Bethune, and we’d have a swing coach who’d come and help us out in the winter, and his name was John Dal Corobbo, and I bet you he turned me from a 76-77 golfer into a scratch golfer.
Q: When it comes to great golfers in this town – golfers you’ve played with, played against – who’s the one that’s impressed you the most?
Hocquard: It’s got to be PJ (Maybank III), just for his scoring capability, the confidence that he has, just overall gained from tee to green. One hundred percent PJ. Outside of Ryan Brehm, who is one of my best friends and plays currently on the PGA Tour, PJ is by far the next best player I’ve ever played with in regards to just overall capability.
Q: What’s your best golf memory as a Cheboygan Chief?
Hocquard: It would’ve been sophomore year making it to states. I wish I was better at remembering details, but Tony Ingersoll was the coach and he actually pulled his son, Josh, out of the lineup and put me in, I believe it was at regionals, and we made states. Josh is one of my best friends, too, but it was for sure making states that sophomore year.
Q: You had a career in golf at SVSU. How much of a challenge was that for you once you finished high school and reached that level?
Hocquard: Even at the high school level to any college level, whether it be (Division 3), NAIA or whatever it is, college athletes – it’s a completely different ballgame. It definitely had a lot more resources for you in regards to just extra help, swing coaches, and the amount of time and effort that’s put into it is something. You have 5:30 (a.m.) workouts every week and stuff like that, you don’t get that in high school.
Q: You won Northern Michigan Opens in 2007 and 2008. Which one did you enjoy winning more and why?
Hocquard: It had to be the first one. Just to get your first one, it’s obviously very special. I had my best friend, Luke LaHaie, on the bag at the time, caddying, and to win in a playoff was pretty neat.
Q: You caddied for your dad when he won in 1995, then you won two in the next decade. How enjoyable were those celebrations for you at the time?
Hocquard: For some of those, it was quite the party, to tell you the truth. My grandma was still alive for the first one and I got to celebrate with her, which was special. There were a ton of friends. The very first one, Josh Ingersoll was running Mulligans at the time, and they’re closed on Sunday nights, but he opened the doors and threw a bunch of appetizers in the fryer and we had a pretty good little afterparty with friends and family for the first one.
Q: How much of an influence has your dad been on you becoming not just a great golfer, but the person you are today?
Hocquard: I’m going to get emotional. It’s kind of weird because I recently became a dad myself, so I have an 11-month-old boy and a six-month-old girl, and it really puts stuff in perspective. With the way my dad and I have grown up, he’s always been my best friend. He’s just very special.
Q: In your mind, what’s the greatest golf shot you’ve ever hit in the Northern Michigan Open?
Hocquard: I guess I have a few that ring bells, but it’s got to be the putt that I won my first one in the playoff (in 2007). It was about a 35-footer downhill on seven that broke two ways – and I made it to beat Jon (Micoff). That’s one I definitely remember.
Q: Who’s your all-time favorite golfer and why is it that you like that golfer so much?
Hocquard: I’ve always really admired Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Obviously, they had great careers, but what they’ve done for the youth and the youngsters, and I revert back to my friend, Ryan Brehm. Every single time somebody won on the Korn Ferry (Tour) or PGA Tour, Arnold Palmer would send them a signed letter, congratulating them. He may have never even met them, but that just goes a long ways, I guess you could say, the sportsmanship and the respect I have for those guys.
Q: What’s the best golf course you’ve ever played at and what made it so special?
Hocquard: Royal County Down in Newcastle, Northern Ireland. It was at the time rated No. 1 in the world, and I don’t know if it is or not now, but it’s Rory McIlroy’s home course. I got to play it with my dad and Tony Ingersoll and Josh (Ingersoll), so it was a little father-son pairing. It’s just breathtaking, it’s unbelievable to be able to share that experience with my dad, one of my best friends, and Tony’s almost like a second dad to me. It’s something I’ll never forget.
Q: You’re now a father of two. What’s that been like?
Hocquard: I haven’t got to play too much golf, but it’s been fantastic. You don’t know but we tried for years, unsuccessfully, with getting pregnant. We got licensed to foster care, we were a part of several different adoption agencies, and for it all to happen and happen quickly, especially with two, it’s been unreal. My wife, Ashley, she takes a lot of the burden on. It’s everything I’ve wished for and more. It’s absolutely the best thing in the world.
Q: As you enter this year’s Open, it will mark 14 years since your last title. Is the hunger still there to capture No. 3?
Hocquard: The hunger is definitely still there to capture No. 3. My expectations are a little different this year just because of the lack of golf I’ve played, but I’ll probably argue that nobody knows that golf course better than I do, and I can put together a couple good days still. Do I think I can win? Sure. Is it likely? Probably not. Anything, first cut, first day is to make the championship flight and from there hopefully be close enough to chase somebody down on Sunday. Realistically, I just want to make a good showing there this year.
Q: What does it take to win the Northern Michigan Open?
Hocquard: I think one year, I think I shot 141, which is one-over par. That doesn’t even sniff it anymore. I think last year, somebody shot a 61 in the first round last year. There’s very little room for a mistake anymore. You have to put together 36 good holes of golf, which is hard. It’s hard for anybody to do, let alone me. Then you’ve got a bunch of young kids. I don’t know if PJ’s playing this year, he played last year, but you’ve got a handful of 6-7-8-9 college kids that are playing in it, and it’s difficult. Again, 36 good holes.
Q: You’ve competed against some great golfers in this tournament throughout the years. Who’s the toughest opponent you’ve faced and what makes that person so tough to beat?
Hocquard: Jon Micoff. I think he’s won it three times. It’s been him (winning) more recently, but I always feel like him and I are battling in some form or another, not just in the Northern (Michigan Open), but in tournaments all around Northern Michigan, and Jon’s one of those guys that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s pretty consistent tee to green, he’s going to make a ton of birdies, and you’ve got to play well to beat Jon.
Q: What is it about the Northern Michigan Open that makes it such a special and magical event year after year?
Hocquard: For me being from Cheboygan, it’s watching my dad. Since I can remember, I would watch my dad play in the Northern Michigan Open, and then I was waiting until the day when I turned 18 to when I could play in it. This year being the 75th year, it’s got a lot of history. It’s something that any golfer in Northern Michigan looks forward to, and again, you get to the pro shop, you look up on the wall and see the pictures of the people and the members that have won it before. Those pictures are going to be there forever. It’s something that’s pretty special, it’s starting to get recognition again. The Northern was filled up in the first week of January this year. There’s been a waiting list since January, so it’s definitely a popular event. Olwyn Hancock and Jeff Mushlock at the golf course just do an unbelievable job of running it. Jeff, for having a very little budget at the golf course, makes that place phenomenal, and I look forward to it every year just because the greens are so pure and so good, and Jeff and Olwyn, what their teams do, they do an unbelievable job prepping and getting the course ready for play.
Q: Do you believe it’s the best golf tournament in the state of Michigan?
Hocquard: No, unfortunately, I don’t. I think it’s the best golf tournament in Northern Michigan, but there’s some pretty good events throughout the state of Michigan that hold some pretty good clout, I guess you could say. I think the Northern Michigan Open is by far the best golf tournament in Northern Michigan. With the weather it’s going to be this weekend, I think you’re going to see some very good scores.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: A Q&A with two-time Northern Michigan Open champion Kasey Hocquard
