Chestnut captures 97th Michigan Amateur Championship

PORTAGE – Surrounded by a near-record crowd of friends, family and his college teammate as his caddie, Jimmy Chestnut (Grand Blanc) won the 97th Michigan Amateur 4&2 over 2007 runner-up Steve Cuzzort (Grosse Ile).

Chestnut took control of the match right out of the shoot by going 1 up on the first hole and never looked back. When asked about his thoughts on the first tee as he started the finals, Chestnut replied, “I came here to win and I need to finish the deal.” 

“He (Cuzzort) has won every Michigan amateur tournament there is, so I knew he would come back and square up the match. I really wanted to win this championship, it’s the most important tournament in the state. You feel like a king for a week. The names on the trophy are a who’s who of golf, like Chuck Kocsis.”

By winning the Michigan Amateur, Chestnut receives an automatic five-year exemption into the Michigan Amateur Championship, as well as The Western Amateur, Susquehana Amateur in Pennsylvania, the Michigan Open and the GAM Championship. 

Cuzzort, who was the 2007 GAM Champion said, “It’s a grind of a week, to come up short really sucks. He (Chestnut) took advantage of opportunities and I didn’t, he’s a great guy.”

For more information and complete results, visit www.gam.org.