From Monday, June 12, to Thursday, June 15, several members of the GVSU men’s golf team competed at the Michigan Open Golf Championship. Domenic Mancinelli, Alex Scott, Owen Rush, Bryce Messner and Andrew Stevens all took part in the four-round event. The tournament was held at Prestwick Village Golf Club in Highland, Michigan.

Rush tied for ninth amongst participants with a 74-72-69-69-284 (-4), while Scott finished tied for 19th with a 71-75-73-69-288 (E). Domenic Mancinelli finished tied for 21st with a score of 75-75-71-69-290 (+2), while Bryce Messner finished tied for 31st with a score of 72-76-73-72-293 (+5). Andrew Stevens finished with a 76-74-79-76-305 (+17) to round out the Laker participants.

The five GVSU golfers were playing with athletes that play golf for a living, as the Michigan Open is a professional field and not related to GVSU at all. It’s comparable to travel baseball in the summer, as it’s just extra competition you can play in.

GVSU golfer Alex Scott, who participated in his third Michigan Open this year, said it’s one of his favorite events of the year.

“I like the experience of the Michigan Open,” Scott said. “It was my third year competing, and I’ve finished better every year that I’ve played, so I’ve continually gotten better there.”

Scott believes that as a team, a lot of them have been showing consistency over the past few months, especially since the spring season ended.

“Owen Rush finished in the top 10, which is impressive,” Scott said. “He had it rolling that week. It’s a bit unfortunate to see the two big numbers on his card which caused him to not be near the top of of the leaderboard and possibly contending, but he learned a lot. We all did.”

There are six qualifiers held around the state and a different percentage of each field qualifies each year. For example, if there were 50 people in the qualifier and they were taking 30 percent, the top 15 placements would qualify. 

All of the GVSU golfers had to qualify except for Mancinelli, who finished in the top 20 of the tournament a year prior, and a top 20 finish in the Michigan Open means you’re exempt for the next year. For next year’s Michigan Open, Scott and Rush will be exempt into the field.

Mancinelli, who competed in his second Michigan Open this year, believes his and Alex Scott’s leadership sets a good example for the rest of the team.

“On the course, we’re pretty smart, and we know if we don’t have it going that at any point in time, we can rattle off four or five birdies to get it back,” Mancinelli said. “I think we both just understand the process, and that’s where our leadership comes in and the boys see that.”

GVSU golf coach Gary Bissell believes Mancinelli and Scott’s conduct both on the course and off it are really what make them into the leaders of the team.

“Dom and Alex have extremely great work ethics, and that’s really what it stems from,” Bissell said. “They’re the two best players, so even if they’re not leading vocally, they’re leading by example. If you decide you want to be one of the best players, you look to what the best players are doing, so they set a great example by being the hardest workers.”