With not much on his golf resume, Arie Jackman's request for an invitation to the historic Michigan Medal Play was declined last year. When given a chance to compete this year, he took full advantage of the invitation - firing rounds of 70-65-63-63 to win by three over
"Not earning an invitation sparked a little fire in me to want to make it to the event this year," said Jackman, who admitted his resume in 2022 really wasn't strong enough to merit being included.
He set his sights on playing well this year but found himself in 41st place, and well below the projected cut line, after a double bogey on the last hole in round one. Despite being a full nine shots behind the torrid pace set by Drew Miller -- who fired the tournament-low round of 61 on the par 68 layout in round one -- Jackman buckled down and got ready for an attitude adjustment.
"I reset over lunch and asked God in prayer for guidance and strength in the afternoon round," said Jackman.
Sure enough, Jackman fired a 65 that easily made the cut. But it still left him far behind Miller, who followed his 61 with a solid second round of 2-under 66 to stand at 9-under with 36 holes to play.
But Jackman wasn't done chasing the cup -- he fired 63 in the third round to move within four shots of Miller. Following that up with another 63 on Saturday while Miller slid back to a 2-over 70 allowed Jackman to produce the biggest win of Jackman's young career.
Jackman's last win came at the 2022 Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Championships.
At that time, that was a reasonably impressive accomplishment, given the fact that he didn't start playing golf tournaments until age 16, and was attempting to work his way up to a bigger college golf program via the community college experience..
Next year, the native of Caledonia, Mich. won't have to request in invitation to the Michigan Medal Play Championship.
Formerly known as the Horton Smith Invitational, this 72-hole stroke play event, founded in 1964 by Bill Michaels, began as an 18-hole invitational to honor the long-time Detroit Golf Club Head Professional who had a rich playing career (he was the first Masters champion and the last person to defeat Bobby Jones in competition before Jones' retirement in 1930).
However, three years ago, Smith's name was removed from the state's most prestigious event due to his staunch support of whites-only membership while PGA president in the 1950s. The PGA of America had a whites-only clause from 1934 through 1961.
The invitational is held each spring and has taken place at Detroit Golf Club every year since 1964, the year after Smith died.
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ABOUT THE
Michigan Medal Play at Detroit Golf Club
Formerly known as the Horton Smith Invitational,
this 72-hole
stroke play event, founded in 1964 by Bill Michaels,
began as an 18-hole invitational to honor the long
time Detroit Golf Club Head Professional who had a
rich playing career (he was the first Masters
champion and the last
person to defeat Bobby Jones in competition prior to
Jones' retirement in 1930)
In 1971, Detroit G.C. members Dennis Lenehan,
Tom Chisholm and Phil Wigle received approval to
merge
the Michigan Medal Play and Horton Smith
Invitational. This proved to solidify an immensely
talented field of participants each year. In 2020, the
tournament was
renamed the Michigan Medal Play.
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