Grand Valley State’s Nick Krueger wins Michigan Amateur golf championship in playoff

Grand Valley State’s Nick Krueger defeated Eastern Michigan’s Patrick Deardorff in a one-hole playoff in the Michigan Amateur final on Friday at the Hawk Hollow Golf Course in Bath.

This was the 111th Michigan Amateur.

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After Krueger birdied to win the first hole, Deardorff tied the match with a birdie of his own on No. 4. A bogey by Krueger on No. 6 gave Deardorff his first lead, but it was short-lived. Deardorff bogeyed No. 7 and triple-bogeyed No. 9 to put Krueger 1-up at the turn.  

Krueger then won No. 11 to go up two with seven to play, but Deardorff stormed back with wins on Nos. 13-15 to take the lead with three holes remaining. His lead held until No. 18, when Krueger sank a 15-footer for birdie and a win on the hole.

Krueger entered Friday’s final coming off a one-hole semifinal win over Michigan State’s August Meekhof, an Eastmanville product. A redshirt sophomore at GVSU, Krueger earned first-team All-GLIAC honors last season after six top-20 finishes. 

Deardorff, meanwhile, took down David Szymanski, the lone non-college golfer in the final four, 2-and-1 to reach the final.

Chandler Engelbrecht is a reporting intern at The Detroit Free Press and can be reached at CEngelbrecht@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @ctengelbrecht.