YPSILANTI — Winslow Robinson’s first name starts with the right three letters.
Or four, depending how you look at it. The last three work equally as well for golf.
The Traverse City West senior wins a lot, cementing a victory Wednesday with the tournament’s low round to claim the 2024 GAM Boys Championship at Washtenaw Golf Club in Ypsilanti.
Robinson shot a 2-under 69 to win the tourney by four shots.
Robinson, the only golfer in the field of 44 to shoot an under-par round the entire two-day tournament, came into the second day tied with Ada’s Mathieu Duflo and Ann Arbor’s Adam Thanaporn for the lead. Both of those golfers duplicated their first round with 73s, while Robinson improved by four strokes.
Robinson, who was the Record-Eagle 2024 Boys Co-Golfer of the Year, carded an eagle on No. 16 at the par-71 Washtenaw GC, also knocking in birdies on holes four, six and 13.
“I didn’t hit a great tee shot,” Robinson said. “I hit a 4-iron from the tee box into the trees.”
Only it went through the trees, landing about 85 yards from the green. The Titans senior used a 56-degree sand wedge for the eagle, rolling the last 20 feet into the cup.
Will Pollack of Grand Rapids moved into a second-place tie with Duflo and Thanaporn with an even-par 72 Wednesday.
Fellow TC West golfer Jason Parrish finished 31st with a two-day 163, shooting rounds of 81 and 82.
The new championship replaces the GAM Junior Kickoff tournament, which for five years hosted a competition for boys and girls to start the GAM tournament season. The first GAM Girls’ Championship was played in April, also at Washtenaw.
“It’s pretty cool,” Robinson said. “I’ll be the first name on the trophy.”
Winning the tournament also gets Robinson an automatic invitation into the GAM Invitational in October.
Robinson won the Top 50 Junior Tour championship two weeks ago at Forest Akers in East Lansing, shooting 66 both rounds.
Hebert finishes 2nd at Benton Harbor
BENTON HARBOR — Benny Cook of Grand Rapids rallied Wednesday to win the 103rd Michigan PGA Professional Championship at Harbor Shores Resort.
Scott Hebert of Traverse City finished second by one stroke after leading Tuesday.
Cook, a 30-year-old director of instruction at Quail Ridge Golf Club in Ada, won the Michigan PGA state title for the third time by shooting a 3-under 68 in the final round. Hebert, an eight-time champ at the event who coaches Winslow Robinson, shot 72.
“I made the 40-footer on 17 and then sort of limped in with the bogey on 18,” Cook said. “Scott just missed a birdie there, too. It’ was crazy, but I needed the long one on 17 obviously. I just know you can never relax when you are playing with Hebert because you never know what shot is going in the hole with him.”
Cook took home a first-place check of $7,800 from a $58,500 purse and a sponsor’s exemption into the PGA Tour’s 2025 Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
The championship had a tournament inside the tournament because the low nine golfers, not including Hebert and five-time champion Jeff Roth of Boyne Golf Academy, who are already exempt, earned playing spots in the 2025 PGA Professional National Championship next April at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The low 20 finishers from that championship move on to Quail Hollow to play with the best players in the world at the 105th PGA Championship.
Lee Houtteman of Leland Country Club and Nick Joy of High Pointe Golf Club near Traverse City also earned spots in the national championship.