ACME – The 103rd Turtle Creek Casino Michigan Open teed off Monday at The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.
Caledonia’s Brett White sits atop the leaderboard after carding a 6-under 66. White leads Howell’s James Holley and Ben VanScoyk of Grand Rapids by two strokes.
Traverse City Golf and Country Club PGA Professional Scott Hebert is in a five-way tie for fourth at 3-under. Hebert is a six-time champion of the event, having last won in 2006.
Defending champion Eric Lilleboe of Okemos sits alone in ninth at 2-under.
Weather proved to be a factor for some golfers during Monday’s opening round.
“You always kind of expect it out here, although it was a little bit of a different wind direction than what we normally get out here,” Traverse City West graduate and current professional Alex Scott said. “I’ve played out here a ton, and this is an unusual one. It has definitely the home vibes, get to sleep in my own bed and I get to do my own thing so it’s nice.”
“The wind out of the southeast, that’s a funny wind, that’s when the golf course plays its hardest when 6,7 and 8 are into the wind and that’s the way it was today,” added Hebert. “It was really blowing. To get through that stretch a couple under par, that’s really what made the difference in the round.”
Traverse City’s Randall Hutchinson is tied for 10th a 1-under while Scott is tied for 20th at even par.
Former PGA and Web.com Tour professional Doug LaBelle II of Mt. Pleasant is tied for 42nd at 2-over. Boyne Golf Academy PGA teaching professional and two-time Michigan Open champion Jeff Roth is in 63rd at 3-over.
The 103rd edition of the Michigan Open Championship features the tournament’s largest-ever purse of $115,000.
The 72-hole, four-day tournament continues at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
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