Michigan Amateur: Surprising Match Play Round of 64 Results

114TH MICHIGAN AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP: Defending Champion, Stroke Play Medalist Fall in Match Play at Belvedere

CHARLEVOIX – The record-setting medalist and No. 1 seed, Lorenzo Pinili of Rochester Hills, was toppled 4 and 3 in the round of 64 by Zach Koerner of Laingsburg, and the defending champion, McCoy Biagioli of White Lake, fell to Ethan Swenson of Bath, 2 and 1, in the round of 32 late Thursday.

  Those were the big news items from day three of the 114th Michigan Amateur Championship presented by Carl’s Golfland at Belvedere Golf Club.

  For the second consecutive day play was suspended, but this time by darkness instead of weather. Despite the suspension, a lot of progress was made.

  The second round of stroke play was completed after being suspended by weather on Wednesday, and a playoff among 13 golfers for the 10 final spots in the 64-golfer bracket was completed.

  The round of 64 matches originally scheduled for Thursday morning were also completed, and 13 of the 16 matches of the round of 32 were also completed resulting in 13 members of the “Sweet 16” being identified.

  The three suspended matches will be continued at 7:30 a.m. Friday, and the scheduled round of 16 and quarterfinal matches will follow. Semifinal matches and the championship match are slated for Saturday.

  Koerner’s round of 32 was among those suspended by darkness. He was tied through 12 holes with Jared Lyons of Portage.

  As for his win over Pinili, the Ferris State University golfer who survived the morning playoff and grabbed the 64th spot, said he was excited to have the chance to advance.

   “I know Lorenzo and I knew that he shot a course record (63 on Wednesday), and I was excited to play him,” he said. “It’s a big win for me. I played pretty solid.”

  Pinili, a Michigan State University golfer, said Koerner deserved to win.

  “I was confident, playing great yesterday, and then today I just didn’t have it,” he said. “My putter let me down. I made some mistakes, some bogeys and (Koerner) hit a couple in close to take advantage. That’s golf. It’s disappointing.”

  Swenson, a Saginaw Valley State University golfer, was feeling the opposite of disappointment. He said he did a great job in managing his expectations through the day, and especially against Biagioli, a Michigan State golfer.

  “I knew my game was good enough,” he said. “I just had to do it. My goal was to have fun, and I’ll try to have more tomorrow. Beating McCoy was fun.”

    The following are the 13 golfers who have moved on to the round of 16:

Ronnie Aniel III, 22, Shelby Township, a Michigan State University graduate student;

Evan Johnson, 23, Grosse Ile, a Bowling Green State University graduate student and golfer;

Bryce Wheeler, 21, Augusta, Grand Valley State University golfer;

Murphy Kehoe, 22, Traverse City, Grand Valley State University golfer;

Andrew Tindall, 36, Chelsea, Demand Planner for Consumers Energy;

Michael Maiden, 29, Grand Rapids, Logistics Broker for Ally Logistics;

Matt Zerbel, 30, St. Joseph, Trucking Broker;

Peter Stassinopoulos, 21, Novi, Wayne State University golfer;

Robert Burns, 20, Flushing, Oakland University golfer;

Caleb Bond, 21, Williamston, Michigan State University golfer;

Jeffrey Andrus, 20, Clawson, Central Michigan University golfer;

Brennan Sullivan, 19, Grosse Pointe Park, Oakland University golfer;

Ethan Swenson, 21, Bath, Saginaw Valley State University.

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