Ferris State Coach Kyle Wittenbach & Golfer Jack Weller Both Place In Top Five At State Pro-Am
Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University was well-represented atop the leaderboard at the 2017 Nike Golf State Pro Am, which took place on Monday and Tuesday (June 5-6) at Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs, Mich.
Bulldog men's and women's head golf coach Kyle Wittenbach, who recently completed his first season at the FSU helm, along with standout men's golfer Jack Weller (Swartz Creek) both finished among the top five overall in the team-based competition.
The Nike Golf State Pro Am Championship is sanctioned by the Michigan PGA and teams are comprised of one professional and one amateur. Teams competed over 36 holes on The Heather and Donald Ross Memorial courses with a scratch, best ball format. The Nike Golf State Pro Am attracted top professionals and amateur golfers from all over Michigan for two days of competition at Boyne Highlands Resort.
Per NCAA rules, Wittenbach and Weller were not able to pair up together for the event.
Wittenbach paired up with amateur Brett Green to finish tied for second overall among the 114 competing teams. The duo shot a two-day total of -11 to finish a single stroke behind champions Ron Beurmann and Mike Raymond. After shooting a 67 in day one action, Wittenbach and Green fired a 66 in the second round for a two-day total of 133 overall.
Meanwhile, Weller, who was the amateur, teamed up with pro Jerry Roman to finish tied for fourth overall in the field. They were at -10 for the two days of competition with a first-round 64 followed by a 70 in the last round for a 134 total. Weller and Roman held the first-day lead in the event after shooting eight-under over the first 18 holes of action.
Wittenbach and Weller helped lead the Ferris State men's golf team to a national quarterfinal appearance at the NCAA Division II Championships in May at Reunion Resort in Kissimmee, Fla. FSU placed seventh overall in stroke play at the national championships before being eliminated in quarterfinal action by eventual national champion Florida Southern.
This year, Ferris State was the only school outside of the state of Florida or South Carolina to finish among the top seven teams in the country in stroke play.
The Bulldogs made their 15th all-time national championships appearance and first berth since 2010 after earning runner-up honors at the 2017 NCAA Midwest/Central Super Regional in Axtell, Neb. Ferris State's current 15-year NCAA Championship appearance streak in men's golf ranks as one of the longest active stretches in the country.
The national quarterfinal appearance capped off what was an exciting season for the Bulldogs under Wittenbach, a FSU alum. The Bulldogs won four tournaments in the fall, earned a top 10 national ranking, claimed runner-up honors at the Super Regional Championship and placed a school-best seventh overall in stroke play at the national championships this season before earning a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight.