Ferris State Golf Well-Represented At 100th Michigan Open As Wittenbach & Ziska Make The Cut

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's golf program was well-represented at the 2017 Michigan Open Championship, which took place this week at Prestwick Village Golf Club in Highland, Mich.

FSU head coach Kyle Wittenbach was joined in the prestigious event, which celebrated its 100th year, by Katke Golf Course pro Ian Ziska, who served as a Bulldog assistant coach this past year. Both made the cut in the tournament presented by LaFontaine Cadillac.

The four-round event ran Monday thru Thursday and was won by Matt Thompson, the Marshall Country Club's new golf professional.

"This year's Michigan Open was beautifully run by the Michigan PGA," Wittenbach said. "Prestwick Village Golf Club was in perfect condition and it was fun to be out there with so many great players. Congrats to Matt on the win and I look forward to competing again next year."

Ziska shot a four-day total of 293 in the tournament. After shooting a 74 in round one, he came back with a 71 on Tuesday followed by a 77 in round three and a one-under 71 in the final round.
Meanwhile, Wittenbach posted a 298 over the four days of competition. He shot a 75 in the first round before notching a 73 in round two along with a 77 in the third round and another 73 in the final round.

Earlier this summer, Wittenbach finished second overall among 114 competing teams at the 2017 Nike Golf State Pro Am held June 5-6 at Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs.

The Michigan Open, one of the state's longest-running golf events, began in 1916 and was first won by Leo Diegel, who also played in the inaugural Ryder Cup matches and The Masters. 
Historically, some of golf's most famous names are listed on the Michigan Open's James D. Standish, Jr. Trophy. Walter Hagen, the father of modern professional golf and captain of the first five U. S. Ryder Cup teams, won the event in 1921. Michigan PGA Professional and Ferris State alum Scott Hebert is tied with Al Watrous for all-time Michigan Open titles with six.

Wittenbach and Ziska 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.