Ferris State's McCoy Biagioli Wins Michigan Amateur Championship To Earn Spot In U.S. Amateur
Photo Courtesy Golf Association Of Michigan
Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University men's golf standout McCoy Biagioli (White Lake), who helped lead the Bulldogs to the NCAA Division II National Championships this past spring, claimed one of Michigan's most prestigious golf honors on Friday (June 21), winning the 113th annual Michigan Amateur Championship presented by Carl's Golfland on The Heather Course at The Highlands at Harbor Springs.
By winning the Michigan Amateur Championship, Biagioli also earned a spot with an automatic exemption into the 2024 U.S. Amateur, which will take place Aug. 12-18 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.
A White Lake native, Biagioli topped recent University of Wyoming Graduate Jimmy Dales of Northville by a 3 and 1 count in the championship match. The Bulldog standout's name will be added to the historic Staghorn Trophy. He reached the match play portion of the tournament for the first time in his third Michigan Amateur appearance.
The victory capped an impressive week for Biagioli, who survived a match that went 26 holes in the round of 16 on Thursday and then made a dramatic 18-foot putt for the win on hole #18 in his 1-up semifinal win over St. Joseph's Matt Zerbel to reach the title round. Biagioli's round of 16 win came over FSU teammate Caleb Bond in a marathon that needed 26 holes to determine a winner. FSU head coach Sam Stark also competed and reached the match play portion of the tournament as one of the 64 competitors as did Bulldog freshman Kole Putnam.
The Michigan State Amateur is the state's most prestigious amateur championship. Sectional qualifying is required for those who do not meet the exemption requirements. The format consisted of 36-holes of stroke play followed by a cut to the low 64 players for match play.
Biagioli was tabbed as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Freshman of the Year this past season and was an all-conference selection. Biagioli posted a 72.5 adjusted average over 37 total rounds, ranking among the region's top 25 individual players as a rookie. The FSU freshman placed 13th overall in stroke place at the conference championships and won both of his matches in head-to-head medal match play during the league semifinals and finals as Ferris State captured the school's 22nd all-time league title. Individually, Biagioli had a runner-up individual finish at the B&R Investments Bulldog Fall Classic hosted by FSU and posted six top-10 finishes this year, including a third-place effort at the NCAA D2 Central/Midwest Super Regional Championships.
As a freshman this past season, Biagioli helped lead the Bulldogs to both the GLIAC Championship and a NCAA Division II National Championships appearance. This year's national championships berth represented FSU's 17th all-time in program history and first since 2019.
Ferris State's ninth-place team finish was the the program's best since 2017 when the Bulldogs earned runner-up honors in the 2017 NCAA-II Midwest/Central Super Regional in Kearney, Neb., before going on to a national quarterfinal finish. This year also marked the 19th time in the past 21 years in which the Bulldogs had representation in the NCAA Tournament when it has been held. The stretch of NCAA Championship representation in men's golf ranks as one of the best stretches in the country.
In addition to Biagioli winning the Michigan Amateur Championship, Ferris State University men's golf alum Eric Lilleboe also recently claimed the Michigan Open Championship.