Riley Smyth Wins Great Lakes Championship at The Highlands

Riley Smyth went 12-under over three rounds on The Heather to win the Great Lakes Championship at the Highlands Presented by Johnnie Walker.

Smyth finished one shot ahead of Laney Frye, Isa Gabsa and Erika Hara. Frye and Gabsa, playing in the last group — one behind Smyth — fell short on birdie attempts on eighteen to force a playoff.

The win netted Smyth a $37,500 check. Perhaps more importantly in the long term, this was her second win of the season; Smyth punched a ticket to the Tour Championship later this summer. She moved from eighth in the Race For The Card to potentially as high as second by season’s end. The top 15 in the Race For The Card gain LPGA status the following year.

This was the first year for the Great Lakes Championship at The Highlands. On Sunday, the Great Lakes Sports Commission announced that the tournament will return for at least two more years. The inaugural purse was $250,000.

“It was a great tournament,” Smyth said. “Everyone here really was welcoming, and it was a really well-run tournament for it being the first year.”

Smyth joked that although she enjoyed the course, the tournament and the resort, she hoped she wouldn’t be back the next year: “Hopefully, next year, I’ll be on the LPGA.”

After an even round on a cold, rainy Friday, Smyth went six under on a cool, grey Saturday. She followed that up with another 66, playing under more typically blue Northern Michigan skies on Sunday.

Smyth said that she was unaware of how close the group behind her was on the scoreboard while walking up the eighteenth.

“The eighteenth hole is not easy. Just to be able to get it over the water and on the green was a big sigh of relief. I had no idea where the scores were at that point and with the group behind me, I was still trying to make birdie,” Smyth said.

The top of the leaderboard was close all day long. As many as five players had a shot at the lead through the round.

The final group of Laney Frye and Isi Gabsa had a reasonable chance right until the end of the final hole.

I spent most of the day following Frye and Gabsa, as they were the leaders at the start and did not fall out of touch of the lead until the last putt.

One must really see the Epson Tour players live to appreciate how good they are. Just as with other professionals, there is a sound that the ball makes coming off their clubs that I just don’t hear from amateurs. They hit the ball a country mile and have impressive short games.

Smyth has a driver average distance of 264 and hits 76% of greens-in-regulation. She went 12 under on a 6, 600 yard course over three days, with one of those days having weather conditions that even the GolfBlogger wouldn’t play in.

These women are good.

Here are a few more photos from the final day.

A look at the eighteenth.

Behind the fourteenth.

A lot of credit must be given to Boyne and the numerous sponsors for a marvelous golf experience. I’ve been to more than a few tournaments, and this was as good as any in terms of quality. It is just that the scale was much smaller.

That could change for next year, if word gets around the community about what a fun experience the Great Lakes Championship at the Highlands is. They women are incredibly friendly and the golf is worth watching. In a world dominated by men’s sports, if I had a daughter, I think I’d bring her out to demonstrate that women can be professional athletes.

Here’s a list of some of the tournament’s sponsors