Bond Is GAM Player Of The Year

GAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Caleb Bond of Williamston Tops 2025 Men’s Points List

FARMINGTON HILLS – Caleb Bond of Williamston said he learned in his first year at Michigan State University in 2024 that when he played his best golf he could compete with the best amateur golfers in the country.

Then he proved it in the summer of 2025. He won the Michigan Amateur Championship at historic Belvedere Golf Club in Charlevoix by fighting off University of Oklahoma standout PJ Maybank of Cheboygan, 1-up, in the final match.

That earned him an exemption into the U.S. Amateur at the Olympic Club in San Francisco where he emerged from a playoff to get into match play and made a run to the round of 16. He lost to the eventual runner-up, Jackson Herrington of Tennessee, but not before taking him to 20 holes.

Those two performances powered Bond to the top of the Golf Association of Michigan Points List, and he has been named the 2025 GAM Men’s Player of the Year, Ken Hartmann, senior director of competitions and USGA services, announced today.

Player of the Year point totals can be found on a pull down from the PLAY tab at GAM.org. Carl’s Golfland is the presenting sponsor of the points lists.

Earlier this week, the GAM announced Elayna Bowser of Dearborn as the Women’s Player of the Year, and in the next few weeks the GAM will announce more Players of the Year in gender and age categories.

Bond, 21 and a senior at Michigan State, called being Player of the Year a great honor.

“To be on the list with all the great players who have shared that honor is a big accomplishment,” he said. “I’ve always played in GAM tournaments to get great competition and to get better at my game, so this is pretty awesome. It was a great summer, winning the Amateur, making a run in the U.S. Amateur, and having my family there and my sister (Cara) caddie for me. I learned a lot that I can use going forward.”

He said the week that unfolded for him at Belvedere in winning the Amateur will be something he never forgets.

“To have my name on the (Staghorn) trophy is golf history, and you get so much confidence from having a week like that,” he said. “I played very consistent through match play, and then to beat a great player like PJ in the final just pushed me going forward.”

He said his best golf was the second round of stroke play in the U.S. Amateur, which landed him in a 20-golfer playoff for the final 17 spots in match play.

“I shot (68) on the tougher course (Lake Course) and thought I had made the field and then ended up in that playoff the next morning and had to fight through that,” he said. “Then I won two matches and really learned a lot along the way about my game and myself. It was great to compete with the best players in amateur golf.

He said professional golf is next, but details still need to be worked out.

“Being a professional has been the goal for a long time,” he said.

Hartmann said he was impressed by Bond in the 2024 Michigan Amateur at The Highlands at Harbor Springs.

“He impressed me with his game then, so I wasn’t surprised that he put it all together this year,” he said. “I like the way he approaches the game. He doesn’t get bothered by things, just keeps hitting shots. Also, his preparation and his performance in the U.S. Amateur impressed me, too.”

Bond amassed 1,035 points to top the GAM Player of the Year Points List, well ahead of Justin Sui of Lake Orion, who had 570 points and was the highlight GAM Championship winner with his record round of 60 at Radrick Farms Golf Club in Ann Arbor.

Lorenzo Pinili of Rochester, and Bond’s MSU teammate, finished third with 410 points. His highlight was a historic course and tournament record 63 in stroke play at Belvedere in the Michigan Amateur.

Evan Johnson of Grosse Ile with 400 points and Bryce Wheeler of Augusta and Grand Valley State University with 387.5 points rounded out the top five.