Qualifier Results For GAM Net Team Championship

Newell, Wittenberg Bounce Back, Azzopardi, Schultz Shine in Debut at GAM Net Team Championship Qualifier

 CLIO – Redemption and debut brilliance highlighted the 35th GAM Net Team Championship qualifier presented by Michigan Golf Live Monday at Clio Country Club.

  The veteran duo of Mike Newell and William Wittenberg found redemption and secured the morning division win, and first-time entrants Austin Azzopardi and Charles Schultz III topped the afternoon field. Both teams shot net 10-under 62 scores.

  Eight teams from the 80 that played on Monday, four from the morning and four from the afternoon, qualified for the GAM Net Team Championship finals on Sept. 18 at Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield.

  In the morning, Newell, who lives in Shelby Township and Wittenberg, a resident of Clinton Township, took first place by two shots with their net 62. The team of brothers Rix and Anthony Naimi of West Bloomfield were runners-up at net 8-under 64.

  The other two teams moving on to the finals from the morning were James Faysal of Novi and his teammate Eddie Bellamy of Farmington Hills, and Bryon Scott and Paul Stiem of Farmington Hills. Faysal and Bellamy shot 64 and lost in a scorecard playoff to the Naimi brothers for the runner-up trophies. Scott and Stiem shot 65 to take fourth.

  The Newell and Wittenberg duo took extra care after last year’s disappointing finish.

  “We accomplished our goal (this time), and we’re moving on,” Wittenberg said.

  Newell said last year the tournament ended in heartbreak for them.

  “So, this year we came out and just relaxed,” he said. “I got off to a pretty good start, but Billy really carried me most of the day – that putter was on fire.”

  Wittenberg said playing different private courses they would otherwise not have access to makes the tournament fun.

   “And everyone that we’ve played with over the years have been just incredibly nice people,” he said.

  In the afternoon, Azzopardi of Sterling Heights, and Oxford’s Schultz made the most of a first-time appearance in the tournament. Their 62 was one shot better than a 63 netted by John Kuczeski and Ron Martin, both of Troy.

   The other two teams from the afternoon moving on to the finals at Plum Hollow are Mark Kavka of Troy and Alex Kavka of Royal Oak, who shot 64, and Jonathan Joseph of Wyoming and Justin Knoper of Grandville, who shot 65. Joseph and Knoper won a sudden-death playoff on the first hole, turning back the McHale brothers, Mike and Jack of Macomb Township, who also shot 65 in regulation. The McHale brothers are past champions of the tournament (2020).

  “Charlie Schultz here had the round of his life,” Azzopardi said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It was just a spectacular day.”

  Schultz said he loves playing competitive golf and enjoyed their debut in the championship.

   “We had a lot of fun today, a lot of great golf, lot of great guys out there,” he said.

    Tournament presenting sponsor Bill Hobson of Michigan Golf Live, a Saginaw resident, competed with his partner Duane Jerome of Sandusky. His competing has become a tradition in the event.

RESULTS: GAM.org or on the Golf Genius App