Groveland Township’s Keith Blakely is officially hooked on the Buick Open Pro-Am experience.
Blakely and his team, which was comprised of Professional Golfers Association (PGA) golfer Hank Kuehne and amateurs Richard Sly, Dave Isbell, and George Dass, shot 15 under par to finish fifth out of 53 teams at the Pro-Am, held July 27 at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc.
The team of PGA golfer Steve Lowery and amateurs Tony Brown, Joe Laymon, Jim Spencer, and Guy Hachey won the Pro-Am, finishing 19 under par, Blakely said.
Blakely said his most memorable moments of the Pro-Am came when he birdied the par-5 13th hole (544 yards), as well as his drive on the par-4 14th hole (322 yards). After the event, Blakely ate dinner with Kuehne and the rest of his team at the Warwick Hills clubhouse.
However, that was not the end of the Buick Open experience for Blakely, 47, vice president of Country Folk Art Craft Shows, Inc. in Groveland Township. He attended all four days of the actual tournament.
In fact, he had a chance to greet Buick Open winner Vijay Singh July 31 after he won the tournament for the second straight year. Blakely said he had the good fortune to be standing near an on-site ESPN studio, located near the Warwick Hills clubhouse.
‘I’d been standing there for an hour, and he was being interviewed by ESPN after he won,? Blakely said. ‘I was standing in the right place and held the door open for him. I said ‘Congratulations,? and he said thank you.?
Blakely is already looking forward to the opportunity to play in next year’s Pro-Am.
‘It was just the opportunity of a lifetime,? he said. ‘I can’t wait for next year.?