BELLAIRE — Defending champion Eric Lilleboe of Okemos has only checked out the new host golf course via a satellite view, but he is thrilled with the opportunity to play it and become a three-time winner.
The 37-year-old mini-tour professional will head the field in the 2025 Hall Financial Michigan Open Championship presented by Make The Turn and Harbor Title Agency, which will be played on the Cedar River Course at Shanty Creek Resort for the first time in the championship’s 108-year history next Monday through Thursday, June 9-12.
“My goal is to win another Michigan Open because it’s such a special tournament and playing it on a course I haven’t played before is exciting and part of the challenge,” he said. “I’m hoping for a lot of patience, a little luck and a ton of good golf shots.”
Lilleboe spent much of the winter rehabilitating a back injury and said he is ready to go.
“I lost my status on the PGA Tour Americas last year and then had to rehab the injury, so I haven’t played in much yet this year,” he said. “I have been working on it though. My back feels good. It’s a matter of keeping it healthy. I can feel my game coming around.”
A year ago, at Oakland University’s Katke Cousins course, Lilleboe maintained the lead through the final three rounds to win the $15,000 first-place check. As the 2019 champion, he also had his name engraved on the James D. Standish Trophy for the second time.
The Cedar River course is a celebrated design by the late PGA Tour star Tom Weiskopf, and Lilleboe said he is familiar with World Golf Hall of Famer’s design work.
“From what I can tell it is a pretty straightforward challenge that requires some great planning and playing, and the key for me will be hitting a lot of drivers so I can get wedge in my hand,” he said. “That’s when I can be aggressive and that’s when I play my best. I will play a practice round Sunday, make a plan and be ready to go.”
Hall Financial is the presenting sponsor for a fourth consecutive year and has supporting sponsors in Make The Turn and Harbor Title Agency. The purse for the 2025 championship will be announced during tournament week.
While the Cedar River course will be a first-time play for Lilleboe and several others in the field, some PGA professionals in the field will be familiar with the layout. Shanty Creek hosted the Michigan PGA Professional Championship from 2000 to 2005.
Cedar River is one of five courses at the resort. It opened in 1999 to rave reviews and can be played to a maximum yardage of 7,001. It was Weiskopf’s first course in Michigan and features isolated holes, generous tree-lined fairways, classic natural green settings, significant elevation changes and includes one of his trademark dramatic drivable par 4 holes (301-yard No. 13).
Michigan PGA Tournament Director Justin Phillips has made site visits, and he said the course is in wonderful condition and should provide a great place to determine the 2025 Open champion.
“Shanty Creek is excited to have us, and we’re excited to have the tournament on a great Northern Michigan golf course,” he said. “We always have a strong field, a great purse and once again tremendous support from Hall Financial and our supporting sponsors. It should be a wonderful week.”
A full field of 156 golfers, including 12 past champions, tour professionals, Michigan Section PGA professionals and top amateur players will play the first two rounds before a 36-hole cut to the low 70 scorers and ties.
Among the 12 past champions in the field, including Lilleboe, are six-time winner Scott Hebert of Traverse City Golf & Country Club (1997, ’99, 2000, ’01, ’02, ’06), three-time champion Steve Brady of Oakland Hills Country Club (1992, ’96), two-time champion Jeff Roth of Boyne Golf Academy (1998, ’04), two-time winner Jake Kneen of White Lake (2018, ’22), Joe Juszczyk of Dearborn (2023), Matt Thompson, the golf coach at Hillsdale College (2017), Jeff Bronkema of Caledonia (2016), Tom Werkmeister of Hudsonville (2013), Andy Ruthkoski of Muskegon (2007), Barry Redmond of Chelsea (1989) and Tim Matthews of Scotts (1986).
Ryan Lenahan of South Lyon, the PGA Director of Instruction at Walnut Creek Country Club, who recently played in the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina, is in the field.
Last year’s Michigan Amateur Champion, McCoy Biagioli of White Lake, who is transferring from Ferris State University to Michigan State University, is among the top amateur players in the field.
Tyler Copp of Ann Arbor, the runner-up a year ago and a former Michigan Amateur Champion, is among the several mini-tour players in the field.
First played in 1916, the Michigan Open annually attracts the top professional and amateur golfers in the state and its list of winners includes golf legends Walter Hagen, Al Watrous, Chuck Kocsis, Horton Smith and Dave Hill.
