Tom Werkmeister remained an amateur until age 50 and won championships at every level along the way.
After age 35 he was especially dominant winning 10 state championships, including the Michigan Amateur Championship in 2009 and 2016, the 2013 Michigan Open Championship, six GAM Mid-Amateur Championships in a seven-year span and the 2016 GAM Championship. He was also named GAM Player of the Year five times between 2009 and 2016.
His Michigan Open win was historic. He was the first amateur to top the professionals in the state open in 38 years, and just the second since the 1930s.
A Detroit native, Werkmeister grew up in Warren and honed his game near the family cottage in Gladwin. He was a two-time all-state golfer at Warren Mott High School (1985, ’86) and a junior college All-American at Macomb Community College (’87).
A longtime Grand Rapids area resident and salesman, he dominated the West Michigan amateur golf scene. He was also the Golf Association of Michigan Player of the Year multiple times, and qualified for multiple national amateur championships while also representing Michigan in United States Golf Association team competitions.
Werkmeister is the only golfer ever win the West Michigan golf version of the “Grand Slam” – the West Michigan Amateur, the City Match Play, the City Championship and the Kent County Amateur – in one season (2012).
He made his professional debut at age 50 in 2017, earning status on the PGA Tour Champions circuit and making it into two tournaments and the U.S. Senior Open in his first season.
Year inducted: 2014
| Last Name | Werkmeister |