12th annual FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in Battle Creek

BATTLE CREEK – The Battle Creek Country Club was a friendly host, allowing a lot of good scores, as the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship came to town for a 12th time, starting Friday, June 6.

Out of the 144-player field, 58 broke par for the day, and 15 carded rounds of 68 or better. The top of the leaderboard is crowded, with Carley Cox Pruette, Samantha Vodry, and Maddie Szeryk all tied at the top after turning in 6-under rounds to start their tournaments.

Locally, Battle Creek’s Amiyah Gibson shot a 12-over 84 in the first round. The Lakeview high schooler entered the tournament as an amateur on a sponsor’s exemption. Gibson will tee off for round two at 2:20 p.m. on Saturday, June 7. The FireKeepers event is part of the EPSON Tour – the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour.

MORE: Battle Creek’s Gibson will golf against pros at a course her grandpa wasn’t allowed to play

Cox Pruette found out she was in the tournament just 24 hours before she teed off, making her the last player in the field for the week. The 28-year-old has good memories and experience at Battle Creek Country Club, making her first professional start at the course. The experience paid off as Cox Pruette made her way around bogey-free, adding six birdies onto the card. Because of her ranking on the priority list, she has only played in one event prior to this week and is now playing with house money heading into the second round.

“I just kind of feel at home on the course, and that’s a weird thing to say,” said Cox Pruette. “Just gotsome good memories here, and I’ve made some good connections and friends here. So, it’s always good to return back, and yeah, I just love the course. It just fits my eye well, so it definitely helps when youget that last-minute call.”

Vodry was paired with Cox Pruette during round one and matched her score when 18 holes of play were concluded. The day included seven birdies and only one bogey, with all seven birdies coming in a 12-hole stretch.

Contact Bill Broderick at [email protected]. Follow him on X/Twitter @billbroderick