Before he heads off to join the Coney Island family business, Peter Stassinopoulos was top dog at the 105th Golf Association of Michigan Championship. Stassinopoulos, 22, of Novi, took the title in a sudden-death playoff Tuesday at Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club. Stassinopoulos shot a final-round par-70 to finish at 7 under for the tournament. He then got up and down for par on the first playoff hole to beat Vibhav Alokam of Ypsilanti, who shot a final-round 66.
“I’ve played in the GAM championships for a few years now, and every time, I always get there and see the big names, the kids with their names on their golf bags because they play at Big Ten schools,” said Stassinopoulos, who soon will graduate from Division II Wayne State. “So, for a guy who played college golf for a year-and-a-half and didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would, to come here and be able to pull out a win among some really good players, it makes my hard work all worth it.” Alokam, a Villanova golfer who turned 20 on Tuesday, couldn't get up and down from greenside on the playoff hole, and settled for the runner-up finish. South Lyon's Julian Menser, a Michigan State golfer, shot 67, and Rochester Adams High School golfer Benjamin Vento shot 68, and tied for third place, two shots back. Stassinopoulos, after graduation, will join the family business — the Leo's Coney Island restaurant chain. His parents, John (Leo's vice president) and Jackie, were in the gallery Tuesday for the biggest moment of his golfing career. “I’m always finding myself with top 10s, but I can never pull out the win,” said Stassinopoulos, who jokingly calls himself the Rickie Fowler of GAM tournaments, after picking up his first GAM win. “It’s really rewarding to do this. I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work on my game. I’m going to start working in the real world here pretty soon, so this means a lot. The amateur golf days have been my favorites. "And to call myself a GAM Champion is tripping for me.” tpaul@detroitnews.com @tonypaul1984 This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Before joining Coney Island family biz, golfer is top dog in GAM event