Ferris State University teammates Caleb Bond (right) and Shayne Beaufait embrace following the second playoff hole in the Northern Michigan Open on Sunday night. Jared Greenleaf/Cheboygan Daily Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former MSU Walk-On Captures State Amateur Tournament

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Tom Cavanaugh | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 11:00 AM ET

In what was an all-time, thrilling tournament of amateur golf, Michigan State senior Caleb Bond came out on top, winning the 114th Michigan Amateur Championship on Saturday afternoon. After walking onto the program just one year ago, Bond joins an elite group of Spartan golfers.

Taking place at the historic Belvedere Golf Club in Charlevoix, Michigan, Bond entered the 18th hole in the championship match, tied for the lead alongside fellow Michigan native and Oklahoma Sooners sophomore PJ Maybank II. Bond would par the final hole while Maybank bogeyed.

What a final match! It all came down to 18 and Caleb Bond is the 114th Michigan Amateur Champion!

An incredible week by Cheboygan’s PJ Maybank.

Thank you to @belvederegolfmi for being such incredible hosts, our presenting sponsor @carlsgolfland , the volunteers and players. pic.twitter.com/prIWszwKbQ
— GAM (@officialGAM) June 22, 2025

"I came off a good week at the Michigan Open," Bond said, per the Detroit News' Tony Paul. "You're always kind of hoping to win, and I was playing to win. But in these long events and match-play tournaments, you're always going to have some times when your game's not the best. Thankfully, I hit it well all week."

Bond is the 402nd ranked amateur player in the world, per World Amateur Gold Ranking, flexing his talents all weekend. The 21-year-old Spartan began his college career at Ferris State, came to East Lansing as a walk-on, and helped lead Michigan State to a Big Ten title and a NCAA Tournament appearance.

He now joins a historic group of Spartans to win the state amateur championship alongside Sam Weatherhead (2016) and Jimmy Chestnut (2008). Shannon Kennedy also took home the Women's Amateur Championship in 2024.

Bond's next move is playing in his debut USGA event in the U.S. Amateur tournament at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif. The tournament is set for August 11-17, an even that former Spartan great James Piot won back in 2021. If Bond wins that, he would automatically qualify for The Masters.

It will be exciting to follow Bond's journey as his Spartan career has concluded and certainly made the most of it in just the two years he was with the program. We may potentially see Bond at the next level in a couple of years, competing amongst the top golf talent in the world.

Michigan State continues to show success in the college golf world as both a program and individually. Another Spartan senior golfer in Ashton McCulloch will participate in next weekend's Rocket Mortgage Classic and just competed in the RBC Heritage Classic.

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