Wolverine Great Harris Elected to Michigan Golf Hall of Fame
7/7/2025 1:05:00 PM | Men's Golf
• Michigan Golf Hall of Fame
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- Former University of Michigan men's golf great Michael Harris has been selected for induction into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, along with John Lindert, a former PGA golf professional and President of the PGA of America, and the late Roger Ostrander, a respected rules official from local to international level.
The Class of 2025 will be honored Sunday, Oct. 26, at Ferris State University's Katke Golf Club, home of the Ken Janke Sr. Golf Learning Center that houses the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. The trio brings the number of inductees to 143.
Harris becomes the seventh Wolverine to be enshrined in the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, joining Chuck Kocsis (1982), Melvin "Bud" Stevens (1986), Ben Smith (1990), Randy Erskine (1991), John Morse (2006) and Steve Maddalena (2007). Former U-M women's golf pioneer Elaine Crosby (2004) is also a member of the MGHOF.
Harris, originally from Troy, Mich., began his amateur career at the junior golf level, capturing back-to-back stroke play titles at the Michigan Junior Amateur Championship (1994 and 1995).
As an amateur, he won the 1999 GAM Championship and earned a runner-up finish in the 1997 Michigan Amateur Championship. He added the title at the 1998 Northeast Amateur and qualified for the 1996 U.S. Amateur Championship at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland, Ore., where Tiger Woods won his third straight title.
A standout at Michigan (1996-2000) under the late Jim Carras, the two-time All-Big Ten first-team selection shared medalist honors at the 1999 Big Ten Championships with Illinois' Larry Nuger. A 1998 All-America honorable mention selection, he did not miss a career tournament in Ann Arbor, playing in 50 consecutive and finishing as the top Wolverine in 31.
Harris holds the U-M record with eight individual titles as he posted 33 top-20, 16 top-10 and 15 top-five finishes throughout his collegiate career. He helped lead the Wolverines to the 1997 NCAA Finals after a 30-year absence and followed with an NCAA regional selection in 2000.
Averaging 72.92 per round, Harris ranks fourth all-time at Michigan. In 147 career rounds, he never shot a round above 80 -- hitting 80 only twice -- while producing 58 rounds below 72, with 20 under 70, including his career-best 64 (-7) fired in the second round of the 1998 Northern Intercollegiate.
Away from the course, Harris was a two-time National Golf Coaches Association Academic All-American Scholar and four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He graduated in 2000 with a degree in business.
As a professional, he was the 2005 Canadian Tour Order of Merit Winner and made two appearances in the U.S. Open (2000, 2006). He won the 2005 Michigan Open and was a five-time champion of the Michigan PGA Tournament of Champions at Boyne Mountain (2000, '02, '05, '06, '07).
He retired after injuries ended his competitive golf career.
