For the last year, Scott Hebert has been able to dub himself a national champion.
Now, he will know what it's like to defend that title.
All eyes will be on Hebert, the head pro at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, when he competes at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M., beginning today in the PGA Professional National Championship.
A year ago, the 40-year-old made five birdies on the back nine during the final round to hold off Georgia's Sonny Skinner for the Walter Hagen Cup and the distinction of national champ.
Hebert will now look to do what has only been twice in the 42-year history of the tournament: Repeat.
Roger Watson successfully defended his 1973 championship with another win in 1974 while Larry Gilbert claimed back-to-back titles in 1982 and 1983.
While the tournament will showcase a deep field this week, 13 other golfers from Michigan have made the trip to New Mexico looking to knock Hebert off of his thrown. That includes Glen Arbor's Lee Houtteman, who works with Hebert at GT Resort.
One perk Hebert can fall back on while trying to defend his title is experience on the biggest stage.
After winning the PGA Professional National Championship last year, he earned a number of sponsor's exemptions to play on the PGA Tour. This winter and spring, Hebert competed in the FBR Open in Arizona, the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Cancun and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
While he missed the cut at all three events, his scores were solid ranging from 73-76. Not bad, considering he was competing against the best in the world.
Hebert isn't the only area golfer gaining headlines recently.
A month ago, Petoskey's Joey Garber led the Northmen to the state finals and finished as a Division 2 individual medalist.
This week, he played on an even bigger stage and had similar results.
Competing in the Michigan Amateur at Spring Meadows Country Club in Linden, Garber reached match play and advanced to the elite eight before seeing his run come to a close against eventual runner-up Matthew Thompson, who competes at the University of Michigan.
The run was a bit of a "Cinderella story" for Garber, as he barely made it in to the match play field.
After the two-day stroke play tournament, Garber shot a 150 and was one of eight players tied for the final seven spots in match play. After a playoff, Essexville's Chad Horner was eliminated and Garber got in as the 64th and final seed in the tournament.
That's when the upsets began.
Garber opened with a 4 and 2 victory over top-seeded Joseph Juszczyk and then got the 32nd seed Ryan Johnson in 20 holes to reach the Sweet 16. He wasn't finished, as he scored a 1-up victory over Ann Arbor's Casey Baker, a former semi-finalist.
Did I mention he did all of this as a high schooler? Not a bad way to start the summer before your senior years.
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