SPRING LAKE – Marquette native and future Northern Michigan University golfer Avery Rochester was scheduled to tee off this morning in her second Golf Association of Michigan championship tournament in two weeks.

Rochester is at the 99th Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship to be held at 104-year-old Spring Lake Country Club for five days through Friday, according to the GAM website, www.gam.org.

The event was first staged in 1914.

She is listed as the only Upper Peninsula golfer among the field of 81 women, all from Michigan, on the 5,995-yard, par-72 course located just outside of Grand Haven near Lake Michigan between Muskegon and Holland.

Two weeks ago, Rochester finished in a tie for third place in a similar-sized field at the 24th GAM Women’s Championship held in Owosso.

She shot 144 on a pair of 1-over-par 72s to finish five strokes behind champion Julie Guckian of Linden.

In Spring Lake, Jennifer Elsholz won’t be back to defend her championship as she will be at a LPGA Tour qualifying event.

But 2012 champion Emmie Pietila of Brighton, a University of Tennessee golfer, will be in the field.

Golfers play 18 holes of stroke play both today and Tuesday with the field cut to the low 32 to enter three more days of match play that will determine a champion.

One 18-hole match play round will be contested Wednesday and two each on Thursday and Friday.

Rochester is listed as being in a quality threesome for the first two days, going off early today at 8:48 a.m. from the first tee, then late on Tuesday at 10 a.m. from the 10th tee.

Her playing partners will be Sarah Hoffman of Saline and Mariah Massa of Holt. Hoffman, a former Grand Valley State golfer, made it to the final 16 of last year’s Women’s Amateur, while Massa, who tees it up for Michigan State, finished one stroke behind Rochester at the GAM Championship two weeks ago.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.