Michigan high school girls golf: Lutheran North's Lauren Timpf blows away field in Div. 3

EAST LANSING — As a freshman contending for the Division 3 state golf title last year, Macomb Lutheran North’s Lauren Timpf came up short down the stretch. That’s why the title she won this weekend means even more.

“Last year, I bogeyed my last hole; my two 3-foot putts I had just bounced off the flag-stick, those were unfortunate,” she said. “It just made me a little bit stronger. Losing it frustrates me, so it motivated me to work harder, especially on my putting — that’s improved a lot in the last year.”

Timpf has been all business since then. She finished Friday’s first round with a 10-stroke lead (a 6-under 66), as the only golfer among the field to break par. While Timpf wasn’t as pleased with her Saturday card of 73, she was able to distance herself from the pack and win individual honors by 14 strokes during the two-day tournament.

Her 139 on MSU’s Forest Akers West course was the best score recorded by any golfer in the four divisions playing in state championships this weekend.

“I knew that my game was ready coming into this weekend and I felt very confident,” she said. “(In the first round) I played great, it was mostly just steady the whole way through – drive, chip on the green and then putt. My putt was working. Today wasn’t the best, but I managed to get away with a few more birdies at the end.”

Timpf isn’t just a golfer who got hot for a single tournament. She carried the lowest regional score (74 for nine holes) into the state finals, and is the reigning Catholic League champion. This year, she’s also won three Golf Association of Michigan events, including an invitational that was held at Forest Akers West several weeks ago.

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook won the team title with a two-day score of 694, seven better than surging Grosse Ile. It was Cranbrook’s first team title since 2006, although the Cranes were runners-up three times in a row from 2012-14.

Cranbrook’s lineup featured three seniors making their fourth appearance in the state tournament: Natasha Samsonov (163), Ashley Cong (175) and Katherine Li (188). Sophomore Sienna Illitch (175) also contributed to the team total.

“We’ve just been improving each year,” said Samsonov, who ranked sixth out of the 108 participants. “I think that this was really just our peak time and I’m super-proud of all of us. We’ve been working really hard and toughing it out through the rain and tournaments, so I’m really happy we got to end this way.”

Cranbrook, which had previously won its regional, the Catholic League finals and the Oakland County Tier 1 tournament, held the lead after Friday’s first round.

Division 4

Golf is normally a cool and calm game, but the Montague girls were expecting quite a commotion when they returned to town Saturday evening with the Division 4 championship trophy in tow.

“Montague loves its sports,” coach Phil Kerr said. “When we get back to town, there will be a police escort for these girls. We’ll go out to dinner and the whole community will show up. They wrap their arms around school sports and everything like that. They’re going to get quite a celebration.”

The Wildcats are celebrating back-to-back state titles after nipping Lansing Catholic on the fifth-score tie-breaker. Each team totaled 675 for four rounds of 36 holes in the two-day tournament at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East course, but Natalie Kellogg’s 184-stroke total was nine better Lansing Catholic’s fifth score.

“We were coming out of Day 1 being only one down, and we talked last night that our fifth scorer was a lot better than their fifth scorer,” Kerr said. “That didn’t matter yesterday, but it gave us an advantage today, knowing that all we had to do was tie, and as long as our fifth score was better, we would win, and that’s what happened.”

Seniors Orianna Bylsma (165) and Gabriella Moreau (168) both placed among the field’s top 10, while Mackenzie Goudreau (170) and Claire Meacham (174) were the Wildcats’ scoring golfers.

“On both days, we had all five girls under 90 in the 80s, and one in the 70s today,” Kerr said, “but not a single girl either day shot above 89, and that’s incredible.”

Kerr said Montague has drawn upon its all-around team approach throughout the two-year title run.

“We really pride ourselves on the depth of our team. We don’t just have heavy hitters up top; we’re deep, and that depth was literally the reason we won today,” he said. “Our top two probably average six to seven strokes better than our 3-4-5, but our 3-4-5 all have about the same average. Our fifth scorer, as much as it mattered, was a different girl both days. There’s just an extremely talented group.”

Lansing Catholic seniors Amanda Melling (159) and Sailor Somerville (164) were third and fourth, respectively. The medalist was Ann Arbor Greenhills freshman Mia Melendez, who carded a 1-under par 143 — 72 on Friday, 71 on Saturday.

Montague and Lansing Catholic were well in front of the 18-school pack. Jackson Lumen Christi (701), Adrian Lenawee Christian (706) and Remus Chippewa Hills (722) rounded out the top five.

Division 1

It was double trouble at The Meadows on Grand Valley State’s campus.

Plymouth senior Bridget Boczar fired a 69 in Round 2 to beat her twin sister, Grace, by one shot for the individual state championship on Saturday.

Grace shot a pair of 72s in the two-round tournament and was two shots ahead of her sister after Friday’s first round. But Bridget’s 69 was the best Round 2 score in the field to finish with a 143.

Grand Blanc’s Kate Brody, the defending champion, finished tied for fourth (147) with Rochester Adams’ Laura Liu and Ann Arbor Skyline’s Adie Maki, and behind Northville’s Megha Vallabhaneni (146).

The Boczars pushed Plymouth to a second-place finish in the team event, falling 12 shots behind Northville for the Wildcats’ fourth straight state championship.

Division 2

South Lyon junior Gabrielle Tapp reclaimed her crown, winning the individual state championship by four strokes, scoring a 144 over the two days at Bedford Valley in Battle Creek.

Friday’s first round was washed out early due to rain, so players had to complete Round 1 and play all of Round 2 on Saturday. And that task didn’t prove to be too tough for Tapp, the 2019 state champion. She shot a 70 in Round 1 and followed it with a 74.

Portage Northern’s KT Leinwand finished second with a 148, followed by Byron Center’s Macie Elzinga.

Dearborn Divine Child won its first team state championship in girls golf, beating Byron Center by nine shots. Julia Lizak (157) and Zeinab Saad (164) both finished in the top 10 to lead Divine Child.