Junior tourney at Burning Tree brings together some of state’s best By Christian Davis MACOMB — All eyes were on Burning Tree Golf Club in Macomb June 28-30 for the 32nd Michigan Girls’ Junior State Amateur tournament. The course hosted the best 14-and-under golfers the state had to offer. The tournament consisted of 36 holes of stroke play, with the top eight finishers going to a match-play portion. Lindsey Lammers of Milan won the championship, beating Kelly Hartigan of Clinton Township 2 and 1. Rosalie Shyu of Rochester Hills was the stroke play medalist, shooting 148 over 36 holes. “This is the biggest event they are going to play in. This is for the state championship,” Tournament Chairman Ron Gaines said June 29. “They are going to play in other events, but this is the steppingstone of what they’re going to do in the future.” Gaines is a member of Burning Tree, and he saw some impressive play from the 88 girls in the field. “Some are hitting shots I can’t hit or driving farther than where I drive, and they’re 14- or 15- years-old. The talent is the best in the state,” he said. Mark Maras, Burning Tree’s head golf professional, agreed. “I’ve been really impressed,” he said. “I wasn’t sure of the level. I knew there were some good players, but the ability from top to bottom, as far as how schooled they are and how they conduct themselves, I’ve been really impressed.” Maras said the club has been around for 51 years and features tight fairways, which puts a premium on accuracy and offers a fair challenge. Also on hand to see how the girls managed themselves was Oakland University women’s golf coach Brian Costello. “It’s just the top talent in the state of Michigan, and being local, it’s a nice short drive for us,” he said. “I’m just trying to find the next rising star.” Costello said he uses tournaments like this as a big piece of the puzzle in his recruitment of a player. “If you can play at this level, against this type of competition, you’re ready for college,” he said. Rochester Hills’ Devon Compton has one more year at Stoney Creek before she heads to college. Though she just missed qualifying for match play — tying for the eighth spot, but losing on a tiebreaker — she won the stroke play and match play portions last summer. Compton said she kept the trophies for each accomplishment in her room until she had to return them just before the tournament to have her name engraved on them. “To see them here with my name on them, it’s neat,” she said. “It’ll be on there forever, and I think that’s special.” Pin seekers Hartigan fired the best round for local players with her 152. Gabby Yurik of Oakland Township finished seventh after firing a 154; Essence Biggs of Beverly Hills and Kathleen Kennedy of West Bloomfield tied for 15th after carding rounds of 163; and Claire Boyle of Grosse Pointe Park and Ella Pendy of Grosse Pointe Farms tied for 19th after posting 165s. For full results of the tournament, visit the Golf Association of Michigan’s website at www.gam.org. You can reach Sports Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1062. |
