Preview: Get to Know These Contenders
June 8, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A sense of familiarity surrounds all four of this weekend’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Golf Finals.
In Division 1, Detroit Catholic Central is the reigning champion and again looks incredibly strong, while in Division 3 Lansing Catholic has won three straight and will play to become the 12th team to win four consecutive titles.
The familiarity at Divisions 2 and 4 is more about teams knowing each other well; in Division 2, the top three ranked teams also played in the same Regional last week, while in Division 4 two of the top three hail from the Muskegon area.
Below are some expected team and individual favorites at each Final. First-round play tees off at 9 a.m. Friday, with the final round beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. Click for a full list of Finals qualifiers and Regional results.
LP Division 1 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University
Top-ranked: 1. Detroit Catholic Central, 2. Grosse Pointe South, 3. Grand Blanc.
Detroit Catholic Central ran away with last year’s title at Ferris State but might be even more unstoppable this weekend. Another sub-300 performance would seem to put the Shamrocks out front, but there’s a strong field ready to pounce if presented the opportunity; nine other finalists shot 308-316 at their Regionals, and Plymouth put up a 283 at its District at Fox Hills.
Detroit Catholic Central: Three Shamrocks finished among the top eight individually at the 2015 Final as DCC won the team title by 31 strokes, and all three are back – senior Max Palmer (tied for eighth) and juniors James Piot (tied for eighth) and Ben Smith (third). They shot a 283 to win their District at Chemung Hills in Howell and a 295 to win the Regional at Hartland, taking at least three of the top four individual places at both.
Grosse Pointe South: The Blue Devils shot a 290 to win their District at St. Clair Shores Golf Club and a solid 310 to finish second to Warren DeLaSalle at the Regional at The Orchards in Washington Township. Sophomores Evan Theros and Patrick Sullivan tied for third at the Regional and played rounds for last season’s team that finished sixth at the Division 1 Final. Juniors Jon Teddy Schoof and David Scupholm and senior Jon Theros also played in last year’s Final, giving South one of the most veteran lineups this weekend.
Grand Blanc: The Bobcats didn’t even make last season’s Final, but have stormed back and traded shots with No. 6 Midland the last two rounds, finishing second to the Chemics in the District but beating them by five strokes to win their Regional at Boulder Pointe in Oxford. Sophomore Zach Hopkins tied for individual runner-up at the Regional as three players finished among the top nine (with ties). The two players who didn’t break the top 10 were among the top eight (with ties) at the District.
Other individuals of note: Reigning champion Andrew Walker of Battle Creek Lakeview returns to lead a group including six of last season’s top 10 and two of the top three. The Spartans senior won his District at El Dorado in Mason with a 72 and shot the same score to win the Regional at Cedar Springs’ Cedar Chase. Flushing senior Joe Montpas tied with Smith for third last year, only three strokes back, and he won his District at Grand Traverse Resort with a 73 and his Regional at Boulder Pointe with a 69. Northville’s Jimmy Dales was 10th individually in 2015 as only a freshman, and Plymouth junior Jack Boczar made headlines last month with a winning 64 at his District.
LP Division 2 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
The three top-ranked teams finished the Regional within four strokes of each other at Pohlcat in Mount Pleasant (Forest Hills Eastern at 312, Forest Hills Northern at 314 and St. Johns at 316). But Forest Hills Northern was the only one to play as a team at last year’s Final, although Forest Hills Eastern was runner-up only two seasons ago.
Top-ranked: 1. Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 2. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 3. St. Johns.
Ada Forest Hills Eastern: The Hawks actually had to bounce back to win the Regional after finishing second to Forest Hills Northern at their District at Thornapple Pointe in Grand Rapids. Senior Zach Robbins tied for third at the District and then second at the Regional, where he was joined by sixth-place senior Marc Gerst in the top 10 against a strong field. Both played on the 2014 Finals runner-up team, and Robbins tied for fourth individually that year and sixth last season when he qualified alone.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern: The Huskies finished third last season, nine strokes back of champion DeWitt, and return a number of veterans. Senior Spencer Schab tied for 10th individually in 2015 and has finished among the top 20 at both the District and Regional, with senior Phil Lodzinski standing out most by winning the Regional and finishing second at the District. Seniors Brian McHale and Chase Lebster also both played at last season’s Final, and Lebster was third at the District two weeks ago. Forest Hills Northern is seeking its first Finals title since 1983.
St. Johns: The Redwings are playing for their first championship, and first top-two finish since 1961 – and might have a two-year window with four juniors and a sophomore in the starting lineup. Junior Eric Nunn missed the top 10 at last year’s Final by four strokes playing as an individual qualifier, and he was one of three placing among the top six (plus ties) at the Regional. Junior Zach Rosendale tied for second at the Regional and won his District at Pine River in Alma, where four St. Johns players finished among the top six (with ties).
Other individuals of note: Robbins and Schab are joined by two others who finished among the top 10 a year ago – Otsego junior Tyler Rayman, who tied for fourth, and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood junior Devin Deogun, who also tied for sixth. Deogun shot a 67 at his Regional to finish low among four who broke 70 in all of Division 2. Pontiac Notre Dame junior Jackson Stowe (68), East Lansing senior Ian Carroll (68) and Trojans junior Tony Fuentes (69) were the others.
LP Division 3 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers East
Top-ranked: 1. Lansing Catholic, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Frankenmuth.
Lansing Catholic has won the last three Division 3 championships, after Jackson Lumen Christi won four straight from 2009-12. Lumen Christi also finished runner-up in 2013 and 2014. So it’s easy to understand why those two are the favorites again – although there are a few more that definitely have shown the ability to impact this tournament.
Lansing Catholic: The Cougars’ winning 305 at its Regional at Twin Brooks in Chesaning was 13 strokes lower than any other Regional score in Division 3 and 17 strokes better than a field that included No. 4 Tawas and No. 13 Freeland. Lansing Catholic’s 309 to win the District at Glebrier in Perry beat the field by 42 strokes. Senior Owen Rush was third at the 2015 Final and won last week’s Regional with a 69 and the District with a 72; sophomore Ethan O’Farrell and senior Viani Magaswaran both posted top–seven finishes at both preliminary levels as well, and junior Peter Kramer tied for second at the District.
Jackson Lumen Christi: The Titans finished third last season without putting a player among the individual top 10; only senior Will Double is back from last season’s starting five, and he’s joined by another group of solid players capable of making a move. All five finished among the top six at the District, led by junior and champion Luke Girodat, and Double was runner-up at the Regional as all five tied for 16th or higher.
Frankenmuth: The Eagles went from unranked to contender status after shooting a 318 – the second-lowest of any Division 3 team at Regionals – to win by 14 at Atlas Valley in Grand Blanc. Frankenmuth put two among the top 10 at their District but three among the top four at their Regional – junior Chase Singer was runner-up and senior Sam Struble and junior Daniel Wagner tied for fourth.
Other individuals of note: Only four of last season’s top 10 are back, including Lansing Catholic’s Rush. But that group also includes Macomb Lutheran North senior and individual qualifier Scott Sparks, who won the Division 3 individual title as a sophomore in 2014 before tying for sixth a year ago. Freeland senior Ben Balen also is back after tying for sixth, and Portland senior Rhet Schrauben was fourth last season and third as a sophomore.
LP Division 4 at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. North Muskegon, 2. Kalamazoo Christian, 3. Muskegon Catholic Central.
After finishing only two strokes behind Suttons Bay last season, North Muskegon is top-ranked heading into the weekend and seeking its first championship since 1997. But Muskegon Catholic Central has joined the conversation by finishing only 11 strokes back of North Muskegon at their District and two back at the Regional. Kalamazoo Christian has never won an MHSAA title in this sport and was eighth a year ago among a tightly-packed field, but won its District by 15 and its Regional by 30 over the last two weeks.
North Muskegon: The Norsemen tied for second last season despite its low scorer, now-senior Will Mierz, coming in only ninth. That consistency among the group has continued to pay off with four of last season’s top five back and three of the four finishing tied for seventh or better at the Regional at The Emerald in St. Johns. Junior Brendan Harris was runner-up at the Regional with a 70, while junior Gannon Moss led four among the top eight (with ties) with a third-place 75 at the District at Stonegate in Muskegon.
Kalamazoo Christian: Four of the top five from last season’s eighth-place finisher are back this weekend, including sophomores Colin Sikkenga and John Cramer. Sikkenga tied for seventh at last season’s Final and won the Regional last week at Thornapple Creek with Cramer coming in eighth and seniors Taylor Resh and Jared Wenke placing sixth and seventh, respectively. All five Kalamazoo Christian players finished among the top 13 (with ties) at a District at Milham Park in Kalamazoo against a field that also included No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett and No. 10 Concord.
Muskegon Catholic Central: Like Frankenmuth in Division 3, MCC also went from unranked to contender with a strong postseason so far. The Crusaders did finish just two strokes back of North Muskegon at the Regional with junior Collin Powers finishing first overall and two others coming in among the top seven, and Powers also took first at the District. He was fifth at the 2015 Final and this time will be one of four current players who were in the lineup as MCC finished ninth as a team.
Other individuals of note: Seven of last season’s top 10 are back, with Jackson Christian senior individual qualifier Noah Schneider the highest returning placer after coming in third and four strokes off the lead. East Jordan junior individual qualifier Logan Smith tied with Powers for fifth last season, with Concord now-senior Jacob Butterfield seventh and Clarkston Everest Collegiate now-senior Tyler Rozwadowski 10th. Schneider and Rozwadowski shot 73s to tie for the third-lowest Regional score in Division 4 last week, behind only Powers’ 68 and Harris’ 70.
NOTE: West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy will play its Division 4 rounds Thursday and Friday.
PHOTO: Lansing Catholic’s Owen Rush watches a shot during the first day of the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final last season; he ended up third overall as the Cougars won their third straight team title. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Self-Taught Eichhorn Launches into Elite
May 20, 2016
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
ESCANABA – Hunter Eichhorn is not your typical young golfer. Instead of just pounding drives all over the course, he actually thinks his way around.
The Carney-Nadeau junior, who may be the best of a young core of golfers in the Upper Peninsula, loves to "strategize" his way to low scores. He fired a brilliant 5-under-par 67 on May 16 at Menominee Riverside Country Club, one of the peninsula's most demanding layouts.
He had a career-best 10-under 62 at Royal Scot Golf Club near Green Bay while competing on the Wisconsin Junior Golf Tour in 2015.
"The way he manages his game is quite incredible. He adjusts to the golf course and he adjusts to what the golf course is asking for," said Jacob Polfus, the C-N golf coach. Polfus is also the C-N basketball coach, and Eichhorn was a second-team all-conference selection in 2015-16.
Basketball was his primary sport as a youngster, then he dropped it for golf during grades 3-9 before joining the varsity basketball team the past three years. "I just started loving golf. I enjoy everything about it, the competition, being competitive with other players.
"I love to win and play against good people and beat them. I like meeting new people and making new friends I would never meet if I was not playing the game."
He got into golf with the urging of his grandfather, Steve Pipkorn, who would bring him to Hermansville Wild Pines Golf Course, a 9-hole course about 12 miles from home. Often he would spend the whole day there, getting picked up by his father, Brad, on Brad’s way home from work in Norway.
Escanaba golf coach Brian Robinette, one of only two people ever to give Eichhorn lessons, said those numerous early rounds at "a mom and pop course" were beneficial in those early years.
"He was able to make par and have birdie putts. He played hole after hole out there. It kind of launched his career, shooting good scores at an early age," said Robinette, a former state junior champion and Olivet College Sports Hall of Fame golfer.
Those rounds at Wild Pines were special, Eichhorn agreed. "I play by myself a lot. I can focus on it more," he said of those growing up rounds. He is a self-taught golfer and has never had a swing coach.
"I'm confident where I'm at, the way I do things," he said.
With extensive play on U.P. courses – his favorites are Iron Mountain Pine Grove and Harris Sweetgrass Golf Club – and on the Wisconsin Junior Tour, he has developed a solid game that compares well with the region's top adults. He plays in a Tuesday night men's league at Highland Golf Club, near Escanaba, and also gets into Friday evening adult matches there.
Eichhorn may only hit driver twice on some courses, knowing it is important to keep the ball in play. "I like strategizing more than just attacking it with driver," he said with a smile that comes from drives that went astray. "Strategizing is a big part of scoring, finding the right angles into greens. Just knowing what consequences can come out of the swing (with out-of-bounds or water looming on fairways).
"If you don't pull the shot off, it could cost you a shot or two. It is a constant game of learning from all situations. Just a bad thought can cost you."
Eichhorn pounds his drives 280 to 300 yards (a 7-iron flies about 190 yards) but acknowledges, "I hit plenty of shots off-line. I'll admit it." Because of those wayward balls, he said recovering from bad shots is probably the best part of his game, along with chipping and putting.
Polfus said "the biggest thing is he doesn't put pressure on to hit driver all the time. He can hit all the shots, and the way he can check it up from certain distances, it is amazing to watch him play. The way he has grown most is how he handles himself when he does hit a bad shot."
Eichhorn admits that wasn't always the case, especially by throwing clubs in his earlier years. "My parents were not thrilled," he said with a chuckle. As he gained experience and age, "I realized it doesn't help your game."
Polfus said Eichhorn's primary growth "is his attitude. He calms himself. You can see him smile more now (on the course). He understands you are going to make mistakes and see how you respond."
Robinette likens his playing style to the transformation seen in golf across the country. "I see very athletic kids who just aren't intimidated by anything. They are fearless," he said, citing PGA Tour standouts Rory McIlroy and Jason Day as examples of that mentality and approach.
"They look down the hole and see birdies everywhere. He (Eichhorn) is fearless. He thinks his way around a golf course very well. He has a good routine; he pays attention to all the details to not make mistakes. His fundamentals are very good. He swings pretty hard, but he is still under control. He doesn't miss the middle of the club face. His misses tend to be pin high."
With a year of high school remaining, he already has some big plans. He will play the Wisconsin Junior Golf Tour again this year along with U.P. junior events and will likely play in the Upper Peninsula Golf Association men's tournament in Sault Ste. Marie.
He played in last year's UPGA event in Marinette, Wis., and learned a lot from that experience. "The competition level was really high. You have to play at even a higher level than you think you can," he said.
Eichhorn also may try to qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur. He has also received attention from college golf teams from Michigan State University, Marquette University and South Dakota State University, where the head coach is Upper Peninsula native Casey VanDamme.
He also has big plans after college. "I want to be a professional golfer. I want to be really, really good," he said. "It will take a lot of practice (something he does at a very high level). I'd like to be the best I can be by (age) 22 or 23. I want to give myself a chance to be good on the PGA Tour.
"It will obviously take a lot. I know it is a far-fetched goal, but it is something I am willing to work for. This will give me the reality check, and that is why I'm going to go to college (for a business degree)."
Robinette believes Eichhorn's passion for golf and strong work ethic will help him reach his goals. "The secret for him is in the dirt. He has probably hit more golf balls his age than anybody I've come across. Mike Nagy, maybe," Robinette said of the former Manistique standout who just completed a four-year golf career at the University of Tennessee.
"He (Eichhorn) is a student of the game. He has a very high golf IQ. This is not a social sport for him," Robinette added.
In addition to Eichhorn, the upcoming MHSAA U.P. Golf Finals at three locations will feature several other promising players. Others with excellent promise are freshman Nathan Rousseau of Escanaba, freshman Jordan Jurmu of Marquette, a participant of the chip, putt and drive national finals at Augusta National in April, and junior Bryce Douglas of Gladstone.
Two outstanding girls are freshman Paxton Johnson of Escanaba and sophomore Kaaren Liston of Houghton, who won the U.P. Division 1 title last year.
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) Carney-Nadeau's Hunter Eichhorn watches one of his shot during a tournament Wednesday at Irish Oaks Golf Course in Gladstone. (Middle) Eichhorn studies the putting line on No. 17 green at Irish Oaks. (Photos by Denny Grall.)