Tawas Closes with History-Making Round
June 11, 2016
By Scott Keyes
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – It's no secret. Lansing Catholic has owned the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Golf Finals over the past decade.
After the Cougars rolled to a double-digit victory over Tawas at their Regional, it looked like they were primed to capture a fourth straight Division 3 title on a course they were quite familiar with in Forest Akers East on the campus of Michigan State University.
Think again.
Lansing Catholic wasn't in contention; however, the team that looked vulnerable at Regionals turned out to be he one everyone was chasing Saturday afternoon.
Tawas won its first-ever MHSAA Finals championship in any sport by overcoming a 13-stroke deficit on the final day.
Tawas shot a two-day score of 600 (303, 297), with Saturday's 297 setting a school record 18-hole round.
Jackson Lumen Christi came in second (603), Big Rapids took third (619), Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian took fourth (625) and Houghton Lake rounded out the top five (631).
"Tawas has never won a state championship in any team sport," ninth-year coach Keith Martin said. "So we were really excited, but thanks to the tracking we were able to do, we kind of knew we had it."
Martin knows in tournament play you never know what is going to happen until the final hole, so to watch his team overcome double-digit strokes was a huge accomplishment – not to mention doing so with a first championship on the line.
It appeared it wasn't Tawas' day through the first nine holes when the Braves fell 13 strokes behind perennial power Jackson Lumen Christi.
"We started out really slow on the front nine, and Lumen Christi was playing really well," Martin said. “One of our kids chipped in for eagle on the 10th, and the positive vibes spread pretty quick after that.
"Then we knocked in a couple birdies and really regained our composure."
After shooting 153 as a team on the front nine, sophomore Daniel Shattuck chipped-in on the 10th to start the momentum toward the team’s best nine-hole score this season, 144. Martin called that shot the turning point in the match, not to mention calling it one of the most incredible shots he’s witnessed first hand,
"We shot 144 on the back which is – that’s pretty dang good."
Shattuck said he was mulling through his round, but the shot gave him new life. He wound up shooting the best nine holes of his life.
"It's crazy how things work out," Shattuck said. "All you need is a break or a confidence boost, and that's what happened. I looked up and realized I made eagle in the final round of the state championship. It doesn't get any better than that."
Tawas has a six-man rotation, and two split one of the five spots in the Finals lineup.
Mason Buresh and Kyle Costigan played on Friday and Saturday, respectively, and combined to shoot a 153 – which finished third among the team’s five scores.
Buresh shot an 80 on Friday, while Andrew Volk had a consistent weekend with a 152 (74-78), which put him just two strokes outside the individual top 10.
Senior Bryce Myles who led the team with a two-day total of 148 – 73 Friday and 75 Saturday – and finished tied for fourth individually with a 148.
Winning the individual championship was Macomb Lutheran North's Scott Sparks with a 141; he also won an individual title two seasons ago as a sophomore. Dundee’s Justin Kane and Big Rapids’ Carter Bechaz tied for second at 147, and joining Myles at 148 were Freeland’s Benjamin Balen and Jackson Lumen Christi’s Will Double.
Myles said there was nothing like saving one of his best rounds of his career for his final high school tournament.
“To be able to win a state championship, finish all-state all in your final high school tournament is an incredible feeling," he said.
As for Lumen Christi, which was tied with Tawas after the first day and at one point held a 13-stroke lead – the Titans settled for their third runner-up finish over the past four seasons.
"Lumen Christi is an amazing program with a Hall of Fame coach," Martin said. "They played really well, but I guess it was our day today."
PHOTOS: (Top) Tawas’ Bryce Myles responds enthusiastically during Saturday’s second round of the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. (Middle) Macomb Lutheran North’s Scott Sparks watches a shot at Forest Akers East. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Lake Orion Savors Championship Sweep
June 8, 2019
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
FRANKENMUTH – After 18 years of dreaming about this moment as head coach of the Lake Orion boys golf program, the reality obviously turned out to be even better for Monty Gallaher.
Since taking over the program, there have been tears over not being able to qualify for the Finals despite playing Regionals on the home course, years with disappointing finishes when his team had qualified for the championship tournament, or simply years when there wasn’t enough talent to win much of anything.
But the only tears Gallaher and the rest of Lake Orion’s team shed after the Lower Peninsula Division 1 tournament at The Fortress in Frankenmuth on Saturday were tears of joy after the Dragons captured their first MHSAA Finals title.
Lake Orion finished with a two-day score of 606, 11 shots better than the 617 put up by runner-up Grosse Pointe South.
Rockford was third at 621, Detroit Catholic Central shot a 623 to finish fourth and Hartland was fifth with a 624.
“I just feel a little numb right now,” Gallaher said. “I’ve known we can do this. We’re a great team. But finally seeing it happen, it’s winner winner, chicken dinner here in Frankenmuth.”
The Dragons took a 10-shot lead after posting a 294 for Friday’s first round, and actually were 18 strokes worse as a team on the second day.
But other than Grosse Pointe South, no other team was noticeably better to the degree needed to catch Lake Orion.
South entered the day 23 shots behind Lake Orion, a gap that was too much to overcome despite its better play during the second round.
But the reigning champion rallied to earn another runner-up finish, its third in four years to go with the title won last year.
“One of the things I stressed is that if you’re making good choices, there’s no regrets,” Grosse Pointe South head coach Rob McIntyre said. “Good choices lead to no regrets. They went out there and made some good choices today.”
Even better for Lake Orion was that it celebrated the individual champion as well after junior Justin Sui defeated Grosse Pointe South senior Coalter Smith in a playoff after each shot two-day scores of 141 (71-70).
After each parred the par-5 10th hole, Sui sank a 10-foot putt for par on the par-4, 9th hole to clinch the title as Smith was lining up a 6-footer for bogey that would have potentially forced a third playoff hole if Sui missed.
“I was really excited,” Sui said of his mindset going into the playoff. “I had the adrenaline rushing, and everyone was watching. The team was cheering me on. It felt great. I feel like I played better during the playoff than normal.”
Lake Orion senior Drew Coble flanked Sui by finishing in a tie for fourth with a two-day total of 145 (70-75).
Senior Andrew Remer shot a 159 (76-83), and junior Zach Hay had a 161 (77-84) to round out the top four for Lake Orion.
Gallaher said having to sleep on a 10-shot lead after the first night wasn’t too nerve-racking for his team, mainly because the Dragons kept as normal a routine as possible.
Instead of staying at a hotel in Frankenmuth, the team drove back home after Friday’s round, with Remer actually attending the school’s prom Friday night.
“I made the executive decision to sleep in our own beds,” Gallaher said. “We do all kinds of tournaments in southern Ohio and northern Michigan, where we stayed over and we didn’t play great. That was a determining factor. We didn’t win those tournaments and I said, “That’s what we are here to do, to win this tournament.’”
PHOTOS: (Top) Lake Orion got out to a 10-stroke lead during Friday’s first round at The Fortress. (Middle) Grosse Pointe South made a run at the title Saturday, finishing second for the weekend. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)