FORE: Harbor Springs Ace Back for More

October 9, 2020

By Tom Spencer
Special for Second Half

Fore!

Golf etiquette dictates that golfers should always yell "fore" upon hitting a shot that carries the risk of hitting another golfer. As long as one yells "fore," the golfer did all she or he could to warn the other golfers. 

Golfers also are supposed to convey this message to others in as polite a manner as possible.

“Four” though is the polite warning golfers should heed as they participate in the Division 4 golf championship at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West on Oct. 17. 

 The school record-holder from Harbor Springs is not likely to exclaim “four” – but she is looking to at least claim “four” —  as in consecutive MHSAA Finals championships.

Jacque O’Neill won the individual title last fall as a junior. She’ll be looking to repeat that feat as well as help the Rams win a third team championship in four seasons after they finished Division 4 runners-up in 2019. O’Neill, now a senior, was a freshman on the 2017 Division 4 champion Harbor team and a sophomore on the 2018 championship squad.

Shouting the word “fore” once usually suffices, although it's acceptable to shout it repeatedly if the shot is sailing toward another group of golfers.

No one would blame O’Neill is she shouted four repeatedly.

But be clear. O’Neill isn’t sounding this warning. Her golfing is.  

In addition to seeking a fourth straight team or individual Finals championship, she is likely to be selected to the Division 4 all-state team for a fourth-straight year. She is  coming off a third-straight Regional individual championship. 

Her hopes for a team title this October lie in four as well. Harbor has a pretty good idea whom of its golfers will fill the top three scoring spots. The fourth will go to one of the newer players. The fourth may make the difference as the Regional champions seek another Finals championship.

“My goal is certainly to win another state championship, but I wouldn’t say that I feel a lot of pressure,” O’Neill said. “I’m just looking at it as another chance to show my ability, and hopefully break my new record. 

“Any nerves I feel after that usually changes to excitement, and it is one of my favorite feelings.”

O’Neill put her name in history books this fall. She shot a school-record 73 at the Cheboygan Country Club.

“She works for everything,” said her coach Pete Kelbel.  “She practices all the time.

“If she plays a round and her putting his bad, guess where she is practicing ... on the putting green.”

Kelbel is taking the Rams to their eighth-straight Finals. He’s won two titles with his record-setting senior’s older sister, Calli O’Neill. Calli, now on the golf team at Aquinas College, and Jacque have benefited from strong family support and three golf professionals, one of whom is especially closely tied.

Brian O’Neal, the girls’ father, is a golf pro. He was once named to Golf Digest’s “Best Teachers”  list in Michigan. Jacque has received guidance from another golf pro, Shaun Bezilla, Harbor Point’s head golf professional and director of instruction. And, her high school coach, Kelbel, is a golf pro at Walloon Lake Country Club.

“I want to express my extreme gratitude for being a part of such an amazing program with such great teammates,” the younger O’Neill said.  “Being on the golf team these past four years has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I am very excited about my next chapter. But it is very hard to say goodbye to this one. 

“I have met so many amazing people, and I have such great memories,” she continued. “So thank you to everyone who has made this journey so great. I also want to thank Shaun Bezilla for helping me get my game to where it is today along with Pete Kelbel for all of his help in making me the player that I am today. As well as everyone at Boyne Highlands for their support. I would not be where I am today without the help from these people and many more.”

As she prepares for another Final, she is focused on all the family support she receives.

“Calli was one of my teammates in the past, and she has always pushed me to work harder and practice more,” Jacque noted. “She has definitely helped me fall in love with the game of golf because it is something that we love to do together. 

“My dad has helped me develop my game throughout the years and pushed me to work harder,” she went on.  “My mom, Connie, is my biggest supporter and comes to all my matches. She is always encouraging me. Having a family that all loves golf certainly helps! My extended family has also always encouraged me and helped me along the way, which means the world to me.”

Harbor Springs athletic director Anna Rigby is proud of the golf program’s history. She is looking for another good result at this month’s Finals.

“I've developed an incredible sense of pride watching the program be so successful year after year,” she said. “For Jacque to consistently achieve that level of success in a sport like golf speaks volumes to her fortitude and commitment to the game. 

“I'm feeling good about what we'll see from her in the Finals again this year.”

Kelbel has his own “fore” warning for everyone. Although it is really more of a fact of the matter.

“Jacque can’t get enough golf,” he said.  “She has kept growing and getting stronger throughout the year and improved her strength as swimmer.

“She’d play if you tied her up like a mummy,” he continued.  “She just deals with it and she wants to shoot a school record every time she plays.”

Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTO: Harbor Springs’ Jacque O’Neill fires an approach during the 2019 Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Pumfords Aim to Fly Falcons Back to Finals

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

September 26, 2018

The Pumfords are a golfing family. While that fact can be seen beyond Freeland High School, it’s very evident there.

Matt Pumford, who played collegiately for Michigan State University from 1994 through 1999, is the Falcons girls golf coach, while his mother Darlene is a volunteer assistant. Matthew’s daughters, Olivia and Grace, entered the season as the team’s 1 and 2, respectively.

But if Freeland is going to meet its goals this season, it’s going to have to do it down a Pumford, as Grace suffered a wrist injury that required surgery and will cause her to miss the rest of the year.

“We started the season really strong -- the first few tournaments went really solid. Even with Grace injured, we were still scoring solid,” Matt Pumford said. “We’re trying to fill that void, and so far the girls have stepped up and scored pretty well. I think that we’re just now starting to play a little better.”

The Falcons are ranked No. 3 in Division 3 and still reaching for their goal of making it back to the MHSAA Finals after a one-year hiatus. In the previous nine years, Freeland had made eight trips to the finals, finishing as high as seventh as a team.

“Freeland has had a solid team for years,” Matt Pumford said. “Last year we were placed in a very difficult region. We had a lot of the top teams in the same region, so even though we played really well, we still didn’t make it through. This year, it seems like the top teams are distributed all throughout the regions. It should be pretty competitive over at Owosso (the site of Freeland’s Regional).”

Olivia Pumford was the lone Falcon to go to qualify for the Finals a year ago, finishing 10th to garner all-state honors. She’s optimistic about her team’s chances to join her at Forest Akers East for this year’s championship event.

“All of our girls are very eager, especially having made it freshman and sophomore year,” Olivia Pumford said. “We have three seniors in our top five, and would love to make it because it’s at MSU this year. I’m really excited to see what we can do in Regionals. We’re just going to keep working hard these next two weeks.”

Her classmates, Lily Beyer and Alyssa Argyle, are also four-year players for the Falcons. Lydia Back, a sophomore, joined a season ago, giving Freeland plenty of experience despite missing Grace.

She’s still plenty missed, however, especially by her sister.

“Right around the very beginning of our season we played in an invite and we were partners for it, and during one of her swings she hit a tree root,” Olivia Pumford said, remember how the injury came about. “She screamed and dropped her club, but she continued to play on it. She had been playing on it for about three weeks. I was pretty sad, because Grace and I have been playing together for a few years. I was looking forward to my last season with her.”

While they may not get to share a high school golf course again, chances are the Pumford sisters will play together again, as the game is such a part of their family.

Their cousin, Nick, played at the University of Michigan and is the head coach of the Oakland University men’s golf team. Another cousin, Dustin, is a senior on the Saginaw Valley State team.

Matt Pumford is the reigning Saginaw District Golf Association champion, a title he has won six times. His older brother Alan, is a six-time winner of the tournament’s senior title.

“There’s videos of me when I was like 2 golfing around the house with those plastic clubs,” Olivia Pumford said. “I’ve always been around him. My dad has 11 siblings, and they all golf. I think I was kind of born into it. … We saw our dad on the range and fell in love with the game watching him. We learned the game from him.”

Grandma’s influence is heavy, too.

“She’s been a tremendous help this year,” Matt Pumford said. “I couldn’t have done it without her, because I started a new job, and she’s really stepped up. It’s been really special to have her coaching with me and coaching her granddaughters, as well.”

For Olivia, the experience of spending family time on the golf course while she completes her high school career is something she’s savoring.

“It’s something that I think last year I took for granted a little bit,” she said. “I think I put a little too much pressure on myself, but I had a little talk with my dad and he said, ‘I’m your dad first, then your coach.’ I think now this year, it’s hitting me that I have two and a half weeks left, so it’s more of just an enjoyment thing. It’s pretty sad that next year I don’t get him as a coach anymore. But it’s definitely something I’m very proud of -- I have a lot of pride in my family.”

The goal is to make this final season with her family last as long as possible, which means finishing in the top three Oct. 10 in a Regional tournament that also includes top-ranked Flint Powers Catholic.

“We always want to make it to the state tournament, and once we get there, we re-evaluate our goals based on how we’re playing at the time,” Matt Pumford said. “We really just want to go there and compete as well as we can. If we finish fifth, if we finish 10th at states, as long as we play to the best of our ability, I think we can consider that a success.”

Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Freeland’s lineup after an event this fall, from left: Olivia Pumford, Lydia Back, Alyssa Argyle, Grace Pumford and Lily Beyer. (Middle) Olivia Pumford watches a shot during last season’s MHSAA Final at Forest Akers West. (Below) Olivia and dad/coach Matt Pumford, also at West. (Top photo courtesy of Freeland’s girls golf program; bottom two photos by HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)