Mulder leads Montague golf to 4th GMAA title in 6 seasons; R-P's McCollum dominates and is medalist

MUSKEGON — Montague doesn't need to tell you it's got more depth of talent than any golf team in Muskegon County, because the Wildcats proved it Wednesday with a dominating win in the GMAA tournament at Chase Hammond Golf Club. The win marked the Wildcats' fourth GMAA title in six seasons.

It wasn't just that Montague won easily, though it did, by posting a team score of 355, 27 shots over two-time defending champ Reeths-Puffer; Whitehall was a close third, four shots behind the Rockets. It was that the Wildcats' top scorer was their No. 5 seed player, Molly Mulder, who delivered an outstanding performance with an 82 - 10 strokes better than her previous personal best score. It was good for third place individually.

"No one else in the county can go five deep like we can right now, and today we got to show that off," Montague coach Phil Kerr said.

Mulder's terrific effort came about because of a strategic change by the Wildcats. Kerr said Mulder hits the ball farthest of anyone on the team, but on the short and tight Chase Hammond course, that had the potential to wreak havoc, so she didn't use her driver. The junior responded with some precision hitting and great putting, and she made two birdies during her round.

The 'Cats had three top-10 finishers, with Cadence Fox close behind Mulder, shooting an 86 to finish fourth. She too made a birdie. Brynlee Kessler finished in a tie for ninth with a 93. Marguerite O'Connell narrowly missed a personal best, posting a 94 to close out Montague's scoring. Addi Smith shot a 96, a good enough score that even had Mulder not played the terrific round she did, the Wildcats would've still won the GMAA comfortably.

"To perform like that in a championship, it says a lot about these girls," Kerr said. "God keeps blessing me with talented groups, and this one is pretty special...Incredible team effort today."

The Wildcats weren't the only team to take a highlight from the day, however. R-P's Sophia McCollum earned medalist honors with a spectacular performance, shooting a one-under par 71 to finish 10 strokes ahead of everybody else in the field. McCollum drained five birdies - including on three of her final four holes - and was only over par on three holes the entire round. Coach Matt Pallett said McCollum nearly aced the par-3 17th hole before tapping in an easy birdie putt.

“Sophia is fun to watch," Pallett said. "She is playing some really great golf. What Sophia has done to finish off the last two tournaments has been quite remarkable. If you are a golf fan and did not get to see it, you missed out on some spectacular golf.”

Olivia Ambler also delivered a solid round for the Rockets, shooting a 92 to finish sixth. She recorded a birdie during her round and rebounded solidly from a tough start; she was 8 over par after three holes and managed to play 12 over par over the last 15.

“I am happy for Olivia," Pallett said. "Coming off a career-best round on Friday and then starting the way she did is not easy. She battled all day to earn that medal.”

Ella Voorhies and Ava Gibbs also got in the scoring column for the Rockets, shooting a 101 and 118 respectively.

Whitehall also had a pair of top-10 finishers. Riley Shafer paced the Vikings with a score of 87, coming in fifth, and Kelsie McClure's 93 was good for a ninth-place tie. McClure got off to a great start in her round, scoring birdie on her second hole and getting through the first five at only 2 over par.

"There were some chances or opportunities that we let slip away," Whitehall coach Bill Borgman said. "We did have some really good  quality holes and front nine scores being played, but couldn’t quite hold it together for the entire round. I think (the whole team) learned something from this experience and had an opportunity to play with the top teams in the local area, which is very valuable."

Also for Whitehall, Morgan Garcia shot a 99, and Avarie Bentz carded a 107.